The Fires of Heaven ebook cover by Dan Dos Santos

Gorgeous work! I love the reference shot (the tupperware is awesome). Its great to see what goes into these pieces. Amazing post!

High resolution version here:
http://www.dragonmount.com/News/?p=1163

Another beautiful cover, and a very interesting post!

Thank you!

Sorry, but the outfit just isn't Cairhienen. This makes her look like a girl out of Scheherazade.

While the technical skill of the artist is superb, the vision is lacking. Some of the other sketches were at least closer.

First disappointment in the e-book art.

Stunning repackaging as usual. Too bad Amazon won't let anyone buy it.

I could nitpik some things, but overall it's a great image and a stunning painting. Truly a worthy continuation of the series so far. It's great to see Moiraine on a cover; she's such a major player that it would almost be a crime not to include her. Glad you took this last chance and got her on the cover of the book with Her Scene.

Shim - I understand your perspective and Moiraine does not appear quite as I would have envisioned her, but the cover is stunning. (Of course, I have also had the same not quite right but cool reaction to the other covers in this series to date.)

ok cover for one of the worst book series ever made. they really do give fantasy/conceptual fiction a terrible terrible name by association.

I agree that her clothing doesn't match exactly what is described in the book. However! This is an amazing painting that captures her character at an iconic moment extremely well. I'm willing to sacrifice "accuracy" for something that matches the tone and feeling of the scene.

While I agree that Moiraine is the perfect subject and the painting is stunning, the colors perfect and Moiraine is gorgeous, I also agree with Shimrod in that the outfit doesn't fit the image of a straitlaced, conservative Cairhienian - the embroidery and coins around the waist, the busy dangly earrings, none of these fit the Moiraine who is beautiful but understated, wears costly and well crafted but never flashy clothes. Who dresses like a high born lady but never stands out from the crowd.

I still think it is beautiful even if it doesn't fit my imagination. Already that is 100% improvement over the previous hardcover/paperback covers.

*edited for clarity

I actually like the first sketch best too. No, it isn't quite Moiraine (especially the disheveled hair) but the desperation in the scene seems a lot more appropriate.

Anyway, I'm so happy to see a woman on the cover for a change (and not dressed in an unnecessarily revealing fashion) that I'm able to look past the other issues and enjoy this more than usual. Probably my e-book favorite cover so far.

Wow. So much of the art being produced for these covers is TRULY impressive.

Will it ever be possible to buy prints of these pieces? I'd love to have this one (and the one of Mat!) hanging up in my house somewhere.

@11 dwndrgn

I'm with you 100% on that.

Come on Tor: Hardcover "cover book" or poster prints would sell like crazy.

The thing that struck me was the face. I always wondered how the "unmistakable ageless face" would look, and recognized how hard it would be to actually craft (one of many reasons why I feel these books will not be made into acceptable movies).

But look at her face. She surely isn't as young as twenty... but then again she can't be as old as fifty either. Like I said, I had no idea what it would look like, but I do think that this image fits the bill.

All the other points made above notwithstanding, that one fact makes it for me.

Absolutely stunning! I've loved everything I've seen from Dan Dos Santos so far. I should look up his site.

My only question is what's with the "reference" picture in the workshop image? Was this picture drawn out in a digital program first, and then painted on a larger scale? Is that normal? That seems like double the work.

Beautiful painting - and it's great to get the "behind the scenes" look at how the artist went about creating the picture (as well as the sketches that show some other directions the project might have taken).

Thanks so much for sharing this look at the process.

--Duncan
=====================
Freelance cover illustrator for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov's Science Fiction, and many other publishers. See my cover illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html

Simply gorgeous. WANT hardcover reprint! I would replace my mostly paperback collection immediately.

Question: Is New Spring being redone as well?

If you guys would print the books with these covers I would absolutely re-buy the few I have, as well as finish off the series. Irene you keep picking all the artists I love and these covers (even if not what some may imagine for the characters) are amazing! (No offense to Mr. Sweet, but his style doesn't suit my tastes.)

Just makes me sad I can't own them in dead tree form! Excellent work, DDS!

Great cover! Yay, Moiraine!!

Bzzz™.

@19 - yes.

....
Book 9: Winter’s Heart
Book 10: Crossroads of Twilight
Prequel: New Spring
Book 11: Knife of Dreams

....

