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Rithmatist Cover and Info Revealed


Chaos
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Astute watchers of Brandon's website may have noticed (before Stormlight 2's progress bars began in earnest) that Brandon snuck in a revision to The Rithmatist, a book formerly known as Scribbler. Well, last week, Tor.com revealed the cover for The Rithmatist, which you can see right here.

So what is The Rithmatist? Well, it's a YA fantasy novel published by Tor Teen in May 2013. Brandon had finished the original draft of it in April 2007, but never had a chance to revise it (there was that thing you may have heard of--the Wheel of Time? Yeah). But now, it's ready to go. So while this year we don't get a non-Wheel of Time epic from Brandon, we get Legion and the Emperor's Soul, and we'll be getting The Rithmatist in May to tide us over until Stormlight 2.

And you should definitely be excited about The Rithmatist.

Here's what Brandon's editor at Tor Teen, Susan Chang, says on it:

The Rithmatist is an epic fantasy set in an alternate version of our world--a world in which life in the American Isles is threatened by the attacks of mysterious creatures known as Wild Chalklings. Chalklings are two-dimensional drawings that can be infused with life by Rithmatists and it is the job of the Rithmatists to keep the Wild Chalkings at bay.

You may wonder how a two-dimensional drawing could possibly be a threat. Here’s the answer: Wild Chalklings scurry across the ground like scorpions or land piranhas, and bite chunks out of your feet. At which point you fall to the ground and they swarm you. Enough said.

The Rithmatist is about a 14-year-old kid named Joel who wants desperately to be a Rithmatist. But he wasn’t Chosen, so he doesn’t have the ability to bring chalklings or Rithmatic lines to life. All he can do is watch as The Rithmatist students at Armedius Academy learn the mystical art that he would give anything to practice. Then Rithmatist students start disappearing, kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving only trails of blood. Joel’s professor asks him to help investigate—putting Joel and his friend Melody on the trail of a discovery that could change Rithmatics—and their world—forever...

As you can probably surmise from the cover, it is also steampunk. Yes. Steampunk, alternate America, and chalk. Sign me up, please.

Even more exciting is that Ben McSweeney (Inkthinker), who has illustrated things in The Way of Kings and the Mistborn Adventure Game, is illustrating The Rithmatist as well.

If this excites you, then you'll be really thrilled to know that Brandon's agent's website says that books #2 and #3 are under contract. There will be plenty of chalky goodness to go around.

Original Tor.com article

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