I’ve seen this cover artwork today on Aidan’s A Dribble of Ink and Mark Charan Newton’s blog and I can’t help myself not make a post about it too. The reason for this is that I loved Mark Charan Newton’s novel, “Nights of Villjamur”, one of the best I read this year and which will make an appearance on my top 10 at the end of the year (I still don’t know on which position though ;)) and because I was caught by Mark’s series and I am looking forward to see how it will develop. There were quite a few discussions around the cover artwork for Mark’s novels or the different editions of his “Nights of Villjamur”. Speaking of “Nights of Villjamur” though I know that I am very subjective, I read the novel and I know what hides between the covers, so it is impossible for me to separate the story from the book cover. Therefore I admit that I like more the cover artwork for the first edition, published in hardcover by Tor UK, because it catches the best the image and atmosphere of Villjamur. A multilayered city, with its bridges and levels, covered in snow and with a dark atmosphere. The cover for the US edition published by Bantam Spectra next year goes for a similar image, but it doesn’t work for me that much. The city walls are good, a bit repetitive but good, a snow covered landscape and wonderful ice flowers behind the title. But the image of the city misses its core (as it is depicted on the UK cover) and the atmosphere seems to be too light and relaxed in the context of the story. So, once again I have to say that for me Tor UK comes with the best cover artwork for “Nights of Villjamur”. But I also have to say that despite the artwork featured on the cover “Nights of Villjamur” fully deserves to be read, because it is a very good novel.
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