Archive for Covers

Cover release: STRAY SOULS by Kate Griffin

As SFX Magazine said this month, Kate Griffin’s acclaimed Matthew Swift novels ‘tell of a parallel and eldritch capital’. In her new book STRAY SOULS [UK | US | ANZ] coming out this October, we find ourselves in the same fantastical London as the Matthew Swift novels, but with a new twist – meet Sharon Li: barista and shaman, on whose shoulders rest the fate of the city. Matthew Swift makes an appearance too, but it’s Sharon and her friends at Magicals Anonymous (a self-help group for people with magical issues) who must step up to save the day.

Here, just for you, we can now exclusively reveal the jacket, put together by our very own UK creative director Duncan Spilling:

First in the Magicals Anonymous series 

STRAY SOULS will be out worldwide from Orbit in simultaneous paperback and ebook this October.

Look inside the art for the Gail Carriger iPhone App!

You’d think I’d be happy (and quite busy enough) worrying over the Orbit bookcovers, but I’m one of those designers that wants to try her hand at everything. Websites, branding, invites, and now, apps! I love working with Orbit because I really do get a chance to be there for the beginning of a project and say “hey, I can totally design an author app” and they believe me! Of course, then I need to go back to my desk and figure out how to actually do it, but that’s the fun part. And let me tell you, I had a hell of a lot of fun with this one.

It certainly wasn’t cool enough to have an author app that was just about books and excerpts (which, of course, are awesome, and included), we wanted to make a cool functional app that the fans of The Parasol Protectorate series (and any steampunk fans, really) would love and use everyday. So after brainstorming a lot of ideas, we came up with the idea of doing a super intricate interactive clock app that has the functionality of the standard apple clock, but is way way cooler. A Steampunk clock app.

As you can see in the screenshots below, we’ve got 3 clock skins: A Mechanical Clock with cool brass cogs and gears (and rotating cephalopods), a  Steam-Powered Clock run by octopus power, and (my personal fave) a Tea Time Clock with drag-able teabags and spoons that develop your custom cup of tea, while letting you set a Tea Timer!

It’s free to and live now in the apple store, so go download and enjoy now!

 

Cover Launch: TAKEN by Benedict Jacka

Everyone’s favourite Probability Mage, Alex Verus, returns in September with the publication of TAKEN [UK | ANZ] – his most dangerous adventure yet.  A wonderful buzz has been building around this series, which began in March with FATED [UK | ANZ] and continued last month with CURSED [UK | ANZ]. Perfect for fans of Jim Butcher and Ben Aaronovitch, TAKEN will cement Benedict Jacka’s status as a rising star of urban fantasy.

Here’s the cover, courtesy of our talented designers Nick Castle and Sian Wilson.

TAKEN is out in paperback and ebook on 6 September 2012.

Cover Launch: THE HYDROGEN SONATA by Iain M. Banks

This October will bear witness to one of the biggest SF events of the year – the release of Iain M. Banks’s brilliant new Culture novel, THE HYDROGEN SONATA.

Here are the UK and US covers (click to enlarge), which subtly reflect both the new book’s title and the story within:

                                   

And here’s more on that story:

The Scavenger species are circling. It is, truly, the End Days for the Gzilt civilization.

An ancient people, organized on military principles and yet almost perversely peaceful, the Gzilt helped set up the Culture ten thousand years earlier and were very nearly one of its founding societies, deciding not to join only at the last moment. Now they’ve made the collective decision to follow the well-trodden path of millions of other civilizations; they are going to Sublime, elevating themselves to a new and almost infinitely more rich and complex existence.

Amid preparations though, the Regimental High Command is destroyed. Lieutenant Commander (reserve) Vyr Cossont appears to have been involved, and she is now wanted — dead, not alive. Aided only by an ancient, reconditioned android and a suspicious Culture avatar, Cossont must complete her last mission given to her by the High Command. She must find the oldest person in the Culture, a man over nine thousand years old, who might have some idea what really happened all that time ago. It seems that the final days of the Gzilt civilization are likely to prove its most perilous.

