The new cover art looks great. The wacky colors in the title are what you get when you scan something printed with metallic silver ink, it seems, so ignore that effect. In person, it looks fantastic.

The book is about the size of the English version, only thicker. The hardcover gives it some good heft, and it even comes with an attached silver ribbon to help keep your place as you read. It’s snazzy, and it really makes me wish I could read Japanese.

First up, we have the novelization of the Mutant Chronicles film. This is listed as shipping August 26, but I wouldn’t put too much faith in that until the film’s release date is set. Still, they have the cover there, which looks great.

Next comes The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing Superheroes and Villains Illustrated. No cover up there yet, but it should look great. Yair Herrera of Chile drew all the gorgeous pictures, while I arranged the words around them. This is set for September 2.

After that, for September 9, we have a repackaged book in the Knights of the Silver Dragon Gift Set. This features the first three books in the Knights of the Silver Dragon series–including the first, my Secret of the Spiritkeeper–in a slipcased set. It also comes with Ree Soesbee’s Riddle in Stone and Dale Donovan and Linda Johns’s Sign of the Shapeshifter.

Finally, there’s the book I mentioned a while ago but couldn’t say much about. I still can’t say anything more than what’s up on this sparse listing, but since it’s a hardcover book titled Orcs, you might guess what it’s about. On November 4, you should be able to read the whole thing.

Whew!

Nina Hess, my kind and insightful editor for my Knights of the Silver Dragon series, wrote the book. She chose an interesting voice: that of Zendric, the wizard mentor I created for that same series.

I get a small sense of cognitive dissonance reading a book written by a character I created. It’s as if we’re narrowing in on a narrative paradox. To cross that Rubicon, all that has to happen is for Zendric to start writing about me.

Thanks for the report, Barak!

Look for Magic in the Mirrorstone in Spring 2008.

So, if you’re interested in reading the final chapter in the Knights of the Silver Dragon series, you could have been doing so already for almost three weeks! Get yourself to a bookstore and snatch up every copy you can find–if it’s not already too late.

I’m told that a major chain or two may not be carrying the book because the line has been ended. If that’s so, I recommend ordering the book through your friendly local bookseller or your favorite online outlet.

I’m looking forward to hearing what people think of this book and it’s immediate predecessor, Prophecy of the Dragons. They represent a huge shake-up in the city of Curston, and a major turning point in the heroes’ lives. I had a blast writing them too.

Because of the word that the line will end, I’m told not as many bookstores will carry these last two books. If you want them be sure to order them through your friendly local bookstore. Otherwise, you can find them online, too, in all the usual places.

If you were there with me at the beginning with Secret of the Spiritkeeper, be sure to join me for the finale!

In her kind way, Nina told me that, while Secret of the Spiritkeeper had sold well, the Knights line as a whole hadn’t kept up with Wizards’ hopes. The editorial team had made the hard decision to cancel the series.

Now, I’d known for a while that the line would come to an end–just not this soon. Not too long ago, Nina had commissioned two more novels in the series from me, which were slated to be books #17 and #20. The 20th book was meant to be the series’ capstone.

However, Wizards took a look at the numbers and decided that it would be better to end the series now. Book #14, The Dragons Revealed, will now be the final book. Look for it on shelves this August.

I don’t hold any ill will against Wizards for this decision. I’ve been a publisher myself, and publishing is a business. You have limited resources, and if you find that something isn’t generating the money it must, then you have to cut it loose.

Also, since I’ve only had one book in the series published to date, I can’t take it too personally. In fact, I’ve been going back and forth with Nina on a proposal for a whole new series, and with luck you’ll hear something good about that soon. She’s been wonderful in every interaction I’ve had with her, and I’m looking forward to working with her again.

In a way, it’s fitting that the line end with The Prophecy of the Dragons and The Dragons Revealed. The two-book story offers a huge shakeup to the setting and resolves a number of dangling plot lines, while still offering the hope of future adventures. That’s pretty much how I’d intended to end the series, albeit a bit later. Still, it should ring true.

So, no pity for me. Just go out there and pick up those last two books when they come out. Prophecy is due out June 13–this Tuesday–and Dragons hits stores August 8, the Wednesday after my birthday. And let me know what you think.