Here's a thought for folks who want these on their dead-tree editions. Maybe Tor could just print up new dust jackets, and folks who already own these books in HC could simply order those, and rejacket their own copies at home.

We should now open the betting pool on the LoC cover. I'm leaning towards Perrin on way to Dumai's Wells (with a girls-oriented cover for COS and again attempt to redress the boy-heavy imbalance of the first few covers).

Thanks all. This series has been a blast for me, in large part because how of how passionate the fanbase is. Whether you think we nailed each one or not, we are having a ton of fun _trying._

(Who knows, maybe we can even make Kadere (from the DM boards) happy on one of these tries. ;-)

As always...feel free to talk about great scenes from upcoming books. CROWN and PATH are set -- after that, there are some decision I need to be making.

@19: NEW SPRING and the young-adult break ups of EYE OF THE WORLD are scheduled to release after we complete the initial cycle.

Goodfellow: feel free to name some favorite artists. As I say, most of the series is sketched out but there is room for some good and unexpected ideas. Besides that, it's just fun to hear about who ya'll like...for this or any other set of books.

LOVE this one!

Sweet cover. The people bitching about the technicalities need to remember just how superior these covers are as an upgrade to the DKS garbage. I think they're great.

Love the cover. Love all the covers. Just one question though. Maybe I'm just forgetting, but what exactly is she holding. I can't seem to figure it out.

@16-JWezy

I was thinking the exact same thing. I've tried to picture women I know who are hard to place for their age, but frequently it's more that they either look young/old for their age, or actually look like they're a different age.

The ageless look has always been difficult to visualize, but I think the artist did a great job with this.

@28 - supposed to be a ter'greal or some tupperware to keep her food fresh in the Aiel Waste.

Great picture, but she's not the one holding the angreal until she claws it out of Lanfear's hands as they are falling through the doorway.

Stunning. Fantastic work! :-D

I love the picture, but I agree that the outfit doesn't quite fit what Morraine would wear.

I wish these could have been the covers from the start.
I too would buy all the books again if they were repackaged (my copies are falling apart, so I'll need to buy them again at some point,I've been resisting just hoping for some different cover art).

And yes, the style of the clothing isn't quite Moraine, but franckly for me that's a way minor point compared to everything else this piece has going for it.

It's beautiful, no question, but it just feels wrong to me somehow. It may be the clothes, it may be something about the face, it may be the way she's holding the bracelet, but it just doesn't feel like Moiraine in that scene. If I were to guess who it was, I would say Lanfear. I still think it looks more like Lanfear, for that matter, even though I now see all the visual clues that are supposed to be hinting that it's Moiraine.

Again, it's a gorgeous painting, but it just doesn't seem much like Moiraine to me.

Thanks for the compliments and the crits everyone.

@4, @11: Unfortunately, I'm not that well read in the series. I did my best to capture what I HAVE read and what was specified to me... but it's extraordinarily difficult for someone new to come on board and fully capture the nuances that a die hard fan gets from having read (and possibly re-read) the whole series.

@16: I appreciate that. I tried especially hard to capture the ageless look. I'm happy it's working for someone.

@17: Yes, my digital comp is fairly detailed. It may seem like a lot of work if your final product were digital, but it actually saves one a considerable amount time when creating an oil painting. By spending some time in Photoshop I figure out what problems I will encounter before they arise in the painting, and things are MUCH easier to fix digitally than they are in paint.
Figure it out in PS, then just paint it right the first time on the easel.

@28: It is the ter'angreal ivory bracelet.

@31: She does possess the bracelet before Lanfear does. Afterall, she has to place it on the wagon's edge for Lanfear to find. I wanted the image to show her contemplating it's placement (in order to fulfill the vision), in spite knowing that it's power would cause great harm for Lanfear's enemies.

Nice Dan, thanks. And you are correct re the ter'angreal.

I'm kind of in agreement with several other commenters: I love everything except the accessories.

The earrings and the coin-belt thingy are too busy/folksy/gypsy-ish for Moiraine, who gives off a much more understated and elegant vibe to me in the books.

And anyway, a highly-bred noblewoman of royal blood such as Moiraine would definitely have known the rule about taking off one accessory before leaving the house, whereas the woman in the picture... didn't. I'm just saying.

But other than that, it's very nice indeed. That color blue is simply gorgeous, and the technique (insofar as I know about these things) is excellent. And it is very lovely to have a female character portrayed. I hope we get to see Nynaeve, or any of the Supergirls, really.

