Ranking and roasting all the original Wheel of Time covers

[@Bookborn]

OK so on most of the covers it's Aviendha, not Elayne. My bad. I forgot that she wears that outfit when... [redacted for spoilers]. I still maintain that her attitude is all wrong and I won't stand for it 😂

[@RussiasSufferingInUkraine]

In the Great Hunt, the woman is Lanfear.

[@StfuFFS]

12:42 as stated by the prior person, it was the Daughter of the Night, Mieren, on the cover. She's one of the characters I was hoping would receive a deathbed vindication like Verin but she just vanished into the hell of loose ends like Moiraine.

[@azurastar3223]

I always thought the front of the great hunt was Lanfear and Rand for some reason, mostly cause they spend a lot of the book traveling together

[@RussiasSufferingInUkraine]

@@azurastar3223 I thought it was Lanfear and Rand too. And she's in white which Lanfear wore.

[@mongoluubuu]

haha i actually yelled that at my t.v. when i saw this segment

[@jakebishop7822]

Bookborn: Hey let's just do what most people would consider a quick, easy, fun video also Bookborn: does a ton of research

[@Bookborn]

I can't help myself, what can I say

[@billmilligan7272]

Yes, we were still unhappy when the real Gathering Storm cover was released. It's the "Rand Yells at the Dark One to Get The Hell Off His Lawn" cover.

[@s.r.dragonreads4915]

I really enjoyed how you put in the quotes of Robert Jordans thoughts, made this cover ranking a lot more interesting and engaging than the other ones I have seen.

[@Bookborn]

Thanks for watching!

[@Tadicuslegion78]

I do miss the days when Books had epic paintings on their covers that you'd want to find a print off and hang on the wall.

[@aethylwulfeiii6502]

So way before wheel of time was released.

[@TheMaginor]

For the Great Hunt, I always thought it was Rand, Selene and Loial. The Fires of Heaven gets the iconic look of Mat right, which is good. You are not entirely correct about a Crown of Swords. They had the DKS art on the physical copies here, but I think they introduced alternative versions around that time that bookstores could choose. Agree that the Path of Daggers cover is great. The woman on Winter's Heart should be Berelain or Alliendre or one of the Aes Sedai in that camp? The Gathering Storm: given what scene it is, it makes more sense for it to be Min, but wrong hair color.. A Memory of Light: Rand is on the mockup cover though.. on top of the pyre. In general, it is not just the size of people being off, but their internal proportions and poses. And all the horses except for Lan's are too small, not just Moraine's.

[@khultak]

Yeah, my copy of Crown of Swords was the full art cover version but it was the first edition hardcover, this is actually the first time I've seen the version that Bookborn showed on the video. I bought it in Oregon, right around the time of release.

[@matthewklick8475]

Yea, Great Hunt I assumed it was Rand, Loial, and Selene

[@matthewklick8475]

Yea, I have Crown of swords on paperback as well

[@cloudbloom]

The cover for eye of the world is what drew me to the series initially in my late teenage years, I think it's a great classic fantasy book cover which gets the imagination churning

[@Bookborn]

As long as you don't look too hard at the sizes, I totally agree. Something about that moon!

[@Rhand007]

Cool, me too :) Caught my eye in the library when I was 16. I ignored it for a few weeks because it was such a huge book, but then I said sod it and took it with me. Best decision of my life when it comes to books.

[@nevarran]

I remember finding the cover weird when I started reading the books. That was around 2003, and these are very 90s covers. But I got fond of them eventually. And I agree, The Eye of The World is the best and most memorable one, as flawed as it is :)

[@Bookborn]

It’s hard not to start loving a cover when you love the inside contents. It becomes special even if we can all agree some of them aren’t the best lol

[@jazzyb4656]

The Wheel of Time series book art is awful imo, apart from A Memory of Light art work. Compared to the art work on Raymond E. Feist and David Gemmell books of the same time, there is no camparison.

[@Bookborn]

I mean it must've appealed to SOMEBODY...as it sold so well and Sweet did just SO much work during his career. But...I agree, other than like two of them, they don't do much for me at all.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

I enjoy the quaintness of it somehow! And would be thrilled to have the other series of evocative artwork!

[@thewhiskybowman]

I knew there was something else I meant to say, and forgot by the end of the video! The Great Hunt cover, isn't it meant to be Rand, Loial and "Selene" after they come back from the portal stone world and nick the horn back?

[@Bookborn]

Yes, it is def that scene! I didn't realize that Selene was featured on TWO covers, which is why I always thought it was Egwene. I think that's a...weird choice for some reason.

[@thewhiskybowman]

@@Bookborn I don't know about it being a weird choice, I'm probably surprised there aren't more of the group she is a part of on the covers tbh, as they are pretty integral to the story. And at least she isn't on a horse...

[@eczenarosa4396]

For Fires of Heaven, I think the red head girl is Aviendha.

[@Bookborn]

You would be very correct

[@trewaldo]

The 90s covers of the books remind me of some of the artworks in various cards of Magic: The Gathering in those days. But I'm still looking for a convincing bit before I get started with the WoT series. 😍🤓🥰

[@Bookborn]

I mean it's a long journey, I don't blame you for hesitating lol

[@capacamaru]

At least he wasn't like Terry Goodkind, trash talking an artist who was just doing what the publisher asked for.

