The UK cover of the final book in The Age of Madness trilogy, The Wisdom of Crowds, is finally ready to be revealed…
Design once again by Tomás Almeida, though obviously there’s no way he could have done it without me endlessly arguing over the exact colour of foil we would be using. And the cover copy…
Chaos. Fury. Destruction.
The Great Change is upon us . . .
Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief will be tested in the crucible of revolution: the Breakers and Burners have seized the levers of power, the smoke of riots has replaced the smog of industry, and all must submit to the wisdom of crowds.
With nothing left to lose, Citizen Brock is determined to become a new hero for the new age, while Citizeness Savine must turn her talents from profit to survival before she can claw her way to redemption. Orso will find that when the world is turned upside down, no one is lower than a monarch. And in the bloody North, Rikke and her fragile Protectorate are running out of allies . . . while Black Calder gathers his forces and plots his vengeance.
The banks have fallen, the sun of the Union has been torn down, and in the darkness behind the scenes, the threads of the Weaver’s ruthless plan are slowly being drawn together . . .
I for one CANNOT WAIT. It’s being published on September 16th in the UK, in hardback, ebook, and audio read by Steven Pacey, so it actually looks like we will realise the dream of publishing all three books exactly a year apart, which given all that’s gone on this last year or two is both shocking and gratifying. Here’s the family together, as they were always meant to be…
You can preorder via this global smart link which should send you to your local retailers. Waterstones should be doing a signed edition with an exclusive short story, but there doesn’t seem to be a specific preorder for that one up quite yet. There is actually an in-person book event scheduled in Bath for publication week – if you can remember how such things went – and we’ll hope to do more around the UK, but it’s a little unclear exactly what will be permitted by that stage, so we’ll have to see. No doubt there’ll be a bit of online stuff going on too.
As with the other books in the series, The US edition from Orbit will have a very different cover treatment but should be available on the same day. More on that in due course…
And a note – as a couple of people have observed in the comments and elsewhere, the lion image originally used had cropped up *ahem* elsewhere. Now changed….
23 comments so far
very clearly noticing the warcraft… inspiration, with that lion
So very excited. Thank you Joe!!
Can’t wait. Still have visions of the “hanging scene” from “Trouble with Peace”. That was intense.
So, what’s next?
Thanks for the information on this wonderful cover. I love all of them in this trilogy because of the fantastic colours. I can just sit there and look at them and enjoy them. Great work.
Jay
Hi Joe,
Bought/Read all your previous books. Super love them. You’re one of my favourite authors. But I want to be honest with you as your avid fan. I really couldn’t get into A Little Hatred. I’ve tried getting into the story but it seems it’s all over the place. Am still a fan though and congratulations for completing the trilogy. It’s just not for me.
Looking forward to it. And to Steven Pacey’s reading
Orso, for me at least, is by far the most likable character in Joe’s universe.
I can’t wait to find out what grim fate awaits him in the end.
I miss Logen
So what’s with the Alliance banner from World of Warcraft? Are you hinting at some kind of crossover happening?
Ooh, French Revolution fantasy. I like.
Does this mean that Brock and Savine are going to become the equivalents of Robespierre and Saint Just? Needless to say, I fully expect that the magnificent bastard Bayaz has been playing both sides again.
Looks like it’s time for another re-read of the First Law world for me – always a great time! Beyond excited for The Wisdom of Crowds and while I was waiting for this book, I read the Shattered Sea trilogy and loved that world too. The First Law easter eggs made me smile!
Given how you’ve scythed through two of the three main character threads remaining to the First Law, one per book, I am already stockpiling the tissues. Not for me, you understand. Looking forward to it. Kind of…
Throw out a reminder about the event in bath a month or two before, please.
May well travel down from London, as well as get a shave and haircut to boot.
Any signed copies available for pre-order like last year?
Don’t you dare do this to us First Law trilogy fans…
Do not exclude popular characters and their stories simply due to the fact they’re popular. Ill never forget nor forgive the injustice done to Ninefingers, Shenkt, Ferro etc…
GRRM 2.0. When’s your awful movie / HBO series deal coming George?
Don’t you dare do this to us First Law trilogy fans…
Do not exclude popular characters and their stories simply due to the fact they’re popular. Ill never forget nor forgive the injustice done to Ninefingers, Shenkt, Ferro etc…
GRRM 2.0. When’s your awful movie / HBO series deal coming, George?
I may start my own revolt if I don’t get some sense of finality on the B9.
Also, loved the last book. Probably my third favorite. Totally unexpected turn of events. Well done.
I’m both excited for this book and dreading saying goodbye to such an awesome trilogy. I was skeptical about this new series at first, the themes shifting toward the industrial revolution and old familiar characters either dead or taking a sort-of backseat to the big players, but I couldn’t be happier with how these books have subverted my expectations and made me fall in love with the world of the First Law all over again.
I hope we get to see you in the U.S. for a book-signing sometime soon (or soon-ish, given the state of international travel and group events).
Thanks for taking me, and so many of us, on this amazing journey through the Circle of the World!
Will there be a Goldsboro limited edition like the first 2, or is the Waterstones version taking its place? I want to make sure I order the correct version to complete my series. Thanks
judging from the preface it looks like things have moved on quite a bit since B8
looking forward to the shattering conclusion – but will there be follow up standalone books coming afterwards?
Just re read the first law trilogy for the 7th ish time and Best Served Cold (my personal fave) for the 9th lol. Then started this new arc. I don’t know who to cheer for but my money is on Rikke. Thanks for your creations they got me through the last couple months of quarantine.
Man I’m pumped.
I genuinely (and forgive my blasphemies) wasn’t quite as gripped with ‘Trouble’ as I’d hoped….UNTIL the last few chapters!
And man the ending made everything that had come before meld together into a glorious deep breath before what is, hopefully, a manic and brutal plunge!
The hanging scene gave me everything I wanted in terms of tension, pay off, character development and it was nice to see certain characters be a little less terrible than Joe usually paints them 😉
And setting up the Burners and Breakers and knowing who the Weaver is is setting this trilogy up to be an absolute barn stormer.
Bring on September !!!!!
Read “The Heroes” within one day, the other books of the series took me maybe 2-3 days each. So you can maybe guess, that I am looking forward for this one. To me, the second trilogy surpasses the first one (so far).
However, the german versions are atrocious, they have stupid cliche titles (translation: “magic blades”, “war blades”, “hero blades”, and so on), ugly cover art, unwelcome changes in tone, etc. That’s why I always order the UK versions.
You might wanna have a look into the german division of the Abercrombie empire (some bodies should be found floating by the docks). I think your work is presented here in inferior form. And I would really like to recommend your books to people, who don’t like to read in a foreign language.