Irene, the details about the process are fascinating, thanks for sharing them.

Future covers: The obvious choice for Winter's Heart would be the Cleansing of the Taint scene, and that would be awesome, but allow me to put in a vote for portraying the triple-bonding scene with Rand, Min, Elayne, and Aviendha instead. (Did I say this in an earlier post?)

A more general suggestion would be to have a cover with one of the major villains on it instead of the heroes, or maybe a scene that has both, or something. Not one of the Sweet covers has ever portrayed any of the bad guys (random Trollocs lurking in the background notwithstanding).

Just a thought.

This is such a beautiful picture of Moiraine in her most dramatic role I can forgive the coin belt. It is a small price to pay to see such exceptional artwork of a character who was previously depicted stirring a cookpot for the same book.

There will always be a bit of artistic licence that may cause some fan grumbling. In this case the respect the artist has shown the character offsets the costuming faux pas.

Ofcourse that is only my opinion.

Thank you, Thank you people at Tor who decided to create new artwork for the ebooks. It would have been so easy to just use the old covers or go with a basic text cover but the decision to make beautiful covers with single characters in defining moments is greatly appreciated.

Dan DS

I love it man, beautiful painting. I also love your painting of Vivenna on Warbreaker's cover, and good call on the ivory bracelet.

@ Lsana

Lanfear? I'm sorry but I don't get that at all. Lanfear wears white and is associated with moon and star symbols, has black hair, doesn't have an ageless face, and is supposed to be the most beautiful woman ever. Though Moraine is beautiful, not that much. I don't see how that matches the painting above. The clothing is the only thing I see wrong, and its not that off from what I've imagined, just nitpicking.


@ Leigh

As far as Winter's Heart goes, I would like to see the Far Madding scene where Rand is saving Lan. I think it was Freelancer who convinced me of that. My first choice was the cleansing though, but the bonding scene would be good as its been needing to come since Min's vision in tEotW.

But Leigh, the cover of The Dragon Reborn had Ba'alzamon/Ishamael hiding on the spine.

Granted, it wasn't very good, but still, have you seen Perrin in that picture?

I agree with ~23...or simply reprinting the Hardbacks with these dust covers. I'd buy them.

Re WH cover, I'm on record as liking to see Tuon making her appearance by ship in Under a Veil -- with marathdamane and Deathwatch guards in the background.

Re evil character covers, I kind of like the Moridin sharia game concept - or I guess could do Rand and Mori crossing streams in CoS.

Excellent work.

Blindillusion @41:

Oh yeah.

But still, that barely counts. Because I Said So, That's Why.

Crap, double post.

@45 Get back to work on that blog post, young lady. Please be sure to quote the opening page of the Triumph of Logic chapter - where Mat is so upset at Tylin mishegas that he thinks Nyneave and Carridin could be cavorting together in the fountain in Mol Hara square and he'd never notice - one of the funnier bits in the whole series and I never noticed it until I just re-read it.

Leigh ~ Hmm...Devil's advocate? Me? I'll own it.

And agreed. Barely counts.

Book cover ideas?

WH ~ It'd have to be the scene from With the Choedan Kal with Rand and Nynaeve, though the focus could be more on Nynaeve with Rand seen in profile.

CoT ~ Don't really know. Elayne visiting the Black Tower, perhaps with Taim lurking around somewhere.

KoD ~ The scene where Furyk Karede catches up with Mat & Co., with the focus on Tuon and Karede, though we could see Mat, Thom and Juilin as well.

TGS ~ Sorry, but this one has to go to Egwene. I'm seeing the scene where she's in Novice white staring out the hole in the White Tower. MOA.

New Spring ~ Should go to Lan.

36 Dan DS

But where did the fire come from?

Anywho, I still like it, and I think the earrings and gem on the forehead matches the books just fine. It's very close to what I had always pictured.

I would easily be willing to pay $50 a piece for a quality unframed lithograph of these new covers. I've already started re-designing my library decor just hoping they will eventually be offered. Come on Tor, print em up, donate a portion of the price to amyloidosis research, and get them in our hands!!!

It is a beautiful piece of art work. I will have to agree with Leigh that Mo wouldn't be sporting all the accessories. Again, I will ask if there may be a coffee table book coming out when all is said and done?

