Those wonderful folks at Gollancz have released the cover for my forthcoming collection of short stories, Sharp Ends, and it looks a little something like this…
Artwork by Dave Senior, designed as always by the brilliant Laura Brett. For those who don’t know, it contains thirteen stories, all set in the world of the First Law. Here’s the blurb:
The Union may be full of bastards, but there’s only one who thinks he can save the day single-handed when the Gurkish come calling: the incomparable Colonel Sand dan Glokta.
Curnden Craw and his dozen are out to recover a mysterious item from beyond the Crinna. Only one small problem: no one seems to know what the item is.
Shevedieh, the self-styled best thief in Styria, lurches from disaster to catastrophe alongside her best friend and greatest enemy, Javre, Lioness of Hoskopp.
And after years of bloodshed, the idealistic chieftain Bethod is desperate to bring peace to the North. There’s only one obstacle left – his own lunatic champion, the most feared man in the North: the Bloody-Nine . . .
Sharp Ends combines previously published, award-winning short tales with exclusive new short stories. Violence explodes, treachery abounds, and the words are as deadly as the weapons in this rogue’s gallery of side-shows, back-stories, and sharp endings from the world of the First Law.
And you can find a full table of contents and brief description of each story over here. A big part of the charm of these covers has always been the way they wrap all the way around that beautiful hardcover, so…
Yes, indeed, it picks up the parchmenty map stylings that have for so long been a First Law hallmark, but this time you’re getting a map of the whole Circle of the World. Obscured by words and other bits and pieces, of course but, fear not, I’m reasonably sure you’ll get a full-size, uninterrupted map on the end-papers.
Sharp Ends is going to be out in the UK on April 26th in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook (hopefully read by Steven Pacey) and – what’s that you say? Where can you preorder a copy? Well, since you ask so nicely. US details will be coming next week when we release that cover . . .
30 comments so far
This news makes me very happy indeed!
It Steven Pacey does do the audiobook, I may very well explode.
Beautiful cover, although I find it odd that a collection called Sharp Ends doesn’t have any knives or swords on the cover…unless you can get some particularly nasty papercuts from those playing cards.
Looks great! And no swords on the cover is also great, what would be SUPER GREAT is if Steven Pacey can keep on reading the First Law.
This looks sooooo good! And I say that as a designer 🙂
The newer American covers are terrible, I love all your original covers
Released the day before my birthday – easy present win for someone. Cover looks gorgeous too, one of the rare occasions I won’t get the Kindle edition.
Beautiful cover, hope the US version is equally impressive. So very excited to get back into the First Law Universe!
Oh, I’m so getting this!
[…] New announcement for the short story collection, Sharp Ends. […]
My favourite yet!
… but not your best photo.
Yesss!! I am very much looking forward to this! Loving the blue/gold colour scheme.
Awesome cover. Hope the Midderland part won’t be too obscured.
Yaassss! So excited to see a full & proper map. I hope they keep this cover for the Australia/New Zealand editions I am literally frothing at the mouth for the stories, I read a synopsis and they sound sick as luck
[…] We have another cover reveal and oh my, this really is a good ‘un. Gollancz and Lord Grimdark himself have recently revealed the UK artwork for Sharp Ends, a collection of short stories from […]
How many pages does the book contain?
April’s gonna be good.
Dark Souls 3 AND Sharp Ends.
🙂
Excellent artwork, as usual and I really appreciate the quality of the paper used for your hardcovers.
Will there be a signing tour?
Yet again, another great cover….
Vote Mr Pacey for narrator !
[…] Gollancz a dezvăluit coperta pentru Sharp Ends, o culegere de povestiri semnată de Joe Abercrombie şi situată în […]
Looks wonderful! How do things stand with a release in Germany?
Please tell me we get to hear what happened to Ferro.
OMG I simply cannot WAIT to get this!! I hope the Us cover is even half this cool!
That better be the cover we get in the US.. Beautiful
Wow! Finally a complete map! It’s surprising, with much more smaller seas that we had been lead to believe by the snippet published in the comics. Adua and Styria are really close!
The bonus of the playing cards are nice too. It seems they are very similar to our own French playing card. I wonder what Jedzal and Co meant when they were saying that they had “earth” or “suns”.
A story with the bloody nine in….can’t wait!
I am honestly more excited for this book than The Winds of Winter
Hi jow. Iam from germany. Can u say how long will it last until the german book is released? Thank u
greetings Laka
Why are the UK covers so much better than the US ones? Always better.