Very pleased to announce that UK specialist publisher Curious King has just opened up the preorder book for a high end limited edition of that seminal subversive fantasy classic of the mid 2000s The Blade Itself. I’ve been pretty thoroughly consulted (and made as much of a pain in the arse of myself as you’d expect) on the art, design and layout throughout.
Art – consisting of wraparound dust jacket, endpaper and 7 colour internal illustrations – is gonna be by the magnificent Tommy Arnold with a fold-out map of the Circle of the World (yes, I know) by Jack Shepherd. Here’s the cover:
Mmmm. There are gonna be three editions – a standard edition of 500 copies letterpress printed in two colours with a foiled slipcase:
A numbered edition of 150 copies, goatskin bound:
And this terrifying monster of a lettered edition, limited to 26 copies, hand-chiselled using the shards of Narsil from solid gold tablets blessed by the pope and bound in the skin of fallen angels:
There are many further details that I don’t entirely understand about the specification of these various editions over at Curious King’s site. I should say that they will all now, including the standard edition, be signed by me. Fair warning – this is high end, specialist printing and binding aimed at enthusiasts and collectors, so the prices on some of that stuff, specially the aforementioned lettered edition, are pretty eye-watering…
The hope – if this is successful – is that we’ll carry on and give Before They are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings a matching treatment.
NOTE: The whole lot sold out within a few hours, however if you missed out and desperately want one I am told that – due to some multiple orders – there will be a few more put back up on Monday 30th May at 20.30 BST.
12 comments so far
You genius bastard! I love everything you write; bloody brilliant and like everyone else who has had the fortune to come across your work I cannot understand how anyone in their right mind would wish for any other movie or series.
That. Looks. Awesome!
Joe! You’re back! Great stuff. Thought you’d been sent to the camps. I always imagined Logen as being hairier; he’s as smooth as some Union dandy there, and looks like he flosses regularly and always uses Timotei. Apart from that, the books look lovely. Unless you’re a goat, obviously…
Nope, that’s exactly how I saw Logen. The eyes are wonderful… you can see the rage 🙂
Of course it will new successful, if the buggers would let me order RIGHT NOW you would be off to a crackin start.
“blessed by the pope and bound in the skin of fallen angels”.
I am literally 12 chapters into this book as of today and am loving ever page of it!!! This art looks amazing!
Bloody. Brilliant.
Thank you for signing all my First Law books so far.
SHOW. ME. GLOKTA. please…
I just want a memory wiper. So, I can read the first FL trilogy over and over again for the “first time.”
Love the good guys…hate the bad guys..the books all grab me from the first sentence BUT why isn’t the woman in the illustration screaming curses??? We do that when riled u know…..ask your wife…