There’s already a lot of buzz around Seth Dickinson’s debut fantasy novel, The Traitor Baru Cormorant, and we are pleased to reveal both the Tor Books and Tor UK covers! Dickinson’s epic fantasy centers on Baru Cormorant, a character who rivals the entire Lannister clan in wit, cunning, and ambition.
“Seth Dickinson’s novel has everything I look for as an editor,” said Tor Books editor Marco Palmieri, “focusing on issues any 21st century reader can relate to: having to hide who you really are in a world that disapproves of you; becoming part of a monstrous system that oppresses those less powerful; and the moral compromises that are sometimes made for the sake of a greater good. It’s strong stuff, beautifully told, transcending genre, and it rips my heart out every time I read it.”
Julie Crisp, editor at Tor UK, said, “I’ve always been a fan of epic fantasy with strong female characters so when I started reading about Baru Cormorant, a character whom Cersei Lannister would be hard-pushed to outwit and be more devious than, I knew we were onto something fun.”
The Traitor Baru Cormorant will be released simultaneously in the US and the UK (where it will be published as The Traitor) on September 15, 2015. Check out both covers and learn more about the novel below!
The US cover, by artist Sam Weber:
And the UK cover, designed by Neil Lang:
From the catalog copy:
When the Empire of Masks conquers her island home, overwrites her culture, criminalizes her customs, and murders one of her fathers, young Baru Cormorant vows to swallow her hate, join the Empire’s civil service, and claw high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.
Sent as an Imperial agent to distant Aurdwynn, another conquered country, Baru discovers it’s on the brink of rebellion. Drawn by the intriguing duchess Tain Hu into a circle of seditious dukes, Baru may be able to use her position to help. As she pursues a precarious balance between the rebels and a shadowy cabal within the Empire, she orchestrates a do-or-die gambit with freedom as the prize. But winning the long game of saving her people may be far more costly than Baru imagines.
Look for Dickinson’s novel in both the US and the UK on September 15, 2015!
