A while back at the always entertaining Whatever, SF author John Scalzi debuted the cover of the Tor edition of the collaborative world anthology that he edited and co-wrote along with Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, and Karl Schroeder.
Cover Artist: Peter Lutjen
Entitled Metatropolis, this book visits 5 very different cities set in the same bleak tomorrow. Most would consider these settings dystopian, although a more realistic dystopia than your typical apocalypse. These novellas are futuristic visions of a world concretely grounded in the present. Metatropolis was originally published as an audiobook and later as a limited print special edition by the always spectacular Subterranean Press. For those readers who aren't clued in to the fantastic but expensive Subterranean Press, Tor is rereleasing Metratropolis in a mass hardcover edition next month (June 8th).
Metatropolis features an absolutely spectacular lineup of authors and if near to mid future SF is your thing, I'd definitely do some more investigation. The length of the stories perfect for familiarizing yourself with the authors' writing without investing in an entire novel (even though you couldn't go wrong with any of the featured writers).
I also really like this cover. It's got a great graphic vibe that hints at the larger world hidden within. Between the title and the buildings there are a lot of different hues but they manage to work together rather than distract. It's hard to determine how well the cover appears to speak to the target audience, mostly because it's hard to determine who that audience is in the first place. I would assume that it's the same crowd that enjoyed Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl and other ecological tinged stories. There aren't really enough sample books to notice a trend although I can see some parallels between the dilapidated buildings that grace both covers.
If you are looking for new authors, try Metatropolis. I guarantee you will find at least one you'll love, if not all five.
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