Cover art - "The Slow Regard of Silent Things" by Patrick Rothfuss (Brazilian edition)

I’ve barely finished talking about Marc Simonetti’s art book, “Coverama”, dedicated mainly to his amazing book covers, that another of Marc’s gorgeous pieces of art complementing a book surfaced. And since Marc Simonetti already did some excellent covers for Patrick Rothfuss’ “The Name of the Wind” and “The Wise Man’s Fear” it is the turn of his upcoming novella, “The Slow Regard of Silent Things”, to suffer the same treatment, at least on the Brazilian edition of Patrick Rothfuss’ novella. Editora Arqueiro, the Brazilian publisher, used Marc Simonetti’s covers for their editions of “The Name of the Wind” and “The Wise Man’s Fear” and followed the line with “The Slow Regard of Silent Things” too, as we can see, in the most delightful of ways. I have to say that I find Marc Simonetti’s artwork far more attractive than the US cover of the same novella. Although nowadays, with the easy access to information facilitated by the internet, it is more likely to form an opinion about a book cover long before I could see it in a bookshop, I try to consider what would happen with certain books if I see them lined on the bookshelves of a shop. In this instance, and not only, Marc Simonetti does wonders, I would be extremely tempted to pick the book from the shelves because of such a cover. It holds that particular magic of telling a story from one single image, the attractive wink that would make me wish to learn more about the book in question. Which I cannot say the same for the US book cover, as much as it seems to match the synopsis, I am afraid I find it rather bland. It remains to be seen what Gollancz’s choice for the cover of Patrick Rothfuss’ “The Slow Regard of Silent Things” would be, but I must admit that I am keeping my fingers crossed to see Marc Simonetti’s extraordinary artwork on that edition as well.

Deep below the University, there is a dark place. Few people know of it: a broken web of ancient passageways and abandoned rooms. A young woman lives there, tucked among the sprawling tunnels of the Underthing, snug in the heart of this forgotten place.

Her name is Auri, and she is full of mysteries.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things is a brief, bittersweet glimpse of Auri’s life, a small adventure all her own. At once joyous and haunting, this story offers a chance to see the world through Auri’s eyes. And it gives the reader a chance to learn things that only Auri knows....

In this book, Patrick Rothfuss brings us into the world of one of The Kingkiller Chronicle’s most enigmatic characters. Full of secrets and mysteries, The Slow Regard of Silent Things is the story of a broken girl trying to live in a broken world.