The Broken Binding SF&F Sub #4: April 2026
Although The Broken Binding’s SF&F subscription started in November as a bimonthly subscription, it was converted to a monthly subscription in April. That means the previously expected six books per year have now doubled to twelve.
Although I keep saying that I need to be a bit more selective about the books I buy through my book subscriptions, you absolutely won’t hear me complaining about this development, lol.
The theme for April was Ruthless Kindness, and the accompanying book was actually quite easy to predict. After all, the illustration on the theme card referenced the book’s cover very clearly.
Furthermore, The Broken Binding mentioned that this would be a book for fans of gothic and academic settings, mythological threats, and ancient prophecies.
And yes, with that, I knew immediately which book it was going to be and that my interest was most certainly piqued.
The book hidden behind those intriguing keywords is the first part in a new series by a very well-known author, namely Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence.
Set a thief to catch a thief. Set a monster to punish monsters.
The Academy of Kindness exists to create agents of retribution, cast in the image of the Furies—known as the kindly ones—against whom even the gods hesitate to stand. Each year a hundred girls are sold to the Academy. Ten years later only three will emerge.
The Academy’s halls run with blood. The few that survive its decade-long nightmare have been forged on the sands of the Wound Garden. They have learned ancient secrets amid the necrotic fumes of the Bone Garden. They leave its gates as avatars of vengeance, bound to uphold the oldest of laws.
Only the most desperate would sell their child to the Kindnesses. But Rue … she sold herself. And now, a lifetime later, a long and bloody lifetime later, just as she has discovered peace, war has been brought to an old woman’s doorstep.
That was a mistake.
Although Mark Lawrence is certainly not an unknown name to me and I have several of his series on my TBR, I have actually never read a book by him.
However, this blurb sounds incredibly interesting once again, so perhaps this will finally be my introduction to this author.
For the cover, @christophercantart created a completely new illustration, and I’m going to be honest: at first, I wasn’t quite sure what to think of it.
I actually consider the standard cover an absolute gem. Although this new illustration uses many of the same elements, the atmosphere feels completely different due to the use of colour and the overall composition. This cover leans much more heavily towards the book’s title, with the abundance of crows. The whole thing truly has the appearance of a painting, and technically speaking, it is absolutely beautifully executed. Yet, there is something inside me that isn’t entirely convinced. And I can’t really even explain why. Because when I look at the details, I find them amazing. The building in the background radiates something almost divine with its golden sheen. At the same time, there is an enormous sense of threat hanging over the entire illustration. Not only because of the three armed women in the foreground and the mountain of corpses at their feet, but also because of the mysterious crowd gathering behind them.
So yes… somewhat mixed feelings. I absolutely admire the illustration, but it grabs me less than the standard cover.
I think this is the first time that The Broken Binding has also incorporated the original cover into their edition.
On the back cover, we find a modified version of the illustration by @tomrobertsillustration.
I am really happy that that original illustration is also represented in this edition, because that cover was one of the major draws of this book for me.
Although I fully understand the choice of an orange colour palette within the design of this edition, I still hold a slight preference for the original colours of this illustration.
The hardcover itself is finished in a warm orange colour with black foil.
The illustration by @claymorecovers aligns perfectly with the theme of the three Furies and feels both elegant and menacing at the same time. Very coolly done.
The contrast between the orange linen and the black foil also works particularly well here.
Ooh, wow. This looks absolutely brutal and traumatic.
@jeleynai created two fantastic illustrations. And by fantastic, I obviously mean “incredibly well made,” because these scenes can hardly be called beautiful. They are brutal, violent, and quite confronting.
I also find it very fitting that monochrome illustrations were chosen. As a result, they feel even grimmer than if they had been done entirely in colour. Really well done.
These illustrations may have sparked my curiosity about the story even more than the blurb itself.
I think the sprayed edges are absolutely amazing.
The illustration was created by @jeffbrown_graphics and fits in surprisingly well with the rest of the edition, even though a different artist was involved once again.
That remains one of the strongest points of The Broken Binding: using different illustrators without the whole thing feeling fragmented.
Furthermore, the book comes with matching headbands and tailbands and a bookmark ribbon.
And as if that weren’t enough, this edition is also hand-signed by Mark Lawrence.
Although I remain conflicted about my opinion regarding the new cover, I still consider it a beautiful edition.
On the one hand, I find the illustration impressive, full of details, and technically executed with incredible strength. On the other hand, for me, it simply catches the eye just a little less than the standard cover.
But as a whole, this edition works incredibly well.
The hardcover, the endpapers, the sprayed edges, and all the small details combine to form a particularly beautiful and luxurious package.
And perhaps even more importantly: the book itself intrigues me greatly. The illustrations on the endpapers, in particular, have strongly piqued my curiosity.
So yes, once again an edition I am very happy with, and a book that will hopefully finally be my first introduction to Mark Lawrence.
Cheers,
Charlotte
