Nightshade City Cover Lover

I just started reading Nightshade City last night. I'm only through the prologue and the first chapter (I was busy) but I can already tell I am going to enjoy this story. I know I am an adult and this is a MG novel, but there are several things to be excited about. I haven't really read enough to talk about the writing yet, but I will say that I can already tell that this charming story is going to win me over with its subtle prose. I'm loathe to compare it too quickly to The Rats of NIMH or Watership Down, as I'm sure those comparisons are many, but I will say that I can already tell that Hilary Wagner has Richard Adam's skill for taking something simple and making it grand.

What I would rather concentrate on for now is the production quality of the first hardcover edition. The cover is beautiful. As a sort of online friend of Hilary's I have talked about this book more than once and I know most of the photos I've shared don't really do it justice. I've shared the best one I could find here but just in case I would like to describe the scene.

A rat who I can only assume is Juniper graces the front cover, filling a cobbled earthen tunnel choked with roots and shiny brown worms. He bears a torch and dons a leather pouch and a dark blue cape or cloak around his neck. His most prominent feature, his eyes, appear as plain black globes at first, but at a closer glance there is cunning and intelligence behind those milky orbs. Behind the featured rat and curling earthworm is a room that probably is not clearly visible on most online representations of this cover. The revelry occurring in the background says more to me about this story than anything else.

There is a golden room, likely lit by open flame, full of rats in several different states of celebration. Some hold spears. Other hold flagons of ale. But all appear jubilant and hint of a society that is beyond your everyday expectation of rodent culture.

If I had to voice a complaint it might be that the rear cover is simply a close up and reverse of the front, but I'm guessing that there is a poetic reason for this choice within the story. Needless to say I expect the mass market paper back may feature a different cover.

The fonts, both the beautiful gold letters of the title that graces the front cover, and the typeface within, are both lovely. Unfortunately the copyright page doesn't tell us which font was used to set the type for the text. Perhaps I can get Hilary to stop by and tell us what it is.

Finally we come to the blurb on the back cover. This may be the most exciting thing about this edition. The blurb is written by Rick Riordan. You might have heard of him. One of his books was turned into a little movie recently. Here is what he has to say about Nightshade City:

"Fans of Redwall and the Warriors series will love
this heroic tale of good versus evil in a subterranean
society of rats. The world of the Catacombs is
so compelling readers will wonder if it really
might exist under our city streets. Expect
great adventures in Nightshade City."

Can you imagine having someone like Rick Riordan write that about your novel? Awesome.

Well done Hilary. I'm really looking forward to getting into this story and enjoying the entire ride!

Hilary's blog.
Nightshade City's website.
Holiday House books.