It’s my pleasure to announce that Michael Whelan is confirmed to create the cover art for Words of Radiance, volume 2 of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive. Whelan has turned to gallery work in recent years, so we were honored when he took on the series debut, The Way of Kings. That cover was a stunning beginning for the new epic fantasy series and I am delighted that he has agreed to explore Sanderson’s growing world again with us.
Some initial thoughts from Whelan on Words of Radiance: “The material I have is enormously evocative. I haven’t read a fantasy epic this engaging in decades. It is wonderfully imaginative and inspiring, a rich and cogent universe that feels entirely believable, with interesting characters and plotlines that weave through the book like the moves of an expert fencer. For me, the chief attraction is of course, the deep, deep well of creative possibilities, original and moving concepts that any artist in our field would jump to be a part of.”
Below is the cover Whelan painted for The Way of Kings, you can read about the behind-the-scenes creation of this piece here.
Awesome, he’s my favorite cover artist.
+1
Just when I thought I couldn’t get any more excited about this book… This is great news!
Hopefully the book design won’t cover up most of the interesting elements of the artwork this time. TWOK cover is so busy you can’t figure out what is supposed to be going on.
I’ve been a Fan of Michael’s art for years and loved his Way of Kings cover. I’m looking forward to his work for Words of Radiance!
Squee! This is wonderful news. It would be fantastic if he did the whole series. The TWoK cover is my favorite fantasy cover; it’s my facebook banner and I have the print on my wall (in my home, not on facebook).
Wow.
For a new fiction series to pull the all-time great of cover art out of semi-retirement, this is a reader’s dream come true. Thank you, Irene, for your part in this. Thank you Brandon for writing such an intriguing story. Thank you Michael for deciding to grace us again with the beauty of your work.
Great news!!! I remember talking to both Michael Whelan and Irene Gallo at Spectrum Art Live last May in hopes that each party would come together again to create another magical cover. They both said they wanted to do so once Brandon Sanderson completed book two. I hope this announcement means we might receive The Stormlight Archieves next book for all of us to enjoy this holiday season. No matter when it does come out I’m assured now it will look incredible as did Way of Kings.