This cover made it to you through a highstorm.
Stormlight Archive series cover artist Michael Whelan was putting the finishing tweaks on the cover to Rhythm of War, the fourth installment of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive fantasy series, when Hurricane Isaias scoured its way north through New England on Tuesday, August 4. Though lessened to a tropical storm by that point, it felled trees, downed lines, and left vast areas of the region without power for a week or longer.
Nevertheless, the master artist and his latest masterpiece persevered.
“From my earliest days I’ve been drawn to the idea of ‘other worlds,’” says Whelan. “And couldn’t read enough F&SF stories, seeking to be transported to strange new realms of the imagination. That overriding impulse has remained constant throughout my life, and lately has seen its greatest evocation in the works of Brandon Sanderson.
“I haven’t experienced such a sense of living in a complete and wholly integrated other universe as I have in the Stormlight books! It was both a dream assignment as well as a monumental challenge to attempt to visualize Shadesmar for the cover of Rhythm of War. Choosing an approach to focus on wasn’t easy because of the myriad possibilities beckoning me in Brandon’s wonderful story—but I hope I captured a glimpse of the strangeness of the place in my illustration.”
“One of the highlights of my career is getting to work with Michael Whelan,” Brandon Sanderson added. “I would’ve been grateful for just one of his cover illustrations, so I feel incredibly lucky that he continues to work his magic for Rhythm of War. I think it’s the best Stormlight cover so far. The colors are beautiful and vibrant. It’s without a doubt a masterpiece, and I am in awe of it.”
Rhythm of War arrives on November 17, 2020 from Tor Books.
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Rhythm of War
Damn, but that’s gorgeous!
Beautiful! I think I have to agree with Brandon; best cover yet!
I take it that is Shallan with Adolin off to the left, correct? But where is her spren?
I love it! We are back with covers showing us glimpses of the world-building which is what I loved of the first two covers and disliked about the Oathbringer one. I am really pleased to see Shallan shine on a cover and my heart lurched when I saw the back cover had Adolin on it! After seeing the gorgeous Bulgarian cover, I was hoping the US cover would depict the same scene and I am not disappointed.
So good work to everyone and plenty of kudos for giving Adolin a tiny corner to exist on this gorgeous cover! This makes me very excited to read the rest of the book.
@3: Yeah this is Adolin, like on the Bulgarian cover. Pattern is not visible, but he wasn’t either on the Bulgarian cover. I noted Maya isn’t there either.
Don’t like it. Seems boring and I don’t like the color. Shallan already had beautiful in-book art. I wanted to see a character who didn’t get an art yet.
Worst Stormlight cover for me.
@5 Notom. Shallan never got her cover! She had an inside drawing in WoR, but she had no cover. I am sorry you dislike this one so much, but I find it gorgeous. It depicts Shadesmar which is fantastic. The colors are amazing. It is a true world-building cover and it has Adolin who never got official art made for him yet!
I am in love with this cover.
I love it. Initially, I wanted to see Venli on the cover, but then I realized that the flashback character is never depicted on the cover of their own book. The Oathbringer cover was a little disappointing because we got a wall for a background, which was a bit drab and monotone even with Jasnah soul casting. But, this, this cover is absolutely vibrant.
@6
She had big art inside the book. It was even better than the cover. Venli had nothing. Navani had nothing. Adolin’s face was in the book too. Here, he is barely noticeable. Once they put the annotations you probably won’t see Adolin at all.
The color is toxic, and Shadesmar setting is boring. No, I don’t like it.
Yesss Shallan gets her cover!! I really like this one. Gorgeous work by Whelan here. Can’t wait to hold this book in my hands.
That is like looking at one of his Melaine Rawn covers from the early 90s. absolutely gorgeous.
@7: Kaladin is on the cover of Way of Kings.
@8: I am sorry to hear that, I absolutely love the cover. Covers are meant to portray characters inside a chosen setting and, this time around, Sanderson chose to depict Shadesmar. Giving how difficult it had been for many readers to internally visualize Shadesmar, I can understand why Sanderson chose this specific scene. Also, Shallan never had a cover, a lot of readers felt she was robbed of her cover, on WoR, so this merely puts things right. As for Adolin, we never got official art for him, a doodle does not count, so yes, seeing him on the cover, even if it is a small him (and he is perfectly recognizable, blue uniform, blond hair), will make a lot of readers happy. He isn’t any smaller than Szeth on the WoR back cover and even with the blurb, we could still see him quite well.
Venli and Navani will get their chances on other covers. The scenes they are involved in probably did not have the same visual potential as this scene. Also, Shallan and Adolin had been waiting for far longer to get their turn on the cover, IMHO.
@10 – Ant-sized and in the far distance, but yes.
Yes!!!! So excited to start the week seeing the reveal for Stormlight 4! Absolutely beautiful cover, love the composition and seeing Shallan center stage. I cannot wait, thank you TOR team!
