I don't know anyone here so I'm sure there are currents in this thread I'm not aware of. I do spent a fair amount of time working with clients to figure out what they want out of their websites, though, so forgive me an additional $.02 of input (I think I'm now up to $.04).
If I'm reading the comments correctly, the main criticism people are making is not based on text links versus graphical links, rather it is the idea of structured links versus unstructured links. That is, it's generally easier for people to quickly scan and understand things when they're presented together in groups, rather than spread out and ungrouped.
As a quick example, it's easier to find "Warbreaker" here...
Books
- Mistborn
- Elantris
- Warbreaker
Community
- Blog
- Forum
- Signings
About Brandon
- Introduction
- Pictures
- Contact
...compared to here...
Mistborn Blog Pictures Something
Introduction Contact Forum
Something Something
Warbreaker Something Signings Elantris
It's also easier for new people to understand what content is what in the first example, and to see all that's available. It's easy to miss "Signings" in the second example, for instance. And if you have older readers who aren't familiar with the web, they might well think that "Blog," presented without context, is the next great Brandon Sanderson epic!
That being said, I'm certainly not suggesting getting rid of the image. What I would suggest is that you consider not placing the link stones randomly against the background, but instead
use the image to not just be "purty" but also to provide groupings and context. You have three main book titles and the image shows a triangle: you could put one title at each point, or around the central circle in the middle of the triangle. You could use the circle in the upper right to establish a secondary group, such as community-related links. There are a few other arcs, lines and shapes that could be used for grouping similar content areas. Words or icons identifying groups wouldn't hurt, but these can be tricky and the main thing is to use groups to provide an indication of relationships and context. The lack of those, I think you would find, is the chief problem with navigating the current website, and folks are right that the new design doesn't necessarily improve on this. I think it can, though.
I don't think I'm saying anything revolutionary -- earlier in the thread 42 says "we need to organize the stones some more." But hopefully this gives you some ideas for doing so, and perhaps makes that prospect more appealing for others here.
MattD