Orbit will be publishing THE HYDROGEN SONATA worldwide in print, ebook and audiobook editions this October.

Behind the Cover Video: THE SPIRIT WAR by Rachel Aaron

Here in the Art Department, we work over a year in advance on our book covers, so it’s a thrill to finally be able to go back and share these process posts with you. Today we have a special treat, because last year when the fabulous illustrator Sam Weber was working on the Eli Monpress series for us, he invited us into his studio in Brooklyn to take a peek at THE SPIRIT WAR in progress.
I have really enjoyed working with Sam on this series because not only does he paint such gorgeous covers for us, he’s also a gigantic geek and loves to read the books as well. It really makes a difference in a cover when your artist really gets into the story and characters…especially in the case of Eli, master thief and scoundrel extraordinaire.

In the video below, Sam walks us through his process from thumbnails to final art. Even seeing him work up close, I still can’t believe he gets the amazing textures and luminosity he creates out of the watercolors. Let me tell you, if you are not an artist or have never tried painting in any medium, never mind watercolors, you have no idea how unforgiving a medium it can be.

I know the sketches and stages he shows go by pretty quickly in the video, so I’ll post a bunch of the cover stages so you can see what he’s describing up close. Enjoy! And look forward to part two, when we move past the process of physically creating the cover, and reveal how big of a geek Mr. Weber really is.

After the jump, see the process images up close and personal…
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Cover launch! New fantasy from Tim Lebbon – THE HERETIC LAND

The cover for Tim Lebbon's new fantasy novel THE HERETIC LAND

After the success of ECHO CITY (UK | ANZ), we’re really excited to be publishing Tim Lebbon’s next fantasy novel THE HERETIC LAND (UK | ANZ) this August! The book is a dark, atmospheric fantasy with a haunting setting and an intriguing cast of  merfolk, convicts, soldiers and magicians . . .

This fantastic cover was designed by freelance designer Sean Freeman and Sophie Burdess at Little, Brown.

AN ISLAND PRISON. AN OCEAN FULL OF MONSTERS. NO CHANCE OF ESCAPE.

Arrested by the Ald, scholar Bon Ugane and merwoman Leki Borle awake on a prison ship bound for the island of Skythe – a barren land warped and ruined by ancient conflict. Survival is tough and the colony’s original inhabitants are neither friendly nor entirely still human.

But something else waits on the island, a living weapon whose very existence is a heresy. Destroyed many years ago, it silently begins to clutch at life once more.

Cover Reveal: A Memory of Light, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Twenty years. Thirteen books. Forty million fans.

And now the final battle approaches.

In January 2013, we’re delighted to be publishing A MEMORY OF LIGHT – the final volume in Robert Jordan’s international bestselling Wheel of Times series.

Here is the finished cover, courtesy of our designer Peter Cotton and illustrator Lee Gibbons.

To stay up to date with all things Wheel of Time and celebrate the exciting countdown to publication, ‘like’ our Turn The Wheel of Time Facebook page.

‘And it came to pass in those days, as it had come before and would come again, that the Dark lay  heavy on the land and weighed down the hearts of men, and the green things failed, and hope died.’ – From Charal Drianaan te Calamon, The Cycle of the Dragon.

In the Field of Merrilor the rulers of the nations gather to join behind Rand al’Thor, or to stop him from his plan to break the seals on the Dark One’s prison – which may be a sign of his madness, or the last hope of humankind. Egwene, the Amyrlin Seat, leans toward the former.

In Andor, the Trollocs seize Caemlyn.

In the wolf dream, Perrin Aybara battles Slayer.

Approaching Ebou Dar, Mat Cauthon plans to visit his wife Tuon, now Fortuona, Empress of the Seanchan.

All humanity is in peril – and the outcome will be decided in Shayol Ghul itself. The Wheel is turning, and the Age is coming to its end. The Last Battle will determine the fate of the world . . .