[@Bookborn]

From what I've heard about Terry Goodkind...he doesn't seem like the best kind of person 🙃

[@Bcananzey]

I hate this show. So disappointed. I refuse to watch any more. I'm watching your videos to see what other horrible choices they made.

[@scarybarry1323]

Lord of Chaos has a good cover and I’m tired of pretending it’s not. I will die on this hill.

[@Bookborn]

LOL YES this is the hot take I needed today

[@1519Spring]

Great job overall: Nic Cage much more than Elvis.

[@Bookborn]

Hard agree!

[@bradys_luck6963]

Egween 😭😭😭 why my ears I’ve never heard that before

[@Bookborn]

Yeah my good friend in the booktube community was like "oh girl, please no how could you say it that way". I'm going to try to change but no promises 😂

[@thebigivalbowlski]

I think my favorite would have to be the Great Hunt. I liked it because the main characters went their separate ways only to be reunited again in the battle against the Seachan.

[@channelnamepending8329]

I was also very embarrassed to read lord of chaos in public. 🤮 awful cover.

[@readbykyle3082]

I think literally all of these covers are bad, with Eye of the World and Path of Daggers being the only ones with a passing grade from me. I'm so glad fantasy covers have gotten sooooooo much better. I congratulate you on all of your hard work here, though. Side note, it's great that Jordan would mention that people would write to him about picking up WoT due to the cover, however this man was clearly deluding himself because it's impossible to know how many people saw the covers and decided to NOT pick them up :P

[@Bookborn]

Well, I think that quote from Jordan was him trying to extend a hand of friendship since he literally crapped on all the covers constantly. Like there were a thousand quotes of him complaining about them 😂

[@37mam09]

SO COOL!!

[@Bookborn]

Thanks for watching :)

[@pjalexander_author]

As a huge fan of cover art, I love this deep dive you did! And very nice touch doing the research to give us RJ's thoughts on the covers as well. Great video! 💯

[@Bookborn]

Thanks :) As a connoisseur, what's your favorite cover art?? Or better yet, who's your fav artist?

[@pjalexander_author]

@@Bookborn oh I wouldn't call myself a connoisseur lol. But I'll mention that for a long time I've searched for a set of LOTR books with the just the right covers, and recently I think I found them! Look up the Christopher Moisan/Johan Egerkrans covers. I love the atmosphere and the color palette, and they have a fittingly classic style while still feeling modern to me. I have them and they look even better in real life. I also love the cover for Circe! Also, I completely agree with you in your video where you showed the SPFBO covers (your husband's site that displays them is terrific!) There are some great ones in there! You're right, indie authors and their illustrators (sometimes the same person) have really stepped up their game. I love a lot of those covers much more than most trad published covers.

[@Erchamion65]

Just wanted to point out that Rand is actually in Sweet's art for Memory of Light. Personally like it way more than the final cover. Great video!

[@Bookborn]

I mean he's *technically* on it (I didn't mention what that was to avoid HUGE series spoilers) but he's not REALLY on it. I mean I like that there is a very clear version of Rand on the final cover. I do quite like the cover, though, like I said, but I will admit I wouldn't love it for the last book.

[@wadefan06]

I'm pretty sure it's Aviendha, not Elayne, in Fires of Heaven and The Gathering Storm.

[@cloudbloom]

Yep it's her

[@Bookborn]

It is! Honestly it's her on most of the covers. It's because I never picture her in a dress, but pants that I blinded myself haha. I forgot that she wears that outfit when she's starting to become a leader and leaves the Maidens. But then...I stand by EVEN MORE that she wouldn't wear something like that!

[@frostburnwoof]

Nick Cage! I died. I'll never unsee it! And now, someone is gonna edit the show and plaster Nick's face on Rand. lol That giant Rand in Lord of Chaos must be a little jab at Jordan. Hey, you want him taller? Here! lol That Office insert was hilarious. I got into Wheel of Time pretty late tbh. But it's the cover for Memory of Light that made me realize I should love myself more and start reading the entire series.

[@Bookborn]

lol one of my insta followers and I were discussing if they cast Nic Cage as Rand. CAN YOU IMAGINE. What a fun and disturbing thought exercise 😂 I love the idea of Sweet being like IS THIS BIG ENOUGH FOR YOU JORDAN??! And that's not my canon about Lord of Chaos.

[@rogerhuggettjr.7675]

I think you had a solid ranking of the covers. I like the point that the art isn't necessarily about what's in the book as much as a poster to sell the book. It seems to me that it fails on both levels. As a man of 55, I feel that the cartoonish covers poorly display what a deep series it is. I don't feel that way about Michael Wheelan art in Asimov and Anne McCaffrey books. Often, I feel some of the perceived YA nature of the genre comes from how it appears on shelves. I feel the "dwarf Moiraine" comment. I wish they didn't say she it short in the books as I picture her more as a Kate Beckinsale in my mind. The character on the cover never would have physically been able to execute her confrontation with Lanfear in book 5. I'm in book 6 and the only thing I can guess about the Fabio scene is that maybe he looks so confused is because this might be where he's getting bonded uninvited. What I now find are trollics I thought were Seanchan based on how they were dressed more like insects than animals dressed like men. BTW, I've heard book 7 called "Rand never misses arm day" cover.