OOOOOHHHHH THATS AMAZING. I LOVE IT SO MUCH
@11
Well, visualization of Shadesmar was a bad idea, in my opinion. This is surreal and, once again IMHO, ugly. And this toxis purple color. Brandon doesn’t choose any scenes himself. The artist does.
Venli and avani won’t be main characters in book five, even less in book six. No, they won’t get any covers. Neither will Dalinar. Shallan got two arts by Michael. Some other characters got nothing.
I don’t know what’s the purpose of it. I’m happy you like it, but I don’t. And not all people are fans of Adolin and Shallan.
@15: Notom. Brandon Sanderson chooses the scene. The artist chooses how to transpose the scene onto the cover. Hence, this was Brandon Sanderson’s choice to have Shallan, Adolin, and Shadesmar on the cover. The rest is artistic license, but Sanderson does have a right to ask for adjustments.
For the rest, well, I really do not know what to say. Shallan and Adolin are main characters in the series. They never got a cover. They are going to Shadesmar together in one of the arcs in the book. The author chose this scene. I love it. Most people love it. Purple is the theme color for the Willshapers which is why the cover is purple.
For the rest, do not make assumptions on narrative elements we have zero data on. Jasnah was on the cover of OB and she barely had a role, hence anyone can be on any cover. Venli and Navani could be on another cover. Or not. I have no idea. I just don’t see what there is to hate on this cover. It looks gorgeous and the setting, well, that’s the story we are reading, so huh, if you hate Shadesmar, well, there is really nothing I can add, but be prepared to read a lot of Shadesmar in RoW.
love it – people are asking where is her spren – don’t you think the squares by her describe “pattern”?
@16
This is wrong. Michael Whelan gets a copy of the book, reads it and chooses the scene he wants to depict himself. Brandon doesn’t choose anything. I don’t know why you insist he does.
Adolin is not a main character, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t count this tiny little figure on the background for Adolin. If you’d rather, I would like it better with just Adolin on the cover, because Shallan already got big art.
I don’t think I will read a lot of Shadesmar in the book. It will be secondary narrative. Again, it doesn’t matter. I think previous covers were better. That’s it. Or because “you love it, and many peole love it” I can’t dislike it? I won’t continue with this discussion.
Can’t we just enjoy the release of the new cover? Let people have nice things.
If this is shadesmar, aren’t the shadows pointing the wrong direction ?( tho I guess deliberately putting in wrong shadows makes it look like incompetent art to anyone looking at the cover)
Initially, I didn’t connect the squares with pattern, but other than seeming far too large, I could accept it…. but, if it were shadesmar ,pattern wouldn’t look like a pattern, but more like a person.
A lot of people are assuming that’s Adolin but I think it’s Azure. They’ve got white hair and a “shardblade” looking sword in shadesmar that’s throwing off rainbows. It’s absolutely gorgeous art.
@18 – Michael’s assistant here. The scene depicted was at the direction of Brandon and TOR. The same was true for OATHBRINGER. That’s not typical with art direction in Michael’s career, but this is a big book so the publisher would naturally have more input on the final image.
Personally I think the cover will serve as a nice contrast to the books so far, which is an important consideration in an epic series like this.
@21 – Michael confirmed it’s Adolin on the back cover.
@20 – Yes, the setting is Shadesmar.
@21
I have seen people assuming this figure is Kaladin, Teft or even Azure. That’s my problem. Adolin is absolutely unrecognizable here.
Okay I was wrong. I have heard Michael chooses the scenes he wants to draw the most and it was true for the first Stormlight books. So I thought this book cotninues the trend. Thanks for clarification!
When did Michael say this is Adolin?? It’s not in this article, plus to me that looks just like Azure when you zoom in. The only thing is the sword should have a basket hilt I think. But there is a lot of artistic liberty for cover art
Oh my gosh. This cover… Wow! I love this!
@26 – Michael sent me a scan of the cover a couple weeks ago to prep for social media and the website. I peppered him with questions because I knew there would be a lot of speculation and details that I would need to confirm in threads like this. ;)
Personally I love everything about this cover. It’s just such classic Whelan. I am super pleased.
This one may have to grow on me a bit. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the front only view, but it does seem a bit better once you’re exposed to the wrap around portion and are able to absorb the entire picture. I am glad that Adolin made a cover (even if it’s only on the back); he’s still a stealth main character as far as I’m concerned and I look forward to his adventures and growth in this novel.
I am curious as to the locations of Pattern and Adolin’s Deadeye, but they could just be right off screen. Based upon the US cover and the other countries’ covers that have been released (and the Amazon description) it looks like Adolin and Shallan in Shadesmar is likely to be a fairly important plot point in this book. Should be fun!
I love the colors and the warm glow from the pattern next Shallan vs. the cool tones of the rest of Shadesmar. The rainbow underneath Adolin’s swords is also an interesting touch and I wonder what that signifies if anything (that would probably be a read and find out). This is an epic cover!
