If you’ve read our reviews for The Vagrant and The Malice, you know how highly we rate the novels of Peter Newman. It’s very rare that you pick up a fantasy book and find yourself unable to compare it to another, but the narrative style, those abstract prose, will leave you struggling to point to authors who even resemble Peter’s style.
If reviews and word of mouth wasn’t enough to have you reaching for The Vagrant and its sequel, then it’s likely it was a glimpse of its cover, which forces you to stop in your tracks. Hooded man covers were popular at the time of The Vagrant’s release in 2015, but the twist to the cover – that would otherwise be lost in a jungle of similar ones – demanded attention; a baby is cradled in addition to the more conventional sword. This contrast of a new, innocent life in one arm and yet a weapon to take life in the other is striking.
The Malice’s cover was even better: you have that same clash of seemingly innocent and seemingly terrifying, but there’s so much more to it: it makes so many statements and yet asks so many questions. It’s masterful.
So, of course, when Harper Voyager got in touch and asked if we’d like to reveal the latest cover by Jaime Jones (who despite the alliterative name isn’t a fictional Marvel creation – we think!), we said, “erm… YES!” So, here it is, the cover for Peter Newman’s The Seven.
I mean, wow! Right?
Now, I could talk about how much I love it and what I think it all means, but why listen to me ramble on when the author, Peter Newman himself, is on hand to give you his thoughts.
“I love Jaime’s covers, and I think they stand as art in their own right. The covers for The Vagrant and The Malice are on my walls at home and I have no doubt this will be joining them in the future.
The first thing I’d say about this one is that I love Vesper’s jacket! The other thing that really pleases me are the details that echo previous covers. For me as the author this is a real treat because they capture something of the journey the characters have gone through. We have the Vagrant’s coat appearing a third time, for example, and on a third person. Vesper’s movement towards us is reminiscent of the Vagrant’s in the first cover, and of course the Malice itself (aka the sword) is back but this time it’s unsheathed.
I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to tell you that the armoured figure in the background is the Vagrant, which is fitting as he plays a major part in this book, as does Vesper. The story of how he gets the armour is covered in the novella, The Vagrant and the City. And those of you who have read it will also be able to guess who the third figure is, the one wearing the Vagrant’s old coat.
In terms of the book itself, it’s set about ten years after The Malice (and about five after the The Vagrant and the City) and we get to see how Vesper’s attempts to change the Empire of the Winged Eye are going. We also get to learn much more about The Seven: how they came to be, what happened to them in the past, and what they decide to do when they start acting in the world again.
Suffice to say, things go horribly wrong for everyone. It’s great! Seriously though, I’m genuinely proud of this book and can’t wait for you all to get your hands on it.”
You want the official blurb too? Well, okay, but do be warned that if you’ve not read The Malice you are about to come across the kind of spoilers that bring tears to the eyes. So go read The Malice then come back, okay?
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Right. Read it? Good. Please continue:
Years have passed since the Vagrant journeyed to the Shining City, Vesper in arm and Gamma’s sword in hand.
Since then the world has changed. Vesper, following the footsteps of her father, journeyed to the breach and closed the tear between worlds, protecting the last of humanity, but also trapping the infernal horde and all those that fell to its corruptions: willing or otherwise.
In this new age it is Vesper who leads the charge towards unity and peace, with seemingly nothing standing between the world and a bright new future.
That is until eyes open.
And The Seven awakes.
The Seven will be published by Harper Voyager on April 20, 2017 in the UK. The date for a US publication is still to be announced, but The Malice is released in the states today (March 7, 2017)!
Jennie Ivins