WH - how about when Mat walks into the room and meets Tuon for the first time - with Anath(Semi), Suroth and Tylin? (Tuon offers to buy Mat.)

Or if you want more baddies - how about the Forsaken tea party where they are discussing the Choeden Kal?

tempest™

Great cover. The aes sedai "ageless face" is tough to pull off, and I think Dan DS did a fantastic job. This has to be my best cover to date. I don't mind the nitpicky things that other people are complaining about. The art is fantastic.

Other book cover ideas:

WH The Cleansing, focusing on Nyneave maybe, with Rand in the background.

CoT No idea.

KoD. Maybe Elayne becoming Queen? Not sure on this.

TGS has to go to Egwene knocking Tor'rakken(sp) out of the sky. Awesome scene there.

New spring. Lan throwing Moiraine in the water. :)

I like this look for Moiraine. Beautiful shades of blue. Hair not in a "bun". She's dressed to "go out in style". The circlet above the blue gem "kesiera" is really rather foreshadowing, to me, of her rightful place in a noble/royal family of Cairhien. The earrings and coins on the belt are not sedate enough for her, but I like the "fires" around the letters. Undelivered letters perhaps? The wagon did go up in flames.

Very nicely painted indeed.

@5 sfreviews.net

What is this new evil going on with the Amazon.com "higher-ups" to not carry these eBooks? Does it have something to do with the latest MacMillan statement? Or are they still bickering with Tor for a contract? For the covers, it does not matter: my Kindle only shows black & white.

Where does one buy an eBook elsewhere? Help please.

Babo

Babokathy @ 52.

Barnes and Nobles sells the first 4 of the new ebooks, and will probably sell this one too when it is released, but I believe you must have the B&N ebook reader. It is only software that loads on any pc. It is not a physical item like the kindle tho, and I do not think it wil play on a Kindle. Not sure on that though, as i do not have a Kindle.

@36 Dan DS
Thanks for answering! Wow. That still seems like a lot of work. But I must say I'm impressed by the results.

Other cover possibilities:

WH: The Cleansing seems like the obvious choice, and I'd love it, but I think I'd go with Leigh's suggestion. There's a general lack of Supergirls on the covers, and the bonding scene could look great.

CoT: A blank page with one word: Next.
Just kidding. Actually, I like the quiet yet foreboding image of Perrin walking away from the axe.

KoD: Aiel and gai'shain. Specifically: Faile + Rolan. Or Perrin and Rolan charging at each other.

TGS: Mat asking Verin to saidar them out of the creepy town. Kidding, again. *heh... is this thing on?*
Mat fighting his way out of the town would be quite the sight. Egwene's Crowning Moment of Awesome is fantastic, but wouldn't it give too much away? After all, the storm is gathering, not breaking. No?

New Spring: Lan, watching Merean floating Diryk, Brys, and Iselle over the bridge.

@53 Renegade248

Thank you much for the answer to my eBook question. I see a promising future for Barnes & Noble.com! I will investigate this. It'd be nice to have an eBook in color.

Babo

I really hope the cover for PoD is the Moridin scene with him playing Sha'rah and Rand as the Fisher King. *fingers crossed*

First of all, this cover is Pure Awesome. Moiraine is the stone nuts, and I love this!

Secondly, I'm crossposting this from the tDR thread discussing ideas for upcoming covers:

My input:

aCoS: I like the idea of Mat fighting the Gholam, though that might be tough to pull off. Alternatively, Rand breaking the crown of Cairhien. That was a epic scene. Finally, Rand vs Toram Riatin with Fain and Cadsuane in the background could be very well done.

PoD: I am surprised that the idea of Rand going nutso with Callandor in the forest hasn't gotten any love. I think that is the key moment of the book. Egwene on the ice would be good too, but I expect Egwene will only get 1 cover, and IMO it should be the Tower/To'raken scene from tGS. Also very much like the idea from elsewhere to show the baddies here, specifically Moridin (maybe with Cyndane and Moghedien's cour'souvras in the background).

WH: The cleansing scene with the focus on Rand and Nynaeve kneeling in the center of a clearing and an epic battle in the background seems to be the most Epic. Rand holding Lan over the rooftop would be awesome too.