[@Bookborn]

"Rand never misses arm day" 🤣 We need to rename the entire series after this naming convention

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Moiraine the halfling wizard on her white gelding beside Lan who’s ready to go to war! Followed by Rand al’Castor Troy! (Nic Cage - Face/Off)

[@Bookborn]

QUICK, get this into production!

[@JM-pm3tb]

Why did Jordan have such a hard time contacting Sweet to discuss the covers? Did TOR purposely not give Jordan and Sweet each others contact information? I would think that the artist would want to discuss his work with the books author. Did Sweet not return Jordan's calls? I can't see that happening today....if only for the fact that social networking exists.

[@Bookborn]

I honestly have no idea. But I have heard several times that authors have very little control over their covers (it seems to happen less if you are really big maybe? IDK it seems that Sanderson has some control. But even then, he's had cover problems too). Before internet times it probably was harder to get in contact without the help of the publisher. OR even now, maybe it's seen as unprofessional. IDK, maybe I need to do a deep dive on this.

[@mauricio5980]

Completely agree with your opinion about LoC as being the worst one; proportions are a complete mess, the art doesn't show anything relevant, and... is that a giant bat flying over Rand? the heck? 😂They really dropped the ball on that one. And then we've a Memory of Light. The color contrast is great, Callandor looks amazing, and the best part, it doesn't give you spoilers about Rand's left hand. Chef's kiss

[@Bookborn]

"Ok Rand...just turn a bit more...a bit more. Ah yes, perfect pose to not show your left hand!" lol I didn't even consider how well that was done! I think the bat thing is supposed to be Draghkar?? But...it's bad. lol

[@gracefullynadine864]

That's weird, I never saw your version of Crown of Swords, the paperback I got back in 2006 had the proper art on it

[@Bookborn]

Yeah I've heard conflicting news on this now! I guess both were published at the same time? Because a lot of people say they got theirs when it came out and it's the normal cover. I'm going to track one down for my collection so I don't have the boring one.

[@Nepthu]

Eye of the World is my #1 cover as well. Except for the Dragon Reborn, most of the rest are forgettable. The Great Hunt is my favorite book in the series, but the color is trash. They should have had Liandrin on the front. Her character made that book awesome for me.

[@Bookborn]

It's because of all the horses. Less horses, more Liandrin.

[@micahtataje]

I have read all of the Wheel of Time books, but didn't like the series and am not a fan. Am I allowed to bash it or nah? 😂

[@Bookborn]

I mean you're always *allowed* to bash anything you want...😂 As a WOT fan, I do recognize it's many weaknesses lol

[@timidalchemist8475]

You can not like it, I mean, I have read books that have many fans (Poppy Wars, Gideon the Ninth and Broken Earth trilogy) that I didn't particularly care (GtN and BE) or just felt underwhelmed in execution both world-building and story (Poppy Wars).

[@richardcahill1234]

They're not the greatest covers but I certainly prefer them to the bland nondescript covers that dominate publishing today - at least they have personality and have been clearly drawn by an artist instead of put together by a computer program.

[@Bookborn]

For me it depends on the book. Sometimes I like plain and sometimes I don’t. That being said I hate the new WoT covers - the ones that look all the same with a slightly bland color change. Just text and the wheel. LAME

[@katalinilles5497]

I think the redhead on the cover of Fires of Heaven and Gathering Storm is supposed to be Aviendha

[@Bookborn]

You are absolutely correct

[@dicknarcowitz]

I love the center section in the 1998 book "The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time" by Robert Jordan & Teresa Patterson, the book covers are reproduced in a section titled "Some narrative paintings of questionable authenticity".

[@Bandanko]

Great hunt cover - i thought that was Lanfear, Lioal and Rand when they recover the horn...

[@Bookborn]

It is lanfear you’re totally right! Idk why but like it did not go with my mental picture lol

[@cybrhawg]

Michael Whelan is the best!

[@RealMuperSan]

His art is kind bad. Very little dynamics and very static looking.

[@Bookborn]

Static is a good word. I think some action would liven them up a bit

[@jacobharvy]

I agree, a memory of light is a great cover. When the book was released I lived in England and I was initially disappointed at the cover, but then came to love the simplistic British release cover. If you havnt seen the covers from other countries its worth a look. My copy of a memory of light is the only one I have not in original cover art. But I like it just the same

[@Bookborn]

I can't seem to find it! Give me some details on what it looks like, I really want to see some of these other editions. Whenever I look it up, it just gives me the Sweet/Whelan covers.

[@jacobharvy]

@@Bookborn its not typical cover art, its just a simple snake eating snake WoT symbol in gold on a white cover.