For twenty years The Wheel of Time has enthralled more than forty million readers in over thirty-two languages. A MEMORY OF LIGHT brings this majestic fantasy creation to its richly satisfying conclusion.

Working from notes and partials left by Robert Jordan when he died in 2007, and consulting with Jordan’s widow, who edited all of Jordan’s books, established fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson has recreated the vision Jordan left behind.

A MEMORY OF LIGHT will be published on 8 January 2013.

Cover Reveal: The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan

Trudi Canavan’s Traitor Spy trilogy – so far comprising the Sunday Times bestsellers THE AMBASSADOR’S MISSION [UK | US | ANZ] and THE ROGUE [UK | US | ANZ] – will finally be completed in August, with the release of THE TRAITOR QUEEN.

We’ll reveal a little more about this thrilling conclusion to the trilogy closer to the time, along with an excerpt, but for the time being here’s the final front cover – courtesy of our wonderful designer Peter Cotton and the talented illustrator Steve Stone.

A robed woman in blue, holding a staff

If you’ve not yet joined the legions of fans that have been captivated by the Traitor Spy books, now’s the perfect time to start as both THE AMBASSADOR’S MISSION (sample) and THE ROGUE (sample) are available in paperback.

Trudi Canavan can be found online at both her website and on twitter.

Cover Story: 2312 by KIM STANLEY ROBINSON

2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson is coming out at the end of May around the globe (US | UK | AUS).  Last week I posted  some wallpapers, and this week I want to explain some of the thinking that went into the design of the book jacket.

The goal was to create a cover that would signal a big book about space, but we also wanted something that reinforced the timelessness of the  storytelling by bringing in mythic symbolism. The cover isn’t a literal snapshot of anything in the book — it’s a collection of symbols that evoke the story.

I don’t want to give away too many of the book’s secrets (some of which are hinted at in the design) but I will explain why there’s a rooster and a sickle silhouetted against the tree.

The two main characters in 2312 are from Mercury and Saturn. You probably remember that in Roman mythology Mercury (like Hermes) wore winged sandals and bore a caduceus. He was also often accompanied by a  rooster (representing the new day.)  Saturn — the god of agriculture, justice and strength —  held a sickle in his left hand and a bundle of wheat in his right. So these two symbols represent two of the key locations in the book. 

There’s also a very simple visual story in the design. As you roll the book over from the front, to the spine, and to the back, you’ll notice the sun going down on each image.

You’ll also notice that the rooster isn’t on the back cover. Why? There are a few possible interpretations for this.  But there’s also a straightforward scientific explanation in keeping with the rigorous logic of the book. Why isn’t the rooster on the back cover?

… It’s nighttime. The rooster has gone to sleep. ;-)

So that’s a bit of background on the design thinking that went into the cover. You can enlarge the cover below to see the sun setting effect.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

This was a really fun project and one (as I always do) I feel lucky to be a part of.

Cover launch: The new-look Terry Brooks

Wards of Faerie - the new title from bestselling master of fantasy Terry Brooks - endorsed by Christopher PaoliniToday we’re very excited to unveil a brand new cover look for one of the biggest and best-selling names in epic fantasy. In the words of Christopher Paolini:

‘If you haven’t read Terry Brooks, you haven’t read fantasy.’

And if you haven’t read  Terry Brooks yet – this is the perfect place to start! He’s writing at the top of his game, and I was just bowled over by this manuscript when it came in.

Set in Terry’s original and most popular core Shannara world (the one which fans have been begging him to return to for years) the new Dark Legacy of Shannara series is perfect both for steadfast Terry Brooks readers, and those discovering the world of Shannara for the first time.

Book 1, Wards of Faerie is released in just a few months’ time on 23rd August.

We hope you’ll agree that the fantasy illustrator Stephen Youll has done an awesome job on this dragon skull (who wants one on their wall? I do!!).

Don’t forget that you can also get hold of the paperback edition of Terry’s previous novel, The Measure of the Magic (UK / ANZ), on 2nd Aug 2012.

Check out a cover close-up and more information on Wards of Faerie below. (more…)