CoT: Perrin needs some love at some point, and since he didn't get it in tSR, this has to be the one. There are no good "scenes" with Perrin in this book, though, so I'd go for a contemplative Hammer vs Axe pose. Alternatively, Perrin and Aram reenacting Egwene's dream (hacking through brambles, moving toward a cliff).

KoD: The crowning of Elayne gets my vote. This has great potential for a great fantasy cover. If Perrin does not get the last book, then his reunion with Faile would be a good choice here too.

tGS: As above, I have to go with the tower raid. This scene was one of the few times that, without trying, the full image came to me unbidden while reading the scene... and it was Awesome. The other choice I would have, thematically, would be Rand meeting Tuon, and the aura of darkness around Rand. This would be very appropriate for the overall theme of the book without giving too much of the plot away.

Fell

If I see a cover illustration before I read about a character, it will strongly influence my mind's eye image of that character. If not, I am used to images not tracking very closely to my imagination.

But this shot of Moiraine has some bite; very nice!

Re: villains- isn't Lanfear on The Great Hunt's cover?

Excellent. Looking at the large JPG, though, her ring doesn't look like a great serpent ring?

http://www.dragonmount.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Fires_of_Heaven_ebook_Moiraine_lg.jpg

In any case, if all I can think of to pick on is the ring on her finger, it's a pretty good sign. Excellent work!

(Oh, and I take it back: tEOTW says "...and on the second finger of her left hand was a gold ring in the shape of a serpent biting its own tail." So I can't even pick on that, since that finger isn't visible in the drawing) :)

Sorry, but that's not Moiraine at all IMHO. The first 3 sketches actually seem more like her description, but the final product looks too much like the model (a tall blonde), who is of entirely wrong type for this character.

And gypsy outfit + flesh-colored belt, that at first made me think that she had a bare mid-riff and a jewel in her navel?

I mean, sure, it is miles better than D.K. Sweet and burning letters look really cool, but that's the first ebook cover that didn't feel at all right to me. Sorry.

Oh, this is amazing!

It would be great if we could buy these as prints!

I'm definitely for Perrin hurling away the bloodied axe in CoT... or Mat and Tuon playing stones in the circus wagon.

Truth be told, I have always pictured Moiraine as she appears on the original "The Eye of the World" cover. But another truth is that any possible future film maker will be hard pushed to represent the ladies' agelessness any better than this without making them look grotesque.

I defy any of you to put an age on the woman depicted in this painting.

~ Blindillusion @47
I am with you on all of those!

I would certainly like to see Tuon at some point and of course some of the supergirls. Min also deserves a place on a cover somewhere but I am not sure which book.

@52, 55 BaboKathy

I've been getting them from either BooksOnBoard or KoboBooks, depending upon whether I'm having region restriction problems or not (being in Canada, a number of sites won't sell to someone outside the USA).

Truly amazing artwork. Irene, the choices Tor has made for the artists on these works has been outstanding. The quality here is just superb. The ethereal and dramatic nature of the burning pages, the cosmic skies, Moiraine's pose and gaze, all work flawlessly to bring a sense of gravitas to the scene, while remaining aloof as to the actual events occuring. Add the brilliance of the colors and the sharp contrasts, and it is quite a captivating image. All of this I love. Bravo to the author.

Praise aside, to me this misses being Moiraine in two ways. Cairhienin tend toward pale complexions to start with, and Moiraine is characterized in more than one place with the term "porcelain" concerning her skin. In New Spring, the phrase is "beautiful porcelain doll", coming from Siuan Sanche. The face in this image is not that. Gorgeous, powerful, intense, and determined, yes, and Moiraine is surely all of those as well, but...

Then there is the fairly Moroccan flavor to the garb. All the points I'd make about this are already accounted for, so just mark me as a ditto.

Irene, the Tor team has done the fans a great service through the wonderful artists who have been engaged to do these covers. Thank you!

Awesome! I agree with you though, I really liked the second of your round 2 sketches as well. I actually kind of like that one better than the final cover, in a way.