[@thewhiskybowman]

I definitely read the books despite the covers, not because of them. I wish I could say I was getting excited about the upcoming show, but that would be a lie. I'm not hating on it, but very little of what I have seen or read is doing anything for me. I am harbouring some hope that I will be pleasantly surprised by it, but I'm just not going to hold my breath. Things like them recasting Mat for season 2, with no explanation given, isn't inspiring much confidence for me either.

[@Bookborn]

Yeah, or just even changing the Myrddraal to be more scary monsters rather than just people without eyes (like they seem described in the book) doesn't inspire confidence. Like whenever they change stuff like that it makes me worried they are more worried about "action" and "surprise" then telling the story that's there.

[@thewhiskybowman]

@@Bookborn Yeah, I mean changing minimal things like having Thom play the guitar, rather than a harp, I don't really care too much about. I get that, as you either need to spend time teaching the actor to play the harp, or have someone else play it and always focus on the hands in shots then cut away, which can be distracting as you then start thinking "that wasn't them" and it breaks the immersion. But changing something fundamental, just for the sake of it, is a no no, especially when the changes make no logical sense. It's why I'll never forgive Peter Jackson for what he did to Faramir's character, among other things.

[@jonathanhunter7670]

Because of that first cover I always imagined Egwaine as blonde :D awesome video, especially loved the quotes you got from Jordan!

[@ElrohirGuitar]

I wondered why I had the same feeling. I thought it was just me liking blondes.

[@jonathanhunter7670]

@@ElrohirGuitar same 😂

[@tanyam928]

What do you have against horses?? 😆 I read the ebooks and didn't realize how many of the covers are just them on horses, doesn't make much sense to me either. I am glad that Brandon has taken control (as much as possible) of his art and I really like his covers. Even though some don't make sense with things like Wayne holding a gun, they get a lot right. I think my favorite WoT cover is the last one, but the first is so iconic and representative of the series so I get the nostalgia factor for it. They need to release a photo of the actors on the show recreating the first book cover!

[@Bookborn]

Okkk I didn't know I needed that but now I MUST see the actors recreating the cover art. That would be an AMAZING piece of promotion! (Although maybe not. They probably don't need to advertise to fans, since they know we will watch. They probably have to make it appeal to others 😅)

[@ZlothZloth]

@@Bookborn We wouldn't see Lan very well... unless Moraine just so happened to be steering her horse through a 3ft deep ditch beside the trail? Yes! Do that, and release it on April First! And get Nicholas Cage in at the very edge of the shot with a confused, "why don't I get a horse?" expression on his face.

[@LEOrgill]

I think it would be cool to do a cosmere version of this video.

[@Bookborn]

I’ve thought about doing all the Sanderson covers! Maybe I’ll get around to it this year

[@genghisgalahad8465]

I’m gonna follow each book commentary as soon as I read them! AND I’m so thrilled that a book tube channel is featuring them prose-packed compact portable and RELATABLE quintessential paperbacks of WoT series! And nobody had yet mentioned Jordan’s thoughts on the Sweet cover! Kudos! (As for other channels, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the featuring of wishlist special edition covers and ooh, aah, when you have the moolah, but I also very much appreciate the featuring of the famous covers that we can do all enjoy!) and reminded below of the gorgeous evocative Raymond Feist covers! Will you be doing those? For me, rather than shelling out for special edition hardcovers, oy. I rather get the Feist covers for re-reads after the Sweet paperbacks down the line and library display!

[@Bookborn]

Yeah I think it would be fun to do more cover talks! I like a lot of the covers for the digital WOT books and it might be fun to rank those. I don't have many special editions either - other than my Sando leatherbounds, I usually just keep the regular mass paperback covers haha. I like the memories they give me of reading them!

[@mikem1585]

Great Ranking! I always assumed it was Aviendha in that FoH cover. Overall I don’t love the covers outside a couple…but they do feel a bit nostalgic and I do like them for how they transport me back to my first time reading. Eye of the World cover is just iconic even if it’s inaccurate. I would actually love to see a Michael Whelan take on each of the other books. My cover rankings: 1. A Memory of Light 2. The Eye of the World 3. Path of Daggers 4. Dragon Reborn 5. Fires of Heaven 6. Tower of Midnight 7. Gathering Storm 8. Shadow Rising 9. Crossroads of Twilight 10. Winter’s Heart 11. The Great Hunt 12. A Crown of Swords 13. Lord of Chaos 14. Knife of Dreams

[@Bookborn]

It def is Aviendha lol I forgot she wears that skirt outfit thing when she's training to be a leader and has left the Maidens. Ooohhh Knife of Dreams as your last one! Is that because of the Perrin terribleness? Lol Otherwise we aren't that far off from each other's ranking!

[@mikem1585]

@@Bookborn yeah the depiction of Perrin combined with the scene they chose. Together it’s just frustrating. As you pointed out, many of the books have some fantastic scenes that would otherwise have made great cover choices…but they chose something generic. Knife of Dreams is one of my favorites in the series, but the cover doesn’t do it justice, IMO.

[@nekonico66]

I’ve always thought that in the Great Hunt cover, the woman on it was Selene/Spoiler, not Egwene, but maybe I’m wrong. Just, in the book, Egwene and Rand weren’t with each other very often, so it didn’t make sense for them to be together on the cover.