Will we, at some point, be able to see some of the sketches and get a peek at how the cover was made? I would love to see how the cover evolved and about the process.
Great cover!
I was looking forward to seeing Whelan’s process, like we were shown for the other three covers. Are there any plans around that?
The sword looks like Nightblood to me.
There’s nothing I love more on a book cover than an ominous-looking tower in the distance (even if it’s not the front cover). Can’t wait to add it to the shelf!
@28 — Thanks! I don’t want to expect to see her the whole book and then not.
As far as the art goes. I think it’s great. I like the color palette and it gives a real tower of ghenjei vibes.
@22: MR. Thank you for clarifying. Sanderson had explained the process before. I love this cover, please transmit my praise to Micheal. He outdid himself here. It was totally worth the long wait.
@29: Peter. It is my favorite of the four! I was not thrilled by the OB cover, but this one is spectacular!
@30. Kimaniak. I think most people just assumed Pattern was not on the scene as for Maya, well, I guess this is a RAFO. I personally do not think Adolin will go on his mission while being bonded to a dead-Blade, but this is just a wild speculation. Maya could be there, but outside the scene.
According to the Amazon blurb, one of the main arcs of the book indeed is Shallan and Adolin’s mission in Shadesmar. The other main arc would be the Navani, Venli, Kaladin one, I would assume
@31. kei_rin. I saw a lot of people speculate on the rainbow pattern. I think it is just the lightening and artistic license, but hey, maybe it’s not.
@33 Evil. It’s probably just a regular side-sword. It would make sense Adolin has one, in Shadesmar.
Ohhh. I like it, I like it, I like it.
(Now I need to read book 3….)
What a gorgeous cover! I’m so excited for this book and this cover is just perfect!
@@@@@ 32 – Yes, Michael said he would be sending me scans of the prelim art next week. The art should include figure studies and alternate compositions.
He’s still cleaning up a few details on the final painting—the highstorm really set our schedule back. I’m waiting on his final scan before putting together a feature post for the website. If TOR doesn’t run a “making of” here, we certainly will. Similarly we’re planning on a high res wallpaper like we did for OATHBRINGER.
@29 – Peter, I totally agree. My jaw dropped when Michael sent me the scan. I’ve had it on my desktop and have been drooling over the details ever since.
Beautiful Cover! I love that Shallan is featured!
LOVE IT!!!!
I was also initial thrown by the very spear-like sword and, golly, dare I say, “salt and pepper” hair into thinking it was Kaladin on the back cover. I’m so glad that it is Adolin. Because if it was Kaladin, well THAT would be a little awkward….
Love it! Personally, I wasn’t a fan of Shadesmar in Oathbringer, but this cover brings back a bit of the mystery and strangeness from the first two books.
First the good. I love the composition and the colors. I love that we get a cover art of Shadesmar. I’m curious about the giant block tower in the background. That’s all awesome…but the anatomy is all wrong. If you’re going to put a figure center stage then at least get the proportions correct. Shallan has the face of a 12 year old and the body of a 45 year old. She’s not supposed to be curvaceous like Jasnah. Aside from that, her right chest is completely disproportionate to the rest of her. If that’s meant to be Adolin in the back then he’s a bit scrawny for what I imagined him being. This pales in comparison to the in-cover art that Shallan had in WoR (she was still fairly curvaceous in that one too). Sorry, didn’t intend to put the focus entirely on the chest area (the artist already sorta did that). Still, I know the amount of time that goes into a color scheme like this and the concept of Shadesmar is well-portrayed
I love it! I am always happy to see my girl Shallan, and Adolin is a bonus. Honestly I like all the covers, though, so I am easy to please. I really like having a picture of Shadesmar, because I REALLY struggle with visualizing it.
Wow! Such gorgeous work! Granted, I’ve loved Whelan’s work since before I knew his name, but… Wow! This is such a fitting piece for this book. Every detail is … well, not necessarily the way I imagined it, but perfectly suited nonetheless. I love it. Every cover he does amazes me more.
FWIW, the covers thus far are:
TWoK – Dalinar & Eshonai
WoR – Kaladin & Szeth
OB – Jasnah
RoW – Shallan & Adolin
So the comments about “flashback characters are not on their own books” is accurate thus far. The covers are more about showing a spectacular or significant moment from the book than showing who’s the most prominent character. It’s much, much too early to speculate about book 5, though.
@18, Notom: HAHAHAHAHAHA! Thanks for the laugh. I know you didn’t mean to be funny, but your comment
Is funny in its wrongness. NO cover artist reads the whole book. Unless it’s a “new cover” for a book that has been out for years. That’s one reason why cover art is Wrong so often.
The book wasn’t even fully written by the time that Whelan started working on this artwork. I’ve attended several discussions with Whelan and other cover artists at multiple conventions. I personally know several cover artists. Some of them read the books they do cover art for – after it’s published. They basically never get to see the finished book before they do a cover.
