ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

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  4. German Dereck remains quite handsome, I wonder what he looked like before the iridium… trip over your feet worthy?

    • More like “trip over your tongue” worthy…tho frankly, I will NEVER understand the weird reactions that so many people have to scars.
      On one hand, we have people who act as if each and every mark they see (even 45 year-old cat scratches) were about to be inflicted on them. Personally. Without anaesthesia. All at once.
      Sheesh.
      At the other end of the spectrum, we have those weirdos who want all the gory details, and yes, I have even met the compost-for-brains who wants to TOUCH my scars.
      Eeeeew
      Just…eeuw

    • What is the translation? Google translates it as “City of Finsternis”, subtitle “Cold Magic”.

        • Huh. The English title is “Magic Stars” which I’m guessing is what the “Cold Magic” translated as. But where did “City of Darkness” come from? Is that supposed to be the “series” name in place of “Grey Wolf”?

          • @Tink

            No, it’s the series name for everything linked to the Kate Daniels Series. All the English titles have as one part”Magic” and the second part plays with nouns and verbs. It’s kind of difficult to find an exact translation with the same twist, so I guess they just chose “Stadt der Finsternis” for the entire series (“City of Darkness” which isn’t a perfect translastion either because “Finsternis” in German ist more an enhancement of darkness…..). For example Andrea’s book is called”Stadt der Finsternis: Geheime Macht”, with the subtitle “Secret power”.

  12. I was taught long ago that to truly understand a people it is essential to learn the language. We think in words, pictures, and emotions. Language expresses all of this. I loved that class! To this day I’m fascinated by the art and science of communication including storytelling, news reporting, poetry. I’ve had a really good time. Thank you for all the sheer entertainment and lessons.

  14. So eye-catching!

    Can someone explain to me – in several of the books Derek is mentioned as scarred but not disfigured, although he felt that he was disfigured. To the point where people recognize him in MAGIC STARS by the scars on his face. So how is that not disfiguring? Just wondering if my understanding of “disfigured” is wrong? Is it a question of degree? Or something else?

    • Ilona once said that Kate doesn’t see the scars, she just sees Derek. Julie is the same way. Other people see the scars first. Derek sees his scars and decided that his outside now matches his inside(a lot of PTSD there).
      First impressions can be brutal. I had a friend/classmate in college who was tall, muscular, tattooed, and had multiple piercings. People tended to be nervous around him. But I once saw him scare off a flock of geese that were terrorizing a group of people with Down’s syndrome. Really nice guy, heroic even, just looked like a thug.

      • In the ‘people form judgements’ category, I have had discussions about classical choral music and sung in chorus with folk who presented similar outward markings. And I have seen many men dressed in ‘thug’ style, offer their NYC subway and bus seats to elderly, pregnant and disabled passengers with a cheerful invitation.
        I always smile as the stereotypes collapse.

    • All of the descriptions that say he is not disfigured come from Kate (or Julie). To the people who love him, the scars don’t detract from who he is. They probably understate things.

      The descriptions of disfigurement mostly come from Derek (or strangers). To Derek, his scars probably feel uglier than they actually are, because he was accustomed to bring pretty. He overstates things.

      I interpret the paradoxical impressions to mean that the scars are noticeable but not hideous. He’s not a “pretty” boy anymore, but he’s not grotesque either, and the most “disfiguring” part is probably the darkness/hardness now in his eyes.

    • Hey Lee
      Derek is a pretty boy. Pretty boys grab your attention through movement, you focus on how pretty and sleek and muscular they are as they move. Your brain processes them from the feet up. Your senses drench themselves in the shape and movement of their musculature, the dip and thrust of their pelvis, the tautness of their abs. The flair of their pecs as your vision sweeps over the width of their shoulders and down the bulge of their biceps to linger on the shape of their hands and length of their fingers. When it occurs to you, ‘How totally RUDE’ . . . and you raise your eyes to that face.
      Those eyes that read how you have journeyed over them. Those lips that rivet your attention as you await their verdict, that flair of nostril, the light glinting over cheeks and you notice the damage . . .
      The story says molten metal was poured over his face . . . the book says he was healed with scars . . . his loves say they see him and not the damage cause hey, snarky pretty boy . . . who is thrilled with their faith and acceptance of him.
      My cover has him in a hooded cowl, in profile , with the damaged side turned away. A picture (portrait) is an individual thing. The German cover does not give enough emphasis to the damage that he sustained internally and ex. It try’s to please all of the people, all of the time.

      • No. You almost never look at a human’s feet first. We always seek out the face. It’s biologically hardwired, because facial expression helps us evaluate if the person is dangerous. 🙂

    • I thank everyone who commented on my question. Your responses really helped me understand Derek a lot better and now I see why Kate and Julie see the man behind the scars, while Derek and strangers can’t seem to get past them. Again, many thanks!

  16. the european covers are always more artistic ,dramatic and just plain bettter. I can almost hear music with this one definitely violins in a minor key. Derek has always been a favorite.hope he and Julie can have their own story. Hint,Hint. Thank you as always.

    • From what I get from the books, I think Kate considers Raphael the most handsome from a “male perfection” look perspective, with Ascanio heading that way, and Derek third. Roman I think ranks between Raphael and Derek.

      That’s my impression of how Kate ranks them anyway.

      • Oh, that’s different to what I thought… I recall Kate saying that Raphael’s nose was too narrow to be truly handsome but despite that and some other “flaws” he was ‘something else’ [g-rated expression for public consumption!]

    • Yes, you did miss something. Derek is Caucasian. You are probably thinking of Jim. Or Doolittle. Or Mahon’s wife. … 🙂

      • Sorry about that!! Probably read something (what I can’t say) and made a leap. ? And, I agree — gorgeous cover!!

  24. Oh my gosh! They nailed it! This guy is totally what I had in my head for Derek. I love it. Thanks so much for sharing it!! Wow…just…wow!! ? ?

  26. Cool cover. You always have the best images. I have the cover of Sweep In Peace as my background on one comp, the image from online of the Hiru’s world on my work comp background, another one on a tablet with Curran in it and that one above needs to be saved for a tablet or something.

  27. This is not a criticism but that’s not how I pictured Derek. That actually the complete opposite of how Derek is described in the books. Beautiful cover just not how imagined Derek based off the book description.

    My question is did I read it wrong in the book or does that person not actually describe Derek?

  28. Oh swoon… Have loved Derek from the get go. Can’t wait for more Derek and Julie, and more exploration on his relationships with all three of Kate, Curran and Julie.

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