Shadowhawk takes a look at the second Powder Mage novel from Brian McClellan.

“A great cover that is superior to the one for the first novel, which was already quite amazing.” ~Shadowhawk

About a month ago I did an “Upcoming” post for Brian McClellan’s debut novel Promise of Blood (read here). The book will be released on 16th April, and it is a book I’m really looking forward to reading, since I love the premise, the setting is really intriguing, the artwork is great, and Orbit put out some great books.

The mark of a good sequel is that it builds upon what has come before, whether that is the story itself, the characters or the cover. Since currently there is no blurb for the novel that I can find, and the 2014 Spring catalog from Orbit isn’t available yet, all I can share with you all is the cover for The Crimson Campaign.

The cover is truly fantastic, much more expressive and atmospheric than the one for Promise of Blood. And it also promises a ton of action, if that battlefield behind/around the central character, Field Marshal Tamas. As Brian himself said on his blog (read here), he had a hard time believing Orbit could top the cover for the first book, and has been pleasantly surprised. My congratulations to both Brian and the Orbit Art team for turning out such a gorgeous cover that reflects the mood from the cover for the first novel, and provides a strong thematic consistency for the series.

Here it is!

The Crimson Campaign will be releasing in February 2014, and I wish Brian all the best for the release of Promise of Blood and post-release success.

What do you think of the cover? Do you like it? Hate it? Ambivalent? Share your thoughts in the comments!