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A Song of Ice and Fire / Announcements / UK-Cover of ASoS

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Markus
User ID: 3919194 May 4th 10:26 AM
An image of the UK-cover of ASoS is available at:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/
000710197X.02.LZZZZZZZ.gif

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 4th 10:43 AM
Bad scan, as usual with Amazon.

The figure on the right is Tyrion, for sure. Arm on a helmet, wearing a breastplate. Not sure about the woman on the left though ... hrm. Someone in Asshai?

And darned if that fight scene is practically useless.

Three guesses:

It's a bad representation of Jon and a wildling fighting, a bad representation of Jon against an Other (that weird effect with the sword), or maybe it's supposed to be Stannis (Lightbringer) against someone. Davos?

Sparhawk
User ID: 0436494 May 4th 11:01 AM
that dwarfish figure in the bottom right hand corner is definitely tyrion. the main pic. looks like a fight between jon and some wildling. the gut does look pretty wild, -shaggy beard, mismatched armour, wearing furs etc.

i wish they got someone else to do the illustrations, though. geoff taylor, perhaps (he does most of the covers for raymond e. feists books over here in europe). whoever does these illustrations dosen't do justice to the story. (i do like the frame, though)

Ser Benjen
User ID: 2122084 May 4th 11:25 AM
I think the woman may be Lysa Arryn (Moon Door behind her?), or, more likely, Margaery Tyrell during or after the wedding to Joff.

I think this supports the Jon vs somebody for one of the Trials.

OTOH, the person swinging the glittering sword appears to have a sunburst on his chest, could this be Rickard Karstark and Robb? It's doubtful, but I just call 'em like I see 'em.

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 4th 2:13 PM
Lysa's a good one. I was thinking Margaery after I posted, so maybe .. Hrm. I suppose that would do for a wedding gown.

I'm not sure if that's a sunburst, though. And, in any case, it's clearly not a white one, as a Karstark would have. It seems to be red and blue ... but the only thing that comes to mind is Tully colors, and that doesn't look like any sort of Tully emblem.

Hrm ... No idea. It doesn't look like a circular thing though. Vertically oriented, as far as I can tell. Almost looks like a tree of sorts.

Tom R.
User ID: 3647314 May 4th 4:29 PM
I have nothing really to contribute about the cover, except that I think it's pretty ugly. The battle looks like something from a Marvel comic book. The book deserves better, IMHO.

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 4th 4:33 PM
I don't really like Burns, I'm afraid (though he's nominated for best artist in the Hugos and maybe the Nebulas as well.) The first cover was actually rather great -- Ned looked very good, Dany was pretty good (though her neck was somewhat long and slim), and the central scene had a cool armored knight (albeit in front of a way too fantasyish city -- lots of tall towers and domes and things.)

The second went straight down hill though. The best thing about this cover, in my mind, is the actual design -- I like how it's put together. Rich vivid blue up top, steel and wood hues framing it all. Very cool.

Jeff
User ID: 1536664 May 4th 4:34 PM
After some of what we've learned about cover art, does their really have to be any logical connection between the sigil on a shield and the sigils actually used by characters in the book?

Tom R.
User ID: 3647314 May 4th 4:45 PM
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Ran, but I still think it's a pretty lame cover. It's too busy, there's just too much stuff cluttering up the space, and what's up with the helmeted skulls? I think the US edition cover of ASOS (on the Bantam website) is a LOT classier ... but, then again, I may not be all that picky if the UK edition is available sooner!

Ser Benjen
User ID: 0240854 May 4th 5:11 PM
Is there anywhere I can see the UK cover of GoT?

I'm not very impressed w/ the UK cover of SoS either, but it won't stop me from buying it, and visual clues are always nice, no matter what my opinion of the artistic quality is.

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 4th 5:34 PM
Try Dragonstone. :)

http://www.users.bigpond.com/dragonstone/images/ ukpgame.jpg

(pull the ukpgame.jpg in a space to get it to work. :)

Jeff,

As to cover art ... tru. But it seems to me there ought to be some significance to the way Burns did it. Burns and Youll appear to get partial MS to work from. There's always going to be discrepancies, but the details an author includes might be telling.