Here’s the process.
1) Author outlines 4-6 possible scenes to be shown. If those scenes are written yet, the artist might get to read them, or just read the outline.
2) Artist does quick concept designs for the scenes. Develops the 2-3 with the most possibilities / best interest for them.
3) Author, Artist, and Publisher rep agree on one concept design. It get developed. If it actually gets approved, the publisher than does the mock-up with all the text.
We get it – you don’t like the cover. You are allowed to not like the cover.
I really love the cover. I can’t wait to get my little hands on it!
@44 Critic. I don’t think Adolin is meant to be bulky… In WoK Prime, he was described as slim and athletic. I think some readers decided he would be bigger because they liked this imagery, but Adolin always was a quick on his feet guy, one Kaladin described as “physically non-imposing” in WoR. The Call of Adventure art also depicts Adolin as a slim guy.
I think he looks a little bit like this fanart, one of my favorites of Adolin:
I don’t think Shallan looks disproportionate. OK if I am to critic something, she’s probably a little bit too curvacious, but I am not overly bothered by this. The rest of the art is so gorgeous, I am willing to let this pass.
@45 Evelina. I agree! Me too I struggled to visualize Shadesmar and I think a lot of readers had similar comments. It is why I am not surprised Sanderson picked a Shadesmar scene for the cover.
Love the cover on all 4 books! I don’t have any room to critique any art, i can barely draw a “Stick” person. Stormlight Archive is the best.
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Love it! Now I want to know what’s going on with that obelisk in the back…
Can we get higher resolution wallpapers of this similar to how books 1 and 2 had wallpapers released?
Shallan is wearing a glove… First, Jasnah, and now Shallan??
And who said Brando Sando doesn’t do racy fantasy???
MRJackson, will you elaborate on the sword in Adolin’s possession please?
@47, that is often true, but not always. Take Whelan’s statement from the Way of Kings cover art reveal for example:
I love the cover! I thought that Adolin had blond/black hair? If that is Nightblood then maybe the color bleached out if Adolin had to draw the sword.
Oh my goodness I LOVE this cover!!! They say not to judge books by their covers, but when Whelan covers come out that’s basically the cover recommending the book to me. I love purple in general, and it’s GORGEOUS here. The depiction of Shadesmar isn’t exactly as I thought it, but it’s really great still. I can’t wait to read about how they go to Shadesmar. I can’t wait to have this gorgeous art on my shelf. I… will reluctantly wait until November. Thank you for bringing another fabulous fantasy art cover into being.
@47 – I’ll speak to Michael’s process because some of what you say may be true for other artists or the industry in general.
Michael typically reads the complete manuscript, not a selection of chapters. He’s described his process in interviews over the years. You can even see lines of text show through on some of his prelim art because he sketches on the back of manuscript pages as he reads. It’s not unusual that he reads through the manuscript more than once as he works preliminary concepts and launches into the painting.
I remember Michael’s reaction to the manuscript for The Way of Kings. He couldn’t believe how quickly the text pulled him in as he plowed through 1000+ pages. He’s a huge fan of these books.
Michael didn’t start illustrating RHYTHM OF WAR until March I think. He had just finished FAHRENHEIT 451 for Suntup and Brandon was done with the first draft by then. So he was working with an unedited version of the story.
Art direction varies by project. With high profile books like this, there’s understandably more input from the publisher on what makes the cover. It’s unusual for authors to have input on their covers, but my understanding is that Brandon wanted Shadesmar for this one so Michael focused in particular on those scenes.
@53 – David, yes. TOR didn’t do a wallpaper for OATHBRINGER but we offered it through Michael’s website as an exclusive for our newsletter subscribers. We’re planning on doing the same for RHYTHM OF WAR. It’ll probably be a week or so before that happens as Michael is working on finishing details on the painting. We should be seeing prelim art around the same time. You’ll find the sign up here:
https://www.michaelwhelan.com/oathbringer-desktop-wallpaper/
Guys!! This is azure and shallan and it doesn’t look like shadesmar—it looks like they’re world hopping! And shallan is holding one of the dark gems with inner light like gavalar had in the introductions and which szeth would know something about likely!!
@55 – Mike, I wish I could. I was curious about the sword at first glance as well. I suspect it might be RAFO but I can ask.
ArtCritic@44 – I think you’ve helped this non-art critic figure out what seems… off to me: Shallan. Mr. Whelan’s depiction of Shadesmar is beautifully done. I am definitely a fan of his representation of the foliage, the sea of beads, even the cloud pathways leading to the sun. Shadesmar seems great, and I can’t wait to see what adventures our favorite couple gets into (especially as it seems to hint at some radical, potentially Breath-aided changes in Adolin). But it’s the figure that dominates the front that seems… off, and it’s just me comparing the artist to his previous work.
