Here It Is: The Australia-New Zealand Cover!
On 1 August I talked about the process of developing the Australia-New Zealand cover for The Heir of Night, which is due out in both Australia-New Zealand and in the USA in October. (Only 6 weeks to go: a-maz-ing!) And Orbit, my UK and ANZ publisher, officially launched the Australia-New Zealand cover on their website today.
When I first saw the US cover for Heir earlier this year, I loved the way it caught the brooding, powerful, mythic elements of the story—and I still do! But when I first discussed the Australia-New Zealand cover with Bella, my Orbit editor, she said that she was keen to capture the adventurous side of the story—and in particular the character of Malian, the central protagonist, who is both vulnerable and strong. And you know, I think that comes through perfectly in the cover, as well as capturing that sense of a “richly told tale of … conflicting loyalities.”
And here it is! Do let me know what you think!
Hi Helen, I saw the cover on the Orbit site and then read that you were a Kiwi, I’m looking forward to reading the book. The cover above is certainly dramatic and the monotone treatment grabs the eye. The US cover looks a little generic to me, I wouldn’t pick the US version out on the shelf with that cover I think (but then I’m trained to look for titles in a UK market, I’m sure there are different factors state-side).
Is there a vampire element to the book? The red and blacks, the mist, the stake like shape of the I in Heir give me that impression. Good to see Robin Hobb likes the book, fine company you;re keeping there ๐ Back to work for me now…after I read the book extract on the Orbit site.
Hi Brendon—thank you for ‘dropping by’ and for your feedback on the ANZ cover, which I agree is very strong. Although I think when you see the US cover ‘for real’, rather than ‘in small’ on my website the very strong atmospheric qualities do come through.
But there are no vampires—now that you mention it the “i” in Night could be said to look like a stake, although when I first saw it, I instantly thought “dagger”, which is very appropriate to the story. There are, however, a great many dark powers, several of which are demonic in nature and one which is described as a “psychic vampire”, but that’s as close as we get to “vampires as we know them”. I think it would be fair to say that the Heir story draws on dark mythologies, but I’ve given quite a few of them my own twist …
And yes, it was definitely a “moment” when Kate, my US editor, told me that Robin Hobb loved the book!
Oh wow, that is stunning! It’ll really stand out on the shelves. I love what it tells you about your protagonist, right there on the cover. You can see the tough and the vulnerable in her. It’s quite the opposite of the American one in color etc, but they’re both absolutely gorgeous!
There’s something about red and black, isn’t there? But I’m with you, I really love both covers and the way they ‘speak to’ different, but equally strong aspects of the book.
Oh, I like it! It’s not as mysterious as the US cover, but still has something brooding and dangerous.
Definitely dangerous! The focus is more around the adventurous aspect of the story—which is very strong—although the mysterious angle is also very important, as Robin Hobb picks up with her reference to “strange magic”.
Oh, I was surprised to see it in red, as the other cover is so blue. However, I happen to LOVE this cover. I love that the central figure is more central- I get much more of a sense of a powerful, female protagonist in this, and a closeness to her. And I love the phrase they used “If Night falls, all fall.” Between the two, I think I would pick this one up faster.
I already think of them as the ‘Red cover’ and the ‘Blue cover’. ๐ And I am glad you love the Red at least as well as the Blue! Also “If Night falls, all fall”, which comes directly from the book and is central to the situation of both Malian and her race, the Derai, who are a people under arms—but also very much with their ‘backs to the wall’, a situation at least in part of their own making …
Hi,
I was browsing the Orbit page when I saw a mention of a new author so here I am ๐
And that is one cool cover indeed. The new series sounds good
Thank you for dropping by, bloduedd–I love the cover, too, and hope you enjoy The Heir of Night.