We’re pleased to reveal the covers for Lian Hearn’s Tale of Shikanoko series, an epic four-volume adventure in mythical medieval Japan: a world of warriors and assassins, demons and spirits. All four books are publishing this year from FSG, beginning with Emperor of the Eight Islands in April.

Learn more about the first volume in the series below, and check out all four covers—with gorgeous art by Yuko Shimizu!

Book One: Emperor of the Eight Islands—publishing April 2016.

From the catalog copy:

In the opening pages of the action-packed Book One of Lian Hearn’s epic Tale of Shikanoko series, a future lord is dispossessed of his birthright by a scheming uncle, a mountain sorcerer imbues a mask with the spirit of a great stag for a lost young man, a stubborn father forces his son to give up his wife to his older brother, and a powerful priest meddles in the succession to the Lotus Throne, the child who is the rightful heir to the emperor barely escaping the capital in the arms of his sister. And that is just the beginning. As destiny weaves its rich tapestry, a compelling drama plays out against a background of wild forests, elegant castles, hidden temples, and savage battlefields. This is the medieval Japan of Lian Hearn’s imagination, where animal spirits clash with warriors and children navigate a landscape as serene as it is deadly.

Book Two: Autumn Princess, Dragon Child—publishing June 2016

Book Three: Lord of the Darkwood—publishing August 2016

Book Four: The Tengu’s Game of Go—publishing September 2016