[@Bookborn]

No it def is Selene, I looked it up after people said that! I'm just now so confused at what cover Jordan was talking about Egwene in. Also...not how I pictured Selene 😅

[@nekonico66]

@@Bookborn yeah, it isn’t how I pictured Selene either. In the books she was described as incredibly beautiful and elegant. In the cover art…I don’t want to be rude to the artist, but she just…wasn’t.

[@garrett3108]

Great channel, really excited that this series is getting more attention from people who would might never have known it existed if not for the show. I'm really curious as to what the covers would have looked like if Jordan had a direct hand in them, honestly that goes for *a lot* of writers, I had no idea the publisher had such a big hand in this - to the point of not even taking critique from the author himself seriously(on that note, I'd love to see more "lore" videos on Robert Jordan and his comments/thoughts on the series through the years)... That aside, I will now ALWAYS see Nick Cage on the EoTW cover lmao.

[@Bookborn]

Yes, until recently I also had no idea that a lot of authors have ZERO say in their book covers. I find that fascinating, and if I was an author...I'd probably be annoyed lol.

[@davidkidd7319]

A crown of swords was originally released with the fantasy artwork. The plainer covers were done for all of the books not just number 7. I have been following the series religiously since the first book was release when I was 18 so I saw it first hand when it came out.

[@Bookborn]

Yeah I've gotten super conflicting reports about this. Some say the hardcover came out with regular art but not the paperback. Some say the paperback came later. I'm not sure which is right, but there is a copy out there with the art and so I need to track it down and get rid of my boring one lol

[@davidkidd7319]

@@Bookborn I used to own it with the fantasy artwork until I went through a rough patch in life and had to leave it behind in a rushed move. So it does exist.

[@benbutler9282]

great stuff - please for yourself check out Lezbinerdy who canvasses international covers - you will enjoy it

[@Bookborn]

Will do!

[@benbutler9282]

@@Bookborn she's funny and the covers are diverse - enjoy re-read

[@glenn.thought]

The art cover was actually why I avoided the series for the longest time. I thought it was some cheap fantasy story. I started reading after seeing fan artwork of the stories/characters/events.

[@msj7872]

I am glad I am not the only one who felt this way. I actually have never care for this type of art. They always look static to me. I usually prefer covers not to depict the look of the characters. I would rather do that by myself.

[@wvscififan]

So does New Spring (by default) fit in the 2nd #4 Spot? Or have you read the prequel?

[@wvscififan]

doh, paused the video after the rankings, did't realize you were about to talk about it

[@Bookborn]

The prequel is actually the only book I haven't read yet! When I finished the series a decade ago, I just didn't know it existed somehow. Now that I'm rereading, I want to read it in publication order!

[@benbutler9282]

not elayne - aviendha just about every time

[@Bookborn]

Yep, you guys are right

[@AdmiralBenbowagent9]

The "Elvis" cover may just be referring to the crown on Rand. Elvis had been known as "the King"

[@Marc_prime]

I'm familiar with the black European covers with the coloured wheel and snake logo, which are far more elegant

[@PerryTamte]

I have always disliked these covers. They are somewhat responsible for my not reading WoT for a long time. By association, I grouped them up with other books I didn’t care for much (like the Shannara series), and thought they would be similar. Glad I finally read WoT, because I love it, but the covers were a barrier to me. The totality of Darrell Sweet’s covers over his many years span quite a stylistic range. The ones of the WoT are the style I don’t like, but there are others of his that I think are good to amazing. In general, the problems I have with the WoT covers are bad proportions (mostly with bodies, head too large, parts out of scale, missing neck), faces (bad proportions and unappealing), no one looks like I think they should, no one looks the same from book to book, and the clothes are often weird. It’s strange, because he has the ability to do people and faces - I’ve seen it on plenty of other covers he did - so how did he get some of these so wrong? With the exception of the Michael Whelan one, which I like, the rest fall into two camps: not great but ok, and triggering. By triggering I mean the issues are bad enough they elicit a strong negative response I can’t control. Not great, but OK - Fires of Heaven: Just looks so stilted. - Dragon Reborn: I like this one, particularly the full view, but Perrin looks like he just came from the gym in tank top and headband. - Towers of Midnight: Generally like, but Matt looks ridiculous, and another example of his amazing ashandarei that never has the same blade length from cover to cover. - Crossroads of Twilight: One of the better with body proportions, but still big heads and no necks. And, that ashandarei. - Fires of Heaven: Boring, and the clothes. - Shadow Rising: This occurs on others, but here particularly the body proportions seem more suited to Tolkien dwarves than humans. - Winter’s Heart: Poor Perrin, he never looks right. TRIGGERING - Eye of the world: I know you love this one, and I get why, but the size of Moraine just grates on me. She isn’t on a pony, she is at a totally different scale entirely. She’s like half scale compared to Lan. Before I started reading and learned who they were, I thought that either she or the guy on the horse were of a different species/size than humans. Lan’s armor doesn’t help. Thanks for the Nicholas Cage reference! It’s hilarious. I’d never noticed, and now I can’t see it any other way. - Great Hunt: Loial looks like a hunchback elf. I never got that those were supposed to be Trollocs. They make it worse. - Lord of Chaos: I’d agree with existing criticisms, but I’m more upset about the proportions. His top half is much too large compared to his bottom, and his shoulders much too wide. - Knife of Dreams: Boring, and bodies out of proportion. Poor Perrin is the worst. - Gathering Storm: That arm and hand! And the clothes again. - Crown of Swords: That arm! Seriously? Much, much too large, the muscles look ridiculous. Additionally, he has a very weird forward lean to him that doesn’t seem humanly possible, particularly the placement of his legs and the way they are bending.