Dirjj
User ID: 1954724 May 4th 11:18 PM
The UK cover sucks. Geez, can't believe how lame it is. It looks similar to the style that was on the covers of the Dave Duncan series, A HANDFUL OF MEN, but those covers were good. On this cover, the only person we can guess at with any accuracy is Tyrion, but I don't like that rendition either. I'm sorry to say, but if I saw a cover like that on A GAME OF THRONES, I wouldn't have picked it up. Yes, It's true, it's true, it would have been my loss, but the cover has got to catch my eye. The US cover of AGOT was pretty basic, but it still caught my eye. This ASOS cover repulsed me. Is there some place where you can see the US cover?

ab

Emily
User ID: 2192024 May 5th 5:19 AM
Oh my god. To think I found it embarrassing to be seen with the UK edition of ACOK...this is five times worse.

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 5th 5:30 AM
http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/catalog/ display.cgi?isbn=0553106635

That's for the U.S. cover. :)

sparhawk
User ID: 0436494 May 5th 5:42 AM
it IS a shit cover, though the skulls are pretty cool.

Padraig
User ID: 8590713 May 5th 12:52 PM
Finally aged Tyrion. He is seventy if not older. All the people in the picture look terrible. I'll defend the previous covers though. I liked them more than the US ones. IIRC the US covers were your standard fantasy cover. The UK edition for me was a bit original. I like the frame and the people looked like people. Although I was dissappointed when I was told that Robb was the thirty year old guy with the crown in aCoK. Don't know what happened with aSoS. It still has the frame which I like but the pictures inside them...Ugh.

Hope it looks better full-size.

Dirjj
User ID: 6960173 May 5th 3:08 PM
The US ASOS cover is too small to look at. Is there anyplace with a large version?

ab

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 5th 3:14 PM
Not as yet. Eventually some of the on-line bookstores will get a hold of a larger copy, I figure. Or GRRM himself, at his homepage at sfwa.org

Adam Snow
User ID: 0512724 May 6th 11:23 AM
It looks to me like the person fighting Jon is a wight. Weren't they supposed to have thin glowing swords in the first chapter of A Game of Thrones? Though your guess about who it was is as good as mine. Uncle Benjen maybe? Just a thought...

Ran
User ID: 0867924 May 7th 4:58 AM
GRRM's noted to me that a larger scan of the U.S. cover can be found at:

http://www.mandala.net/vsa/martin/storm.html

It's rather darker, too -- the Bantam scan is more correct, in that regards, because the foil is more of that torquoise hue that it shows.

