Malazan Empire: What do the covers depict - Malazan Empire

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What do the covers depict

#1 User is offline   sinag55 

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Posted 10 July 2006 - 04:45 AM

don't know if this was already discussed elsewhere. i'm reading MoI right now and i'm just wondering, what do the covers of each book depict? MoI seems to be the T'lan Imass marching/attacking some walled city(haven't finished it yet), GotM seems to be the attack on Pale. Thanks for any help.
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#2 User is offline   mmdw45 

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Posted 10 July 2006 - 09:35 PM

I'm not sure about GotM or DG, but MoI appears to depict the aftermath of the attack on Capustan (that's Gruntle on the cover, and I think Stonny, although she's described once as having hair of midnight black and another time as red-headed, so who knows?) and House of Chains appears to be depicting Onrack and Trull Sengar just before Onrack hits a statue.

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#3 User is offline   Illuyankas 

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Posted 10 July 2006 - 09:57 PM

Depends on which version you have. The UK cover of MOI just has a generic castle being attacked by T'lan Imass for no reason. That series of covers seem to have almost no connection to the contents at all, sometimes.
Hello, soldiers, look at your mage, now back to me, now back at your mage, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped being an unascended mortal and switched to Sole Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re in a warren with the High Mage your cadre mage could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an acorn with two gates to that realm you love. Look again, the acorn is now otataral. Anything is possible when your mage smells like Sole Spice and not a Bole brother. I’m on a quorl.
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#4 User is offline   Agraba 

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Posted 10 July 2006 - 10:54 PM

The MOI cover is the Pannion's peasant army beseiging Capustan. They have been starved, so they're very skeleton-like.

GotM is Anomander Rake at Pale, although it's a horrible picture because he has black hair, there's no army, and for some strange reason, he's shooting lightning from his sword.
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#5 User is offline   Dolorous Menhir 

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Posted 10 July 2006 - 10:56 PM

GotM: don't know about other editions, but the UK cover has a dark-cloaked figure raising a sword above his head, with a city in the distance. The obvious choice for the figure would be Rake, since he has the most notable sword (Dragnipur), and that would make the city Pale or Darujhistan. But there are no scenes in the books where he wields it in this manner.

During the Enfilade he was just using sorcery at a distance, so doubt he was holding Dragnipur in his hands. And of course he was on the top of Moon's Spawn - which was over Pale at the time, not outside it. In the picture he appears to be standing on a rock outside the city, which is not a scene in the books.

As for the city itself, it's either Pale (it appears small and walled) or Darujhistan (but Darjhistan is large, undefended, coastal). It's probably Pale, since it doesn't meet the description of Darujhistan in any way...basically the picture has nothing to do with the book.

DG: It's just some people from the Chain of Dogs, I never tried to nail down if they were actual named characters.

Actually, pulling the book down right now and looking at it, none of those little people appear to be Wickans, Malazan soldiers or refugees. The skull on a spear carried by one is particularly confusing. Perhaps they are Seven Cities tribesman of some sort, for example the various ones that pursued Fiddler and company every now and then. But not soldiers of the Seventh.

You would guess the bald-magic type was supposed to be Sormo Enath...except that he had the body of a child. Maybe Iskaral Pust, but I don't think so, the white-clad figures in the background don't correspond to anyone I can think of in the book .So I guess the artist just drew some generic fantasy picture again. Perhaps SE has no creative control over this aspect.

As for MoI, it could be (spoiler because you haven't finished it yet)
Spoiler


That's not how I imagine it at all though, and it doesn't match events at Capustan, if I remember right - no Imass were involved there?

Basically the covers have very little to do with the books. I guess conversations with artists are restricted to "there's a guy with a magic sword in it, and a city too" or "there are some warriors in the desert, and it's a bit windy".

edit: Agraba - I'm pretty sure they are Imass. The Tenescowrii may be starved and skeletal, but I don't think food deprivation would make them bestial in appearance or wear antlers and animal hides - it's clearly a Bonecaster directing things on the left.

And yeah, I missed the white hair thing. Kind of obvious really. The other notable character with a sword is Paran (Choice) but that would make the city Darujhistan (which as I said, doesn't fit at all. They might not tell these artists much, but I figure "coastal" would get a mention in even the briefest of descriptions). And when he was approaching Darujhistan he had his hands full with a dying Coll, not posing on hilltops with a lightning sword.
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#6 User is offline   Illuyankas 

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Posted 11 July 2006 - 12:30 AM

The Imass never march anywhere, they just appear out of the ground, reassembling from the dust.
Spoiler

Hello, soldiers, look at your mage, now back to me, now back at your mage, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped being an unascended mortal and switched to Sole Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re in a warren with the High Mage your cadre mage could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an acorn with two gates to that realm you love. Look again, the acorn is now otataral. Anything is possible when your mage smells like Sole Spice and not a Bole brother. I’m on a quorl.
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#7 User is offline   sinag55 

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Posted 11 July 2006 - 01:49 AM

too bad the artist didn't even bother to research on what he was going to work on. would've thought a series as great as this would deserve better. nice art though.
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#8 User is offline   Illuyankas 

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Posted 11 July 2006 - 03:35 AM

The new artist for the remaining US releaes has though, even asking us for ideas on covers, so the new ones should be much better. House Of Chain's cover looks really good.
Hello, soldiers, look at your mage, now back to me, now back at your mage, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped being an unascended mortal and switched to Sole Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re in a warren with the High Mage your cadre mage could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an acorn with two gates to that realm you love. Look again, the acorn is now otataral. Anything is possible when your mage smells like Sole Spice and not a Bole brother. I’m on a quorl.
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#9 User is offline   sinag55 

