Behold, the cover for Brandon Sanderson’s upcoming novel, Mistborn: The Alloy of Law!
I’ve mentioned before that I had a chance to read an early draft of the novel. It was a load of fun. Looking at this cover, I know exactly who the two characters are. Well, I think. Wayne, on the left, is exactly how I pictured him. Except for one critical flaw! I probably can’t say what that is, but suffice to say it’s one I’m surprised they didn’t catch. Unless that’s really not Wayne?
The other character, Wax, on the right side, looks great. He sort of looks like Tom Cruise, eh? It’s a very good portrayal of that character. He’s the main protagonist, so I’m glad the artist (Chris McGrath) depicted him so well.
Chris McGrath, by the way, has done other Mistborn covers, and they’re outstanding. My favorite is the first one he did for the series (link).
Here’s the publisher’s plot description for Alloy of Law:
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.
Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice. One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will.
After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.
Alloy of Law is due out in Fall, 2011.
Two years later and I’m just reading through the book and I guess I have the same confusion over the cover as you had. Why the gun..?