China Miéville's novel Embassytown is all about communication with an alien race, on a distant planet. So it makes sense that the newly revealed cover shows letters falling on a luminescent cityscape.
Here's the synopsis of Embassytown, due out in May:
Embassytown: a city of contradictions on the outskirts of the universe.
Avice is an immerser, a traveller on the immer, the sea of space and time below the everyday, now returned to her birth planet. Here on Arieka, humans are not the only intelligent life, and Avice has a rare bond with the natives, the enigmatic Hosts – who cannot lie.
Only a tiny cadre of unique human Ambassadors can speak Language, and connect the two communities. But an unimaginable new arrival has come to Embassytown. And when this Ambassador speaks, everything changes.
Catastrophe looms. Avice knows the only hope is for her to speak directly to the alien Hosts.
[via A Dribble of Ink]
DISCUSSION
To be honest, I really don't like the whole cover. The word waterfall effect looks pretty cool, but would've looked better with a cityscape other than the one shown here. Whatever, it's just a cover. I'll definitely be reading it when it comes out, especially since this will be his first "real" sci-fi book (whatever the frak that means).
My favorite Mieville book covers, though, have to be the ones for Kraken. Every one I've seen have been amazing and look beautiful.