I really liked Mr. Whelan’s depiction of Shallan in the WoR endpages, but I’m not as strong of a fan of it here. I agree that the representation of her… curves seems inconsistent with the artist’s previous work or the description in the text, and it subtly represents itself as seeming… different (unless she’s inhabiting the Brightness Radiant persona, I guess?). And Shallan seems to both dominate the cover (her representation on the cover seems larger than Dalinar’s and Kalidan’s, and I think even Jasnah’s, but I could be off on that) while at the same time seems to be retreating or pulling away from “anchoring” the cover (which could be on purpose for all I know, as Shallan tends to not want to be a focus of attention). So I guess I’m comparing Mr. Whelan to his previous work?
And I get that artists change their representation of characters on covers (Mr. Sweet and his various versions of Rand are a great example) for likely a multitude of reasons. But that seems to be what’s going on with my initial feelings for this cover.
Beautiful scenery and background, though. The visuals would definitely drive a “non-Stormlight Archive fanatic” version of me to check out and read this book.
I love this cover. I like the clothes and the colors. So Jashna was on OB probably due to her being such a badass in the Battle of Thaylen City. I’m guessing Shallan be will kicking and taking names in Shadesmar with her Bae as backup.
And an OBELISK. Cue the music and let’s rock.
edit fixed some spelling.
What about the spine though?… still a little upset about Oathbringer throwing it all off lol
@64: goddesshimo. I think Jasnah was on the cover of OB because Sanderson wanted to depict the Thaylenah battle on the cover and she was about the least spoiler-y image he could get. Depictions of Dalinar, Kaladin, Shallan or even Adolin, during the same battle, would have been filled with heavy spoilers. The cover is meant to be teasing, not spoiler-y. In hindsight, Jasnah just ended up being the best scene befitting the purpose of the cover even if her role, in OB, was relatively small.
On Adolin: I do think he is holding a regular sword. Even if they do carry Nightblood into Shadesmar, Adolin wouldn’t be the one to yield him. He can’t. He would die and he wouldn’t go back into Shadesmar without a proper side sword. As for him suddenly starting to awaken… that’s a bit of a stretch? Suddenly, during the one year gap, Adolin mastered a magic from another world we aren’t even sure can work on Roshar? Magic previously used by two Easter Eggs cameo characters? And suddenly, Szeth parts away with Nightblood and Nightblood agrees to go with Adolin of all people? Not with Zahel who will also be around?
I think all those theories are a bit… much? Hence, I think it is just a sword. The Bulgarian cover also showed Adolin with…. just a sword. Of course, Adolin has a sword with him. As for the rainbow, it is just a reflection of the storm above.
I think covers are meant to be teasing, not spoiler-y. The teasing here is obvious: Shallan and Adolin are going into Shadesmar, together. It cements them as the second group of characters. It tells use Shadesmar will be important, again. We know, from the back blurb, why they are going there, but that’s it. I honestly do not think either Szeth or Nightblood will be playing a very big role in RoW. And if Nightblood suddenly makes it to Shadesmar, Adolin would not be the one to carry him.
I’ve never read Sanderson, but I always pick up books with Whelan covers, just to enjoy their beauty.
Gepeto @66 – “he wouldn’t go back into Shadesmar without a proper side sword.” Right? After their experiences in OB, with nothing but a couple of harpoons for weapons, there’s no way Adolin would go on a planned mission into Shadesmar without a good, solid, normal sword at his side. I’m not sure why people are having such a hard time with this one.
@68. Alice. Yes. Exactly. It also really fits very well with the Bulgarian cover also depicting, well, Adolin with a sword. When it was released, everyone agreed Adolin was just… carrying a sword, because. He needs a weapon. Now, Wheelan added a rainbow and everyone jumped into heavy theory crafting. I guess this was expected! And I guess, I mean, there is a very small possibility it is Nightblood, but the regular sword seems like the safer bet, for now.
Also, Adolin had a very negative experience in Shadesmar, the first time around. He talks, in OB, of having felt vulnerable, powerless, and he didn’t like it. He almost died in there. He has like zero fighting chance. He didn’t like it one bit, so if he is to go back, he will go back with a proper familiar weapon. A sword. No way Adolin goes back without a proper sword and no way he does not cling to it with his dear life the whole time. I don’t know how the book will unravel, but I would expect Adolin not to want to go at all. Like, really not wanting to go and being uncomfortable the whole time. And grabbing onto that sword as if his life depended on it. That’s what I would expect. So, in this scene, he holds onto his sword. Because.
As for people, well, you know the fandom… There is a freaking rainbow on the rock: of course, everyone thinks it means something! I think it is either an artistic license or a reflection from the storm above, but I could be wrong and maybe everyone else is right and the rainbow means something. I however think this is… just a sword and just a rainbow reflection because it looked pretty on the picture.
There is something, at least, most seem to agree on: it is a great cover. I personally love it and I think it does its cover work properly: it makes me excited over what is to come in RoW. It makes me want to read the book, so as far as I am concerned, I consider this is really, really, really good work here.