Next 20 Messages Newest Messages

Markus User ID: 3919194	May 4th 10:26 AM An image of the UK-cover of ASoS is available at: http://images.amazon.com/images/P/ 000710197X.02.LZZZZZZZ.gif
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 4th 10:43 AM Bad scan, as usual with Amazon. The figure on the right is Tyrion, for sure. Arm on a helmet, wearing a breastplate. Not sure about the woman on the left though ... hrm. Someone in Asshai? And darned if that fight scene is practically useless. Three guesses: It's a bad representation of Jon and a wildling fighting, a bad representation of Jon against an Other (that weird effect with the sword), or maybe it's supposed to be Stannis (Lightbringer) against someone. Davos?
Sparhawk User ID: 0436494	May 4th 11:01 AM that dwarfish figure in the bottom right hand corner is definitely tyrion. the main pic. looks like a fight between jon and some wildling. the gut does look pretty wild, -shaggy beard, mismatched armour, wearing furs etc. i wish they got someone else to do the illustrations, though. geoff taylor, perhaps (he does most of the covers for raymond e. feists books over here in europe). whoever does these illustrations dosen't do justice to the story. (i do like the frame, though)
Ser Benjen User ID: 2122084	May 4th 11:25 AM I think the woman may be Lysa Arryn (Moon Door behind her?), or, more likely, Margaery Tyrell during or after the wedding to Joff. I think this supports the Jon vs somebody for one of the Trials. OTOH, the person swinging the glittering sword appears to have a sunburst on his chest, could this be Rickard Karstark and Robb? It's doubtful, but I just call 'em like I see 'em.
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 4th 2:13 PM Lysa's a good one. I was thinking Margaery after I posted, so maybe .. Hrm. I suppose that would do for a wedding gown. I'm not sure if that's a sunburst, though. And, in any case, it's clearly not a white one, as a Karstark would have. It seems to be red and blue ... but the only thing that comes to mind is Tully colors, and that doesn't look like any sort of Tully emblem. Hrm ... No idea. It doesn't look like a circular thing though. Vertically oriented, as far as I can tell. Almost looks like a tree of sorts.
Tom R. User ID: 3647314	May 4th 4:29 PM I have nothing really to contribute about the cover, except that I think it's pretty ugly. The battle looks like something from a Marvel comic book. The book deserves better, IMHO.
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 4th 4:33 PM I don't really like Burns, I'm afraid (though he's nominated for best artist in the Hugos and maybe the Nebulas as well.) The first cover was actually rather great -- Ned looked very good, Dany was pretty good (though her neck was somewhat long and slim), and the central scene had a cool armored knight (albeit in front of a way too fantasyish city -- lots of tall towers and domes and things.) The second went straight down hill though. The best thing about this cover, in my mind, is the actual design -- I like how it's put together. Rich vivid blue up top, steel and wood hues framing it all. Very cool.
Jeff User ID: 1536664	May 4th 4:34 PM After some of what we've learned about cover art, does their really have to be any logical connection between the sigil on a shield and the sigils actually used by characters in the book?
Tom R. User ID: 3647314	May 4th 4:45 PM I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Ran, but I still think it's a pretty lame cover. It's too busy, there's just too much stuff cluttering up the space, and what's up with the helmeted skulls? I think the US edition cover of ASOS (on the Bantam website) is a LOT classier ... but, then again, I may not be all that picky if the UK edition is available sooner!
Ser Benjen User ID: 0240854	May 4th 5:11 PM Is there anywhere I can see the UK cover of GoT? I'm not very impressed w/ the UK cover of SoS either, but it won't stop me from buying it, and visual clues are always nice, no matter what my opinion of the artistic quality is.
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 4th 5:34 PM Try Dragonstone. :) http://www.users.bigpond.com/dragonstone/images/ ukpgame.jpg (pull the ukpgame.jpg in a space to get it to work. :) Jeff, As to cover art ... tru. But it seems to me there ought to be some significance to the way Burns did it. Burns and Youll appear to get partial MS to work from. There's always going to be discrepancies, but the details an author includes might be telling.
Dirjj User ID: 1954724	May 4th 11:18 PM The UK cover sucks. Geez, can't believe how lame it is. It looks similar to the style that was on the covers of the Dave Duncan series, A HANDFUL OF MEN, but those covers were good. On this cover, the only person we can guess at with any accuracy is Tyrion, but I don't like that rendition either. I'm sorry to say, but if I saw a cover like that on A GAME OF THRONES, I wouldn't have picked it up. Yes, It's true, it's true, it would have been my loss, but the cover has got to catch my eye. The US cover of AGOT was pretty basic, but it still caught my eye. This ASOS cover repulsed me. Is there some place where you can see the US cover? ab
Emily User ID: 2192024	May 5th 5:19 AM Oh my god. To think I found it embarrassing to be seen with the UK edition of ACOK...this is five times worse.
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 5th 5:30 AM http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/catalog/ display.cgi?isbn=0553106635 That's for the U.S. cover. :)
sparhawk User ID: 0436494	May 5th 5:42 AM it IS a shit cover, though the skulls are pretty cool.
Padraig User ID: 8590713	May 5th 12:52 PM Finally aged Tyrion. He is seventy if not older. All the people in the picture look terrible. I'll defend the previous covers though. I liked them more than the US ones. IIRC the US covers were your standard fantasy cover. The UK edition for me was a bit original. I like the frame and the people looked like people. Although I was dissappointed when I was told that Robb was the thirty year old guy with the crown in aCoK. Don't know what happened with aSoS. It still has the frame which I like but the pictures inside them...Ugh. Hope it looks better full-size.
Dirjj User ID: 6960173	May 5th 3:08 PM The US ASOS cover is too small to look at. Is there anyplace with a large version? ab
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 5th 3:14 PM Not as yet. Eventually some of the on-line bookstores will get a hold of a larger copy, I figure. Or GRRM himself, at his homepage at sfwa.org
Adam Snow User ID: 0512724	May 6th 11:23 AM It looks to me like the person fighting Jon is a wight. Weren't they supposed to have thin glowing swords in the first chapter of A Game of Thrones? Though your guess about who it was is as good as mine. Uncle Benjen maybe? Just a thought...
Ran User ID: 0867924	May 7th 4:58 AM GRRM's noted to me that a larger scan of the U.S. cover can be found at: http://www.mandala.net/vsa/martin/storm.html It's rather darker, too -- the Bantam scan is more correct, in that regards, because the foil is more of that torquoise hue that it shows.