Keith Parkinson — The Warrior’s Tale Cover Artwork (1994)

Artist: Keith Parkinson

Title: The Warrior’s Tale

Year: 1994

Publisher: Del Rey / Ballantine Books

Medium: Oil on canvas

Image Size: 30 × 40 inches (76.2 × 101.6 cm)

Framed Size: 36 × 46 inches (91.4 × 116.8 cm)

Condition Note: Damage to the lower right corner of the frame

Original published cover painting by Keith Parkinson for The Warrior’s Tale, the second novel in the Anteros / Far Kingdoms series by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch, first published in 1994. Bibliographic records confirm the novel's 1994 publication, with the Del Rey first-edition hardcover appearing that year.

Painted on an impressive 30 × 40-inch canvas, Parkinson depicts one of the novel's spectacular maritime encounters. Captain Rali Emilie Antero, commander of the elite all-women Maranon Guard, stands aboard a storm-battered vessel, bow drawn against an enormous serpentine sea creature erupting from the waves. Lightning, turbulent seas and the sharply pitching deck create a dramatic composition particularly well suited to Parkinson's celebrated combination of heroic fantasy and highly accomplished traditional painting.

The Warrior’s Tale follows Rali, sister of the adventurer Amalric Antero from The Far Kingdoms, as she leads her warriors across uncharted seas in pursuit of the last Archon of Lycanth, who possesses a spell capable of destroying civilization. Contemporary reviews noted the novel's unusual combination of epic fantasy and an Odyssey-like maritime adventure, with Publishers Weekly specifically describing its battles with wizards, demons and other threats during the voyage.

Keith Parkinson (American, 1958–2005) was one of the foremost fantasy illustrators of his generation. Initially achieving prominence through his work for TSR, his paintings became closely associated with the visual identity of Dungeons & Dragons and Dragonlance during the 1980s. He subsequently produced major cover artwork for fantasy and science-fiction publishing, including works by Terry Brooks, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, as well as imagery for games and other fantasy properties.