Pre-release City of Dragons (spoilers Farseer, LST, TM and RWC)

[Jussi]

City of Dragons US cover art:

http://www.harpercollinscatalogs.com/TR/..._Cover.jpg

[Farseer]

Jussi, Super Sleuth ...thank you!

No doubt this is Heeby in the foreground, with Rapskal near the doors? Anyone's guess as to the dragon in flight!

Hmm. The doors are featured here intact, though they weren't when Fitz and then Tintaglia walked through them. A slight oversight (I know I'm being picky ) or just a different part of Kelsingra, and therefore not the Citadel of Records?

*jumps around the room* *squeals like a little girl* I just can't WAIT to see what they find behind the locked doors that greeted Fitz! I also hope Alise can shed some light on the lady and the dragon featured in the map tower window!!

Just imagine what we may come to know if Alise and Fitz could get together and translate some 'stuff'?! Please, Fitz, listen to the calling of the city just one...more...time!

I love the cover, by the way. Though I'm not sure if it's because it's actually a good cover or because I am just so gosh darned excited about soon having the thing in my hands!!!

Will we see one/some of the keepers touching the Skill-pillar and going 'through' it?

['thul]

So far as these beings can see, the character by the doors is more or less human. At least it has brown/black hair and a human skin tone.

As for the door... Unless the second door panel (the right one) is made of stone, there is only half the door present. If it is open, as evidence indicates, then it would be visible, yet there is a clear stone block pattern to the wall where it should have been.

These beings do truly like the way the dragons are drawn, even if they did not quite imagine Heeby that way. They are anatomically realistic, with a wingspan sufficient to keep such large creatures in the air.

The way the buildings look also supports the idea that the city is long abandoned. Aged building stone, leaves and soil matter on the ground, a feeling of near-emptiness.

Is this truly for once a cover artist that has actually read the preceding books? (optimistic)
Or is it merely RH giving the artist detailed specifications? (somewhat pessimistic)

[finella]

I love the cover – but on the second glance. At first I was a bit disappointed, because it looked naive to me. But after sort of hanging over my desk and almost sticking to the monitor for quite a while, I decided to love it. I like the stairs, covered with moss, I like the buildings, looking abondend, but mysterious and somehow mightful. I love Heeby (yes, it mus be Heeby). I get the feeling of secrets, miracles and so much more, that await us. Hach, I can hardly wait for coming back to Kelsingra and the dragons and people I came so close to <3.

[joost]

I don't like the cover. I'm gonna wait for the British version.

[Farseer]

^ Any thoughts on what will appear on its cover? We've already had Verity-as-Dragon on AQ, Tintaglia on SOD, Icefyre on FF, Sintara (?) on DK and Heeby featured on DH. Thinking outside the box, maybe a rat or a pecksie?! Will the 'animalish' trend continue for the duration, do you think, or could we see an Elderling-like depiction soon?

As for the door... Unless the second door panel (the right one) is made of stone, there is only half the door present. If it is open, as evidence indicates, then it would be visible, yet there is a clear stone block pattern to the wall where it should have been.

Yes, I can see the stone to the right but a little to the left kind of looks like wood (?) which made me think that the wooden doors were depicted as still being intact (with there being a slight overhang or verandah kind of thingy at the very front). Looking closer (I had to save and enlarge by the way...the vagaries of age!), there is, what appears to be, a wrought iron gate there?

I'd have thought that segments of both of the doors would still be laying quite close to the opening, where they'd crashed/hung from their hinges, but it's a small matter (one which I'd not have thought to bring up if I hadn't had to look so closely at the doors during past discussions see post #23 - #26!). Of course, it is highly likely that they can't be seen simply because they have fallen down well inside, so are out of view. They are, after all (at least, from what I could gather from the text), inward-swinging doors!!

These beings do truly like the way the dragons are drawn, even if they did not quite imagine Heeby that way.

I do like the way they have been drawn as well. Although, the Heeby interpretation does seem consistent with the dragon on the US version of DK, which I had assumed was Heeby in flight? Overall, it appears to be consistent with the previous two covers as well?

@ finella: "I decided to love it" - I have decided to love this comment of yours, finella!!

['thul]

These beings do not recall fully, but was not only one of those doors fallen in the books?

[finella]

(I had to save and enlarge by the way...the vagaries of age!)
that is, why I almost stuck to the monitor ! And by all means, I can recognize the small iron gate; I recognize the dark (black?) stone, but have no chance to see wood somewhere around. I can't see, that this entrance has ever had a wooden door at all. The door would have necessarily been too large. From the proportions to me it's not possible that it has fallen inside. The distance to the iron gate is too small. And if is has fallen outside, you possibly would have seen something on the stairs, even if it's rotten. But perhaps I'm talking about completely different things and do not see what you see - the age, you see

['thul]

It does indeed look like an wrought iron gate and not a wooden door. But unless these beings recall incorrectly, this building cannot be the map tower. for one, there's the lack of wooden doors... Second, there's the domed roof rather than a tower, and last, but not least, there's the fact that at least one building behind and to the right looks to be taller. The map tower was, if 'thul recall correctly, the highest building in Kelsingra.

By the way, did any of you notice that the dragon's tail passes through the "O" in "Dragons"?

Now, on to criticizing the dragon...

Firstly, magma-red eyes give the wrong impression... As does that smoke coming out of its nostrils... (Unless it be watery vapor from chilled air)

The wings, while appropriately sized, are still somewhat wrong... No flying creature, mammalian or reptilian, has an extra bone protruding from its "elbow" to hold wing surface. It is anatomically incorrect. (you can see the bone distribution from the flying dragon. each spot where there is a tapering point on the wings there is a bone)

The scales are far too large. If, as one should presume, that dragon is fully grown, then it is probably at least 10-20m long, depending on how much tail it has. That would make the average scale size at 10cm radius, if not bigger. The scales, especially on the body itself, are far too rectangular. Scales are generally quite elongated.

Ears. RotE dragons have to the knowledge possessed by these beings never been described as having such huge ears. They are ridiculously large.

Wing structure. Wings are, especially in DK/DH, described to have feathery scales, yet the wings on this picture are leathery. How come?

Musculature. The front leg visible is far too thin below the knees. It is most incapable of holding a dragon's weight up. The parts of the rear leg visible are much better though.

Ok, these beings are now done criticizing the dragon. Any (dis)agreements? Comments?

[Farseer]

^ I'll have to come back to respond to this.

In the meantime, does anyone have any objections to my possibly changing this thread title to City of Dragons, now that the title of "The Next Book" has been confirmed? *shrugs* I know there will also be updates on Blood of Dragons / Dragon Blood now and then but I can always make a thread for that as well, closer to the release date or post-CoD release?