[@superkickcity1610]

You do that thing with ur arms 21:56 in quite a bit of videos...it's cool I'm not making fun....I enjoy it...ur awesome

[@DAGDRUM53]

Sweet's cover paintings for David Farland's TOR Books are magnificent however his WOT covers are not. They've put me off since Eye of the World.

[@Kikobirdification]

So much nostalgia in these covers! Sad to say, it was because of the covers I was not interested in the series when I first saw them many years ago. I'm now in book 4 on my first(ish) read through and can honestly say I wish I had the set with these covers!! How the wheels have turned.

[@Bookborn]

I don't blame you, honestly lol. It's pure nostalgia that makes the covers "good".

[@Gunleaver]

The Great Hunt cover is Rand, Loial & Lanfear in her Selene guise. When watching "Wolf" with Jack Nicholson, you can see "The Dragon Reborn" with the distinctive Ba'alzamon head on the spine of a book on a bookshelf behind him in his office. Shadow Rising cover, I think feels like they mixed up a couple of different scenes. Egwene never cooks in the book and neither Mat nor Rand brought a bow to the Aiel Waste. There were peddlers with wagons there, but not Tinker wagons. Those were in the Two Rivers, and if you ignore the clear desert setting, that scene would work better if it was a pre-beard Perrin confronting Lord Luc (not that it happened in a Tinker wagon, but whatever...). For Lord of Chaos, I thought that was Sheriam on the cover, because of the red hair, until I read it. It's strange that people think the redheads are Elayne, since from book 3 on she was mostly described as blonde or golden-haired. Not coincidentally, that was when Aviendha showed up, and I think Jordan decided that having two redheads with Rand, whose red hair is such a distinctive trait, would be weird. For Crown of Swords, the hardcover was released with the Sweet art. I have also seen paperbacks with the same cover. Also, the original sketch for the cover had him holding a sword with two hands, which might explain the two clenched fists. I think he looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger on it. Mat was 21 in Crossroads of Twilight (he & Rand & Perrin turned 21 near the end of Lord of Chaos) Whose body do you think Elayne, Aviendha and Min are looking at in the Sweet cover to aMoL?

[@RhiannonSenpai]

Have you seen the Japanese version of the covers? There are 64 of them (so I guess they divided one book in 5 parts?). They look amazingly drawn, so beautiful.

[@Bookborn]

Ok just had a look and that's so fun! And also crazy that each book was divided into so many parts - some had seven covers! I find it super interesting that instead of horses, literally 95% of the covers only featured a single individual. I wonder if that was a trend in Japanese fantasy art at the time? I really love how they portray Rand, and find it interesting that their Mat presentation on Fires of Heaven 6 is practically identical to the new representation of him on the ebook covers/ new books.

[@RhiannonSenpai]

@@Bookborn Maybe the new book cover artists took inspiration from the Japanese covers, especially Mat. I saw there are more than 64 volumes, there are 72, wow! Reminds me of Kaoru Kurimoto Guin Saga, one of my favourite book series. It has 130 volumes but they're super short (between 100-200 pages). Only 5 volumes were translated into English >.< That really bums me out. Something similar happened to the Japanese Wheel ofTime translation it stopped at "Knife of Dreams", the 11th book. Maybe they didn't ant to translate books 12-14 because they're not written by Jordan but by Sanderson?

[@jsbrads1]

Selene is on the cover! Just read The Great Hunt. Book 5 & 12 is Aviendha. Yeah 12, Avi didn’t wear open top dress.

[@ataridc]

I always assumed there were Halflings in WoT based off the first book''s cover

[@endyg9845]

Nicholas Cage Rand, Fabio Rand, and Jean-Claude Van Damme Rand are such a gift to us. I see great (if obscure) Halloween costume opportunities for when ‘Rand al’Thor’ is a household name.

[@mk9beatz]

i stg i JUST started reading these books a month ago (about to finish book 2) and i literally told my friend who recommended me The Eye Of The World that Rand looked like Nicholas Cage 😂😂 can’t believe someone else noticed it too

[@asgharabbas2193]

This is increasing becoming my favorite booktube channel. By chance, are you familiar with Daniel Greene content ? I am curious, because I was able to glean more info re wot from you than him and I love his work ! You are amazing.

[@Bookborn]

Thank you so much ☺️ Of course I know Daniel Greene's content! He's a legend in fantasy booktube.

[@Seraphina-Rose]

Oof, these covers are making me glad I didn't discover this series until recently!

