Cover image for Der Pakt der Schwerter, due to be published on 17 April 2012.

It’s Sworn Sword, but not as you know it.

On 17 April the German-language edition, entitled Der Pakt der Schwerter, will be hitting bookshelves across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Published by Goldmann and translated by Jochen Stremmel, its 544 pages can be yours for the small sum of €9,99.

Goldmann have taken a different approach to the cover design to my UK publisher Preface, but I think you’ll agree the result is just as striking, evoking a sense of mystery as well as a lurking threat in the form of the the naked blade, both of which tie in nicely with the title, which in English translates as The Pact of Swords.

Here’s the cover blurb, for those among you who understand German:

Man schreibt das Jahr 1069. Drei Jahre sind vergangen, seit die Normannen England eroberten, doch ihre Herrschaft trifft noch immer auf erbitterten Widerstand. Der junge Ritter Tancred führt eine kleine Streitmacht ins rebellische Northumberland. Dort geraten seine Männer in einen Hinterhalt, bei dem sein Lehnsherr getötet wird. Statt diesem wird nun Tancred die Verantwortung für eine geheime Mission übertragen, von dessen gelingen das Schicksal des Königreiches abhängt.

And for those of you who don’t, here’s a translation, kindly supplied by Thomas Dyer:

The year is 1069. It’s been three years since the Normans conquered England, yet their rule is still encountering bitter resistance. The young knight Tancred leads a small troop of men into Northumberland, a county gripped by rebellion. It is there that his men fall victim to an ambush in which his feudal lord is killed. With his lord gone, it is now Tancred himself who is charged with a secret mission, on the success of which the fate of the kingdom depends.

I’ll post further pictures as soon as the first copies arrive. Until then, more information about the book can be found on the Verlagsgruppe Random House website.

17 April 2012  |  Goldmann Verlag  |  ISBN: 978-3-442-47713-5  |  €9,99  |  Taschenbuch