I know a lot of these covers may have already been decided; but here are my suggestiosn for the rest of the series:

LOC: Nyna healing Logain; Egwene being raised; Rand IN the box with LTT "feeling" for the knots; Asha'man 'slopding heads like melons

ACOS: Moggy balefiring the boat; Rand dueling with Riatin(sp?) Lan's and Nyna's wedding with the Seafolk (offscreen); Mat and his Master of Blades speech at the end of the book; Mat with Olver

TPOD: Chapter 12 Forsaken Happy hour; Faile's taking; Bashere knocking Rand to the ground; Elayne's Unweaving gone awry

WH: The triple bonding scene; Mat and Tuon; Rand and Lan in extemis; Rand facing the first Asha'man in the alley (the most bad ass, non-saidin action of Rand in the WHOLE series! Serioulsy read it again if you doubt); A Cleansing scene is too spoilerish, so none of that

COT: Perrin throwing the axe; Tuon on the razor; Egwene stepping into a small boat with the WT in the background

KOD: Nyna with the Gem Dealer (Nyna's best scene in the series for crying out loud!); Loial and Elder Haman with the enormous axes running to Rand; Tuon completing the marriage ceremony. Mat Spanking Aes Sedai (Just kidding...kind of)

TGS: Verin with Mat or Verin with Egwene; Rand, Nyna, and Min together looking at Graendal's house in the distance; Egwene at the second dinner with Elaida; Bryne schooling Gawyn; Egwene during the tower battle is too spoilerish, so none of that

TOM: Mat scratching the symbol on the ToG with a knife; the Great Caemlyn High School Reunion; Loial on the Stump

AMOL: Elayne, Avi, Min and Rand in a Boat...

Tor,

I would purchase new hardcovers featuring this cover art for the entire series.

Seriously.

Well, she's a beaut. Even though, as everyone noted, the Stevie Nicks image is on the outs.

Nice to see the covers as they were meant to be.

Leigh- wha? Should you be hitting the classifieds right about now? I sense procrastination...

Woof™.

I think this image captures the intense focus of Moiraine--her near single-minded dedication to her cause. You look at her face here, and you can believe she would be very capable of all she does. I do think the face has that "ageless" look as well, a difficult-to-achieve accomplishment. While I might quibble with the "accessories," they do little to take away from the most important part of the painting, her face.

What might be an evocative image of Nynaeve is when she's under water, near to drowning, and finally learns to embrace sidar, the moment before Lan rescues her. In a way, it's a pivotal moment for her. I can't remember which book that happens in, though.

I'd love to see some of the Aiel, or Cadsuane on a cover.

For the gathering storm, I think it gives too much away to have Egwene fighting the whatchamacallits. I think the scene in her room with Verrin where Verrin tells her that her dress is brown (or was it another color) would be very intriguing, but give nothing away. Verrin deserves to be represented, as does Egwene, and this was such a moving episode in the story.

Very nice. Me like cover of Moiraine. There are flaws, but overall... yea, I like it!

RE Future Covers:
It has been mostly focused to a single character per cover, except for eBook 2. But still, I would like a cover of a meeting between Forsaken. Or a battle! That would be nice. =)

wonderful work!!!

The artist has done a nice work here.
But there is something I noticed. Is the ring she is wearing a great serpent ring!!! It doesn't look like one!!! and is Moiraine always wearing her blue cloak?

very lovely cover. i never expect art to match my expectations if it's something like what was attempted here. instead i simply enjoy the artist's talent and allow the details i find exceptional to enhance the mental image i already had for the subject. here, my image of moiraine grew much more crisp, and i thank you.

i saw that the one thing i would have commented on in the previous comments i was beaten on (pointing out to leigh that Lanfear was on tGH cover), so i'm just going to list my thoughts on ideas for future covers, cause there's no way i could leave this page WITHOUT giving them. heh heh...

despite hearing LoC and aCoS are already picked, i think, i'm going to give my ideas for all remaining published books anyway, because i can, by joe!

LoC: several thoughts came to mind, some mentioned in previous comments and some not. two have lingered that i can't decide on, and a 3rd just popped into my head that was nagging at the back since i started contemplating this book. so, they are:
1) Demandred in profile (we've never really seen him yet) at the Pit of Dhoom, Shaidar Haran at his side
2) Rand when he visited the Two Rivers girls in Caemlyn, specifically scaring the living daylights out of them by picking Bode up and such.
3) Mat in Salidar at the party for Egwene's raising to the Stole & Staff. dancing with Leane particularly, or maybe right after realizing who she is. i've always wanted to see randlander parties, like in the tEotW when nearly everyone dances in the inn or the tiganza Perrin saw with the Tinkers ;). this is the last time we have this sort of scene, y'know, (i don't count the Feast of Lights/Swovan Night in the next book) and it's kind of sad.