[@johnsmithe4656]

"canaanically" -- is THAT how you pronounce that?? The more you know.

[@Skabanis]

You are so friggin cute…dks did Tomas covenant which is my favorite books ever…so that’s why in 1991-2 I picked up eye of the world

[@cypsrp7924]

I know you said you loved the art from Sweet...however...you spent the entire critique...honestly...kind of hating on the art and it's quality! Lol. So...I know you have strong nostalgic attachments here, but you really apparently don't like the art. And, frankly, I never read these books with this cover art. I was somewhat a fan of the next iteration of cover art. Anyway, I think these original cover art versions were pretty bad. It was still influenced from the 80s, etc. so there was that. Anyway, great video!

[@lachlanrobertson4825]

The woman on Greta Hunt is supposed to be Selene, I'm certain. Any chance of doing the 2nd edition covers? They have a lot more going on, and they've even got a couple of romance covers for laughs

[@TMxtt]

I purchased the hardback version of 'Crown of Swords' when it was originally released, and it had the illustration of Rand in Shadar Logoth on it. I also own a very early paperback copy of CoS, it also has the illustration of Rand in Shadar Logoth. I didn't realise some places only got the basic maroon cover of Crown of Swords, but that certainly wasn't the case everywhere. Have to politely disagree regarding the 'The Fires of Heaven' cover, it's great imo. Mat looks protective of Rand the way he's looking over his shoulder at what might be lurking behind them, whilst Rand looks entirely menacing in his famous red coat, the first time on a cover when he actually looks the Dragon Reborn as opposed to an out-of-proportion side-character in Robin Hood clothes. Covers I really like: Path of Daggers, A Crown of Swords, The Eye of the World and The Fires of Heaven. They're all awesome imo, especially Path of Daggers and Crown of Swords, when Rand looks a legit BAMF. Whilst the rest are at best meh, and at worst p terrible. Lord of Chaos is okay, despite short-legged Rand in his open-necked white shirt and the Dragkhar flying overhead, the latter ofc being ridiculous considering it's a depiction of Dumai's Wells with literally loads of male channellers milling around below, who would have blasted it out of the air! The formal issues with the illustrations and problems with perspective often leave a lot to desired: the dwarf Moraine, the too-short legs of numerous characters, and ofc Rand's shrunken arm on The Gathering Storm, to name but three. That said, they remain hugely nostalgic for me, and I prefer them over the covers that had no illustrations that eventually replaced them. Real shame images from the tv show are finding their way onto the covers now. I refuse to watch the tv show, just don't want to spoil how I see the WoT world with someone's else's idea of it and, considering the revisions I've heard they made, I really don't think the tv show is enough of an accurate portrayal of the books that they should be using stills from it. I didn't like stills being used from the GoT tv series on book covers either tbh. Great video, really loving the coverage of the Wheel of Time books on your channel. Keep up the good work!

[@Adonnay76]

I think the covers are all very mediocre and even back in the days when I read the books (like 30 years ago) I was always bothered that the descriptions in the book hardly ever matched the book cover. As if the artist never really read the books he was illustrating. Which is fine, I guess, you can't read every book you illustrate but sadly it shows.

[@Saturnchild56]

You should stop apologizing for your opinion on the covers, and just review them . By the way those original covers are absolutely awful, the covers are the reason I didn't buy the books; they are really terrible!

[@cypsrp7924]

I love your analysis and critiques here...but to respond in part...Mat Cauthon pretty much lives in the saddle for many books doesn't he? I remember him being on campaign with his men, like non-stop. Do I remember that correctly? But, you're right it's not like they were cowboys...who don't need a reason to ride a horse every day, they just do.

[@markjackson5707]

I think it's funny how much you hate the Perrin covers while they are some of my favorites! To me it suits him perfectly being depicted a broad shouldered mountain man stuffed into a leadership position.

[@jasonbailey9139]

I always thought Tam al’Thor was on the cover of Knife of Dreams. Had no clue that was Perrin.

[@gregbradshaw3410]

The woman on the cover of "Fires of Heaven", and "The Gathering Storm" is most likely Aviendha. Any time there is a redhead female on the cover, that is most likely her.

[@imortalkingpoe]

The mock up was interesting that's min's vision of Rand's death. I also think shadow rising is the "merchant" dark friends.

[@northernlights9814]

Cool video. I so prefer these book covers to the newer dead-boring ones even if not all are that great. These at least show it's fantasy we are talking about while the new ones with their plain look could be books about woodwork. Btw, totally disagree with the ridicule about the Lord of Chaos cover, I think it's one of the best ones (with Rand in focus, an Aes Sedai and a Draghkar, very cool) and the book might be the best in the whole series too imo (though I know The Shadow Rising has many fans). The other covers I especially like are for books 1, 3, 8, 9 and 14.

[@FJA---]

I bought the original books in spite of the covers. They are easily among the top 5 worst book covers in fantasy book history. Hated them then, hate them now. If they would have just had blank white covers with the book and author name on them they'd be 5 or 600% better than what we got.

[@kendershot]

I started reading the series in paperbacks. The books were too thick and the pages were really thin and almost all of the covers fell off.