But, I will admit it is fantastic to read all the theories readers have on this rainbow, this sword and the fact Adolin’s hair appear “white”!
If I had to guess, I think that is the representation of Shadesmar’s reflection of Urithiru in the background (the square tower). Looks like Shallan is wearing her Veil jacket but without the hat. She has a glove, not a Vorin dress with her safe hand covered.
I like the cover. Although Shallan is my favorite character, I like the WoK cover better. When I first looked saw the cover, I got a YA fantasy cover vibe. Bright colors, young girl who is looking off to the side (either in wonderment or a bit of surprise).
I think I will keep the cover of WoK as my wallpaper.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
aka the musespren
In the UK, we get different cover art (by Sam Green), but I love the covers by Michael Whelan and only have his cover art for the editions in my collection. So will aim to the do the same again with Rhythm Of War. Worth the wait for the reveal. Gorgeous artwork!
@70 – I was also entertaining the possibility of this being Shadesmar’s rendition of Urithuru. Although I don’t know how likely that could be, I really am curious to read the description of the Shadesmar version of Urithuru in RoW. As for the obelisk, I’m leaning towards it being one of the spren strongholds/cities.
As for the Shallan cover, I was also getting a YA novel feel to it initially, although looking at the entire artwork decreases that impression. The rendition of Shadesmar is very well done.
Also, the WoK cover is iconic and still remains my wallpaper on one of my devices; it is that amazing, and in my opinion his best. (But my favorite is OB because of Jasnah)
Love it! Really enjoying the colors and composition, Michael knocked it out again!
Shallan is the female lead character. No other female even comes close. Navani has only had one chapter that was considered hers in the first three books, A Piece of a Fabrial. Venli was not even mentioned in WoK. Venli has had five interludes, I believe, and no chapter of her own yet in the first three books. No other living female has been identified as watched by the Aimians on the back cover, not even Jasnah, and Shallan gets a mention on every single one.
I think the cover is divinely gorgeous! The others have had artistic value, no doubt, but haven’t played nearly as well to my preferences as this one. I am thrilled. I did suspect that this might have been something beyond Shadesmare, at first, but reading the article I see we do have confirmation that it is indeed Shadesmar.
So, the bronzish, possibly cubic, glowing patterns are absolutely stunning, right? But Pattern is a person with a symbol-head in Shadesmar, and the glowing patterns are part of the landscape, right?
And that tower! That massive, massive tower! I’m reminded of the strange castle on the Purelake. Need to go back and see if I can find a description. Do we know anything else like this?
@36
I ran to read the Amazon blurb!
Woohoo! This is the strongest confirmation yet of Navani bonding the Sibling to wake Urithiru and become a bondsmith.
More good stuff from the Amazon blurb:
So the massive tower on the cover is Lasting Integrity? I had a feeling that Syl might have a different idea on how to create more Windrunners based on the RoW interlude, but I’m going to avoid saying more about RoW released content.
I absolutely love all the fractals on this cover: Shallan’s dress, the flora, the wave-like rock formations. It ties in with the shape of the continent, the strata, cymatics, rhythms, Cryptics, etc. This abundance of patterns and vibrations in the Cosmere is one of my favorite topics and I love seeing it represented on the cover.
As a side note, the tower in the background is not an obelisk. Obelisks have tapering pyramid-shaped tops, this one is just a plain rectangular box. It is quite a feat of engineering to be that straight and smooth.
@People who wonder where Pattern is:
Remember, this is Shadesmar, so he would be an entity with a glowing fractal head. For all we know, the two glowing diamonds are spren of some kind.
One possible explanation for the color shapes on the cover: the after effect or the start of Honor’s Perpendicularity. This could be the moment where Shallan, Adolin (and anyone else with them) either enter Shadesmar or about to leave Shadesmar.
If the Amazon blurb about Shallan and Adolin going to Shadesmar to meet Honorspren that Wit Beyond Measure @76 quote is genuine (and I have no reason to doubt it is not), then I wonder if Jasnah or Kaladin went with them. I believe Jasnah has the most knowledge of native Rosharians about Shadesmar and Kaladin is a Windrunner who bonded Syl. Although it is possible that Syl and the fact she went through with the Nahel Bond would be more a disadvantage than an advantage. But I cannot imagine it would be more of a disadvantage than Shallan showing up at Lasting Integrity with a Cryptic. Cryptics and Honorspren are not exactly on the best terms.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
aka the musespren
@79 Andrew. The Amazon blurb is no new information and readers have speculated on the matter for a while. I personally do not think either Kaladin or Jasnah will be going: the blurb states Adolin and Shallan are in charge.
It has been discussed as to the reasoning behind sending Shallan given she is bounded to Pattern and Adolin with his dead-Blade. My personal thoughts are they are sending Adolin because he has the political legitimacy to speak in the name of his father and the coalition, Shallan because she has the same for the Radiants. They are Alethi royalty and that trumps other “considerations”. My personal theory is no way Adolin is going to Lasting Integrity to negotiate with the Honorspren with Maya in tow. I think, well, bad stuff will happen, but that’s just a personal theory, nothing solid.