here on i will attempt to limit myself to two ideas. first being what i am forced to whittle down to as 'best' represents the book, either in events that took place, most memorable moment overall, or what gives an insight to a certain characters/group during that book. the second will be an obligatory Mat moment *winning grin* unless i decide a Mat moment best fits for slot #1.

aCoS: again, too many. every book has too many. too many moments. if i could have a picture album of my favorite moments in WoT.... it would prolly break any coffee table due to it's sheer weight. anyway:
1) Rand balefiring Liah in Shadar Logoth as she is caught by Mashadar :'( it will hint to any new reader who just finished LoC that she isn't forgotten, if they can make the connection just by looking at the cover.
2) Mat hanging on a statue searching for that damn hat with white plumes in Ebou Dar. one of the reasons for this specifically is because i want to see Ebou Dar and the people, but it's certainly not the only one.

tPoD: this would have been three but i rejected including Rand giving Fedwyn a cup of wine on account of other characters need a cover. so:
1) Elayne/Nynaeve/Aviendha, Windfinders and Kin using the Bowl. this scene will cover a lot of curiousities if you can squeeze at least five people and the Bowl into it. a single person also works though.
2) Mat aint in here, of course, therefore i'm all for someone making up something hilarious to be whatever was so embarrassing to Elayne when she was fiddling with ter'angreal on her way to Caemlyn. i really wanna know what that was but i suspect i never will.

WH: this book was not hard:
1) Perrin and Tallanvor watching the night until they're half-dead for word on the women.
2) Mat nearly getting the shit kicked out of him by Tuon

CoT: this was not hard to me either, but i'm switching the ideas in light i think Mat's is best overall:
1) Mat watching Renna get hit by Harnan's crossbow bolt, or watching her float down the stream, or riding away, or even when he gets back to the show. just something depicting/related to that event.
2) Alviarin watching Mesaana get taken to task by Shaidar Haran. It stuck with me.

KoD: unlike all previous books i've only read the last two and prequel twice. so this will take some thought:
1) i think i gotta give this one to Galad. much as i'd like to see Rand meeting Semirhage (though for cover purposes i'd suggest Rand meeting Tuon with a subtle effect showing something like part of her dress not matching the rest) or Nynaeve either leaving Lan at World's End/confronting Weilan Aldragoran, or Aram betraying Perrin, or a host of other moments, i think Galad fighting Valda or cleaning his blade on his cloak would be quite kool.
2) this is easy, and on any given day i might switch it for Galad. Tuon watching Mat planning over the map, maybe while talking to Talmanes. that or Mat, Selucia and Tuon sitting in the road waiting for Vanin. in light of 'Knife of Dreams' being from Fog and Steel, written by Comadrin (my namesake) i'm even more tempted to put Mat ahead of Galad. but.... i must save Mat's final cover for ToM, mustn't i? yes, i must....

tGS: this book is... a different dance altogether, really. but how can it not be? it's somewhat difficult to choose a scene... for Mat:
1) toss-up, i suppose, between Rand nearly killing Tam (let us see the weaves about to coalesce into balefire or something) and Egwene's first moment of awesome since... um....
2) sorry Mat. nothing stands out. how about Aviendha moving water with her fingers and talking to Min?

New Spring: one scene has always stood out for me in this book more than all others. Moiraine's test for the Shawl, when she does a court dance to dodge and kill Trollocs while staying in the six-pointed star to complete one of the hundred weaves.

@ Cumadrin 73:

2) Mat aint in here, of course, therefore i'm all for someone making up something hilarious to be whatever was so embarrassing to Elayne when she was fiddling with ter'angreal on her way to Caemlyn. i really wanna know what that was but i suspect i never will.

I thought that was pretty obvious. The ter'angreal was used for sexual pleasure in the AoL, and Elayne triggered it, which caused her to have an orgasm while surrounded by her friends. Most embarrassing for her.

Fell

@Fellknight 74:

i don't think so, but it's as good a guess as any. you would think Birgitte would also be angry as hell if it were like you think, seeing as the bond between her and Elayne shares more than it's supposed to. she was not amused when Rand showed up in WH and Elayne tripped him into bed.

I dont know if this was already addressed (I'm too lazy to read past the first 20 or so comments, sorry) but what is she holding in her hand? Is that supposed to be an angreal?