[@Tompano]

When I started reading the books I read the swedish translation of them as I am swedish, lol. Fun fact, they actually split all books into 2 installments probably for the same reason you mentioned. Knife of Dreams was the last book that was actually translated into swedish so 11 books turned into 22, the books after that were never translated though. I have read through the full series in english a few times afterwards, lol.

[@matthewhelmers1426]

Ummmm, Rand is on that final cover... in wrappings...

[@RICHIEV333]

Pretty sure the woman on the cover of the great hunt is Lanfear. (Selene) (It's when they are in the mirror of the wheel place)

[@Bookborn]

It totally is. I'm just confused now at why Jordan was talking about Egwene on covers...

[@methshin1]

Dannil Lewin is a Two Rivers man of an age with the boys and is featured prominently throughout the series starting in book 5

[@SirBlaze75]

@Bookborn I have no idea how it maybe cos I bought the books in Australia but crown of swords i had the picture art it wasn't just the words like the book you showed :|, also the 2 rivers boyss all started the books at or very near the age of 20, so not really teenagers, though they are written younger it's because of their lack of experiences out in the world that at the start they appear very young and the fact they get away with doing very childish things in the first couple of books

[@scootskute]

Your comments about LoC looking like a romance novel are spot on. I remember explaining to people that, no it's not a romance novel, it's a very good fantasy novel. While I had never heard most of these comments from the authors about the artwork, I had heard Brandon express that he is fortunate to have more control over his artwork than most authors get. On another note, related to comments from the authors, but not to the cover art . . . Robert and Brandon are very different in their stance to pronunciation. When fans asked Robert questions, he is reported to have sternly corrected their pronunciation before answering their questions. Brandon never does this, and when he is asked about pronunciation I have seen him refuse to answer, by explaining that when you read a book, you get to be your own director and you may use any pronunciation you like. I thought of this, because in this video many of your pronunciations are different than the pronunciation I use. Part of me wants to say you're wrong, but the kinder part of me stops and realizes that you pronounced a name, I understood whom you were talking about and therefore I understood you. You communicated successfully and made a fun video. So, you're not wrong, just unique . . . just like everyone else. With that in mind. Thank you for the fun video. One of my least favorite names, however, became one of my favorite names when I saw a video with Robert answering a question about how to pronounce a name. I wish I could find the video now, but I have tried and failed several times. The interviewer asked him how to pronounce one name. Robert gave an exasperated sigh, pronounced the name, then went on to pronounce a string of names and words that are often mispronounced. Before that point, I had no clue how to pronounce Semirhage, which was in that string, but nothing I had tried appealed to me. I didn't like the name. Then, when I saw that video and heard him pronounce it, it became a very cool name and nobody pronounces it the way he did. But, I wish they did. Earlier books didn't include her name in the glossary, and later books dropped the pronunciation guide (probably because it was worthless), so without being able to find that video we can only take Brandon's advice and let each of us be our own director. I keep telling myself that I'm fine with that. In case you're curious about the pronunciation I heard, he pronounced it with the 'se' from the word semi (the truck) or 'sem' from semester followed by or blended with the word mirage. The soft 'g' somehow makes the name much more feminine and that pronunciation makes the name much more pleasing than anything I had tried before.

[@paulkelly2701]

His hand is gone on the cover, in the attack that caused the big burned hole in the building. And that's Aviendha behind him.

[@billmilligan7272]

I still hate the Memory of Light cover. What the hell is Rand even doing on the cover? It makes no sense. I wish they had redrawn this just like they did all the other covers, but I think they thought it was too soon to replace it because all the new covers are amazing and this one feels left out. If they had kept any of the originals I'd have rathered they kept the original Eye of the World cover because it was great in its own right, it was the reason why a lot of us picked up the series to begin with, and it was the only one where the new cover wasn't as good.

[@MS-lk2sk]

His art is better than most covers today. Most covers today dont have evocative art, its just lame title with a lame simple pic. Yep the poster covers suck

[@cordellmanz6308]

Have you done this for the new edition covers that eventually came out? Love this video!

[@ashleyholbird4287]

I didn't read WoT for years cause I thought the covers were garbage

[@Glokta4]

Eye of the World and Memory of Light are the only two covers that ever drew me in. The rest were just there.

[@figjam9530]

i think Sweet drew a lot of horses because he was very good at drawing horses. his horses look great, his people not so much.

[@scootskute]

@19:02 Your artless cover appears to be only with the paperback editions. I have a first edition Hard back and the dust jacket has the cover art on it as shown at @20:37

[@revoktorment440]

They should have the artist for book 14 to remake all the covers for the others

[@sithys]

I always throught the girl on the cover of The Great Hunt was Selene.

[@weeklywheelnews]

Crown of Swords hardcover had the Darrell K Sweet art, just not the paperback

[@jtmplmbr4465]

Just found your channel and I’m really loving your takes and content. Hope more people keep finding you.

[@Bookborn]

Thanks for the support :)

[@jasonbailey9139]

I thought the woman on the Great Hunt was Lanfeir or whatever she calls herself in that book.