But I also think Adolin and Shallan will probably have other people with them, but not A-list characters, probably a few Windrunners, squires, guards.
It could very well be Adolin on the back cover. However, I and a friend are rather certain it’s actually Azure based on the following points:
1.Azure’s hair turns white in Shadesmar.
2. She was wearing men’s clothing in Oathbringer.
3. The blade on the cover is close to the description of Azure’s blade and doesn’t look like Adolin’s at all.
4. Shard blades, Adolin’s included, don’t have sheaths but Azure’s does.
5. There is a rainbow glow coming off the sword, reminiscent of the color based magic in Warbreaker.
6. Azure was last seen in Shadesmar.
Any thoughts?
@@@@@ 55 – I checked with Michael. Everyone is reading too much into that sword. It’s just another blade that Adolin was carrying.
The rainbow effect on the ground was artistic license. The land in Shadesmar is described as obsidian. With the sky mostly black as well, Michael decided to make the ground rainbow obsidian for its iridescent qualities and relief from all the black.
Thanks for clearing it up.
@82. MR. Thank you for clarifying things on the matter of the sword. I knew too many readers were reading way too much into it. Often, the easiest explanation is the real one. Adolin just carried a sword with him.
Shallan and Pattern look awesome; but why is Adolin so tiny? Did he get shrunk because the perspective is jarring (Adloin’s size compared to Shallan’s). Beyond that, it is a great cover. I hope we see Dalinar/Navani eventually. So far we have (i=on the main cover) Eshonai/Kaldin, Kaladin/Szeth, Jasnah/Cataclast and now Shallan/Adolin.
MRJackson @82 – Thank you for the clarification, and many thanks for your participation in these threads. We appreciate your time and effort!
TM @85 – The cover of TWOK is Dalinar & Eshonai. Other than that, you’re correct.
Correction from new information. TWoK cover is Eshonai and a random Shardbearer. not necessarily a depiction of any specific characters. It is meant to portray the conflict as a whole. (I’ll go look up some more info in a bit.)
In my opinion, the cover is awesome! I love how the shades in the diamond pattern seem to glow!
44: I think Shallan looks great, but that might just be because I’m not great at drawing humans, or at least their faces…
For the people who do not like it, that’s great! Because you don’t like it I can! We should listen to Wit sometimes.
I’m wondering, could I put some art I did of Pattern on here?
@86 – I love sharing in the excitement over these books. I was staring at RoW for over a week just dying to talk about it before the cover reveal.
I was honestly surprised by the assumptions that it was Dalinar on the cover of WOK. I thought we’d cleared that up years ago. I know Michael has been dying to portray Dalinar in his shardplate since the very beginning. When I circled back to confirm with him re: the WOK cover last night, he expressed that much.
The first cover assignment was a little different because the series hadn’t blown up yet. IIRC Michael hadn’t done a cover since Dark Tower 7 so it took some effort to convince him to jump onto a 10 book epic. He hadn’t read Brandon at the time , but Tom Doherty was asking himself.
As the story developed, the urgency to get the character portrayals on the covers heated up. That was part of why WoR got that bonus illustration of Shallan on the endpapers. She should have gotten the cover but just too many characters needed the spotlight then. So it’s great that she’s front and center on RoW.
So this seems to be a very different part of Shadesmar than seen in OB. In that book didn’t Kaladin described the vegetation as very short and fragile? Here it seem’s like there are very tall trees.
Unless I hear from Brandon or Whelan, I will stick with my assumption that the 2 characters on TWoK is Eshoni (in Shardplate) and Kaladin (wearing Parshendi exo-armor). I have really looked at this image (for years now) and why would a Human Shardbearer wear a colorful cloak (like the Parshendi do) of a Stylized Chasm Fiend? The image of the man in the background is using a Spear. Dalinar NEVER used a spear in the first book. Kaladin all the way…especially since he fights Eshoni in the first book.
@MR
You now can fully appreciate how all of us are rampant conspiracy theorists. We decompose every word and every image then extrapolate back up to create our grand theories based on minute details. It’s really Brandon’s fault. He leaves sly hints scattered about and we eagerly try to find them all. ;*)
Mike @88 – “The first cover assignment was a little different because the series hadn’t blown up yet.” That makes a LOT of sense. The fact that Tom was able to talk Michael into doing it had Brandon over the moon, I remember that much! And as a portrayal of the conflict in general, it works much better (for me) than trying to stuff specific characters into it, since none of them quite fit. And of course, it lets everyone suit their own headcanon.