Looks fantastic! I'm sure Donato won't mind you holding on to his Hugo a little longer either ;)

@75 - I believe 74 is correct.

@76 - yes, the ivory bracelet angreal that M. leaves next to the gateway for Lanfear to pick up - this picture is M. getting ready to get the action started.

Of course I believe myself to be the person who appreciates the Wheel of Time series the most :) and this cover is fine with me...

Moiraine has ridden out knowing exactly where she's heading into. That is not the place for a diminutive Kairhienin noblewoman. The cover looks bold, full of energy. That's a good match for what she must have been feeling.

Maybe it's because I don't nitpick. I couldn't care less about what each person was wearing on a certain date on which finger. The Last Battle is what's important.

Dan, this is awesome. It's moving, it captures Morraine's personality, and it's well executed. The colors of blue are exquisite. Thank you so much for this.

Thank you Tor for redoing the covers!! I would happily spend money for new jackets for the books. Or new books. Or, hey, put them all in a calendar or something. Please!!!! They are so lovely, it is an absolute shame to not have them available in print.

(I expect Sweet probably has a contract of sorts about the book covers... *sigh* he can paint a horse, but I don't much care for his interpretation of Jordan's world. Ah well.)

Here are some images I feel are compelling:

* Moghedian collared by Nynaeve
* Perrin, Berelain, Faile and the associated tension.
* Rand in a box
* The Forsaken meeting together
* The girls and sea people around the bowl
* Mat with Tuan trying to "rescue" her
* The quarterstaff fight between Mat and Galad (although that's probably in a book already done, I can't remember offhand. I'm re-reading the series again, and currently Eye of the World is what is fresh in my mind.)
* Elayne walking the tightrope
* The Asha'Men attacking Rand - or, even more poignant, Rand and Min having to help his friend drink the punch immediately following that fight.
* The Darkhounds and their footprints have always stuck in my mind as well. I would love to see them depicted somewhere even though they play a very small role.
* The Maidens of the Spear surrounding Rand in battle, or something showing their dedication to the death. Whether at Dumais Wells or elsewhere, every one of their deaths affected him. They should be shown in some fashion.

Thank you again!! I will definitely have to look up more of Dan's work. I love his technique.

All I can say is wow. I have been a fan of WoT from the start. I bought the first in the early 90's and have been waiting these last 20 years for the series to conclude. I have also been hoping that it never ends. These people are part of me. I have re-read them all at leat 4 times and am presently reading the Dragon Reborn. I have loved the origonal Artwork but this just adds a whole new dimension to an already great work.

@74. FYI - Terez at Theoryland states that the ter'angreal caused Elayne to strip off her clothes and dance on a table. How she figured that out, I have no idea but it is presented as fact rather than guesswork.

Rob

RobM

I think the idea came from a little joke Birgitte made when Elayne was getting busy with Rand. She took Min and Avi to get so drunk that they will dance naked on tables.

But Terez tied it to the mysterious ter'angreal that caused Elayne to pass out and wake up with everyone smiling at her. It wasn't tied to her encounter with Rand and aftermath. R

RobM this is the theory I was referencing. Not sure if its the same one your thinking of

http://www.theoryland.com/theories.php?func=5&rec=77&theo=984

Would to the bbcode thing but that doesnt seem to be working

This is exactly how i imagine Moiraine, so i was thrilled to see this as a cover! I love including the terangreal and the letters too. I also enjoy her expression. in the comic art she always looks slightly mad when she's about to open a can of whoop ass. this is fat truer to her character. *thumbs up*

I love this cover. She's pretty close to how I envisage Moiraine. As for the costume I like the idea that she's picked up some clothes from the Waste - there's a real feel of Aiel influence.

LJ.

This is easily one of my favourites of the 8 cover arts currently released. To anyone who hasn't read all the way through TFoH and beyond, this may just be a pretty picture of a well dressed woman and burning bits of paper floating around; to anyone who has read the book, it's both chilling and beautiful.

Honestly though, I can't believe the nitpicking. "The gypsy belt doesn't fit", "Those clothes aren't Cairhienen", "Her hair is two shades too dark", and so on and so forth. Truly, we're going to poke and prod at such superficial things? Not me. Everything works; the clothes and jewelery nicely represent a woman of wealth, taste and formality, as well as show that she is clearly a traveled individual, having attire that seems to be influenced from different cultures.

Really great. Naysayers be damned.