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Posted 11 July 2006 - 05:45 AM

that's great! hope those are the editions that will be distributed in my country though...
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#10 User is offline   tiam 

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Posted 11 July 2006 - 06:18 AM

on DG i thought the ppl on the cover (UK version) were lostara and the red blades after or going towards shaiks assasination?
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#11 User is offline   I HATE PORMQUAL 

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Posted 18 July 2006 - 02:50 AM

Illuyankas said:

Depends on which version you have. The UK cover of MOI just has a generic castle being attacked by T'lan Imass for no reason. That series of covers seem to have almost no connection to the contents at all, sometimes.


isnt the cover of MOI (i believe Australia has the UK versions) got a T'lan Imass, facing you (you know, you can see his body) and a T'lan Imass army standing there in front of what im sure is CORAL. coral's keep was up the top and built into a mountain side. also im sure its a T'lan Imass because hes got all the gurs and the antler helm. if i didnt know any better i'd say that was tool. but the cover artist would have been told a proper scene that would fit in with the book right? like the characters in the right spots right?

oh wait, GOTM, my bad

EDIT: speaking of the SUPER WEAK cover for GOTM, the seige of pale went for i think 8 years? ON A PEICE OF CRAP LIKE THAT, the big bad wolf could blow the walls down. the artists really need to do some proper artwork. Wheel of time had some cool artowork, then they reprinted and gave the whole series a generic cover and just changed the colour for every book
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#12 User is offline   Illuyankas 

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Posted 18 July 2006 - 03:24 AM

Man, you should have seen the original Eye Of The World cover. Cliche, silly and it looked crap. The later books at least had some interesting stuff on. At least I think, those are all just a blur now.
Hello, soldiers, look at your mage, now back to me, now back at your mage, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped being an unascended mortal and switched to Sole Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re in a warren with the High Mage your cadre mage could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an acorn with two gates to that realm you love. Look again, the acorn is now otataral. Anything is possible when your mage smells like Sole Spice and not a Bole brother. I’m on a quorl.
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#13 User is offline   Dolorous Menhir 

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Posted 18 July 2006 - 08:31 AM

I like the Wheel of Time emblem. It looks quite classy when you have all the books sitting together. The other covers look terrible, cod fantasy twaddle, guys with beards on horses.
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Posted 18 July 2006 - 12:10 PM

Insightful covers or not. The UK MoI cover was got me started reading this series. Just looked, I dunno, interesting, cool, epic. . . And yeah I started with MoI. Me = :confused: for a bit.
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#15 User is offline   Illuyankas 

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Posted 18 July 2006 - 02:25 PM

I wouldn't worry, I did too. Although I was convinced it was a stand alone book until I got to 'The Third Book In The Malazan Book Of The Fallen' at the end of the epilogue. Sure, it had critic's reviews of the other books earlier, but MOI looked too interesting to wait any longer to read it. I can say, that the wait to read DHG after Duiker's little final paragraph was worth it ;) (mwahaha)
Hello, soldiers, look at your mage, now back to me, now back at your mage, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped being an unascended mortal and switched to Sole Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re in a warren with the High Mage your cadre mage could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an acorn with two gates to that realm you love. Look again, the acorn is now otataral. Anything is possible when your mage smells like Sole Spice and not a Bole brother. I’m on a quorl.
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#16 User is offline   Wry 

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Posted 18 July 2006 - 02:30 PM

Oddly enough i started reading with HoC... because it had a good cover lol. Bit strange that i enjoyed a book so far into a series.
“Arm yourself, Watson, there is an evil hand afoot ahead"
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#17 User is offline   Illuyankas 

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Posted 19 July 2006 - 12:32 AM

Yeah, actually. HOC is the book I'd say was the second worst 'stand alone novel' in the series, after TBH. [most minor spoiler I've ever bothered putting into tags, frankly]
Spoiler


EDIT: 1,000TH POST!
Hello, soldiers, look at your mage, now back to me, now back at your mage, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped being an unascended mortal and switched to Sole Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re in a warren with the High Mage your cadre mage could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an acorn with two gates to that realm you love. Look again, the acorn is now otataral. Anything is possible when your mage smells like Sole Spice and not a Bole brother. I’m on a quorl.
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#18 User is offline   Wry 

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Posted 19 July 2006 - 12:49 AM

Illuyankas said:

Yeah, actually. HOC is the book I'd say was the second worst 'stand alone novel' in the series, after TBH. [most minor spoiler I've ever bothered putting into tags, frankly]
Spoiler


EDIT: 1,000TH POST!


True, but the great thing about it was that I got to go back and discover all the really big things that affected that story - you know the kind were you think "Am i ever going to get read about that, or will it just be hint hint hint"
“Arm yourself, Watson, there is an evil hand afoot ahead"
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#19 User is offline   Illuyankas 

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Posted 19 July 2006 - 01:02 AM

That's exactly what I thought after the MOI epilogue, regarding DHG ;)
Hello, soldiers, look at your mage, now back to me, now back at your mage, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped being an unascended mortal and switched to Sole Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re in a warren with the High Mage your cadre mage could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an acorn with two gates to that realm you love. Look again, the acorn is now otataral. Anything is possible when your mage smells like Sole Spice and not a Bole brother. I’m on a quorl.
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#20 User is offline   tiam 

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Posted 20 July 2006 - 09:01 AM

The cover of MOI depicts the imass doesnt it? Someone sed it was the tenescowri
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