I think the confusion came because people at Dragonsteel also had their headcanon about it. We can find quotes from both Brandon and Isaac either implying or outright stating who the figures were, which was … confusing, a little, when the details didn’t seem to match. I’m really glad to have this out “front and center” for a little bit, because now we can all quit arguing. :D Also, I would love to see Michael’s depiction of Dalinar in Shardplate – though now, I’m hoping we get it with living Shardplate…
I can only tell you Michael’s intent based on the conversations we’ve had about the cover and my fanboy experience hovering in the background as the illustration came about.
I understand the confusion surrounding the cloak and pennant, but Michael employed those elements symbolically to incorporate the idea of the Chasm Fiend into the scene. I confirmed everything with him AGAIN this afternoon. The figure in the foreground is not a Parshendi. His interpretation of the salute scene was done with much artistic license and no particular characters in mind.
If you look through his concepts for WOK, you’ll see his intent pretty clearly was fleshing out a world of harsh terrain, dramatic weather, and an epic conflict with really cool swords. Obviously that doesn’t mean readers can’t interpret the cover as they will. Ultimately, when the illustration gets someone to pick up the book and continue talking about it 10 years later, that’s a success.
Why is nobody talking about that sword? I have a feeling that it isn’t an ordinary weapon. Too much work went into creating that picture and it is too detailed to be ignored.
I may be wrong though, I think it may have been made by a lightweaver.
@94 Because it was confirmed it is just a sword. Not everything is a plot twist.
@94 – I sincerely hope, after all the debate in the comments about the sword, that this was a tongue-in-cheek comment :)
I don’t want to be annoying, but I’m going to ask again. Would it be okay if I put some art of Pattern I made on here?
Lots of people are saying that Adolin is on the back… I thought it was Szeth? The sword he’s holding looks like nightblood to me. anyway, I’m probably wrong. I love the contrast of colors! It really drives home that Shadesmar is this otherworldly place.
The kneeling figure, behind the blade that looks a lot like a truthwatcher spren right? They are described as “light reflected through crystal on a surface” which for me is a rainbow. That could be Renarin and Glys maybe no longer being corrupted or maybe it’s another truthwatcher? Guess it could also just be a rainbow but the placement looks suspect to me.
You know looking at that image some more it is Shadesmar so that can’t be Glys… I’m going with Azure and her biochroma effect. I don’t think that can be Adolin, if they are in Shadesmar then Maya needs to look like herself not a blade.
I just had a theory of who it could be instead of Adolin, what if it’s and Honorspren?
@107: It has been confirmed it is Adolin.
I know, I thought it was, but many people are still guessing, and I was giving a theory…
@103. But people can’t be guessing if it was confirmed it was Adolin. There is nothing left to guess. There are no theories to be had.
I see everyone’s saying that’s Adolin, and that was my first thought as well. The only question I have is why is his hair white in this cover when his hair is normally black? I wonder what happens
@105 – Tyler, Adolin’s hair is described as being blonde with dark strands mixed in. Michael was working with style guides sent by Brandon, and outside of the desaturation, it looks right to me having seen the behind-the-scenes art direction.
I think it’s just the lighting of Shadesmar that’s making it look white. After the kerfuffle with Nynaeve’s hair on the back cover of AMOL, I tread softly with Michael when it comes to details like this so I haven’t asked outright. Fans can be hypersensitive to details and on a high profile cover like this it can be wearying for an artist.
I just got the final scan from Michael and updated the image on our website. Not sure if TOR is going to update the image here. I should have the high res wallpaper done by next week so everyone can scrutinize all the pretty details.
https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/rhythm-of-war/
104: Sorry, I did not think it would be a big deal if I put that there. I don’t really feel like arguing about it.
Ahhh I love it! I love Whelan covers so much. @Michael Everett, If you are reading, please tell him that his Martian Chronicles cover is something that drew me into genre fiction even as a young girl :)
I love the way Whelan uses color, but purple/gold contrast has always been one of my favorite color combinations. And I love seeing the surreal Shadesmar landscape.
I adored Whelan’s “Coldfire trilogy” and “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” trilogy covers – they certainly played a role in me picking up these series
@108 – Lisamari – I’ll be glad to pass along your kind words to Michael.
FYI, we have prints planned for Ray Bradbury’s Centennial. We’ve been getting requests for Martian Chronicles for years and figured it was time with Michael’s recent cover for Fahrenheit 451.
Hopefully we’ll get to those soon now that Michael is finished with RoW.
I noticed that on Whelan’ s website, recent posts lists Rhythm of War desktop wallpaper, but the link doesn’t work. Was that link just put there before the actual page was made?
That’s odd. The post is only a draft and shouldn’t show up there. The wallpaper should be ready later this week. I’ll post here when it is.
I just posted the RoW wallpaper on our site. You can now download in sizes up to 2560 x 1600. Enjoy!
https://www.michaelwhelan.com/rhythm-of-war-desktop-wallpaper/
@76
No….I’m pretty sure the blurb is more talking about you know, the airship they were designing in oathbringer as the new technolgoies. there is also no proof that its saying Navani revealing the secrets.