So, I can’t tell you how much of an honour it is to host the cover reveal for not only the UK version of The Core by Peter V. Brett, but also the American version!
The Painted Man (The Warded Man to you in the US) was the first book I reviewed for Fantasy-Faction and it was this book (along with Brent Weeks’s The Way of Shadows) that convinced me I needed people to talk to about the lives I’d just lived and the worlds I’d just inhabited. How did the world get into such a state? How powerful would Arlen get? How do we feel about this Jardir? Would I survive in such a world? Are the demons a metaphor for terrorists? That damned ending. What happens next?? I couldn’t get these questions out of my head.
In 2010, we didn’t have Goodreads or Facebook Groups, and the forums that existed were heavily slanted towards science fiction. The only thing I could think to do was start my own blog and forum and hope I could convince a few people to come chat with me.
Anyway, back to The Core – anyone who has read the sample chapter on Peter’s blog knows that the world is about to be rocked. In case you’ve not read that chapter, I won’t spoil things for you – but we all know from the ending of The Skull Throne that Arlen and Jardir have found a way to enter the Core and take the war to the demons. Leesha, Inevera, Ragen and Elissa must put their considerable differences aside to bind the people of the free cities and lead them against whatever it is the Arlen and Jardir rouse.
Anyway, we’ve had Arlen, Jardir, Inevra, Renna and Rojer across the US and UK covers, so who does that leave us other than Leesha? Well, prepare yourselves…
Pretty fantastic, right? Leesha actually looks more badass than I thought she would, but I think that reflects the growth we’ve seen in her through books two to four. Leesha has gone from someone who was shy, homeless and likely to spend her life largely unnoticed, to the love interest of both Deliverers and, in her own right, one of the most politically important people in the world. Great choice of model too – I can see why Jardir was so caught up with her, even with his relationship to Inevra.
Okay, now take a breath my friends, because we’ve had all the main human players. So who…or what does that leave?
Oh, yes! That’s the Alagai Ka right there! The big bad! There’s a story behind this one too. As you may know, Larry Rostant uses models to develop his cover art (as opposed to paints or pure CGI). With that in mind, he needed something to photograph and that meant an actual demon was needed.
“One of the most exciting things about working on the new covers was getting the sculpture of Alagai Ka created by the legendary Cliff Wallace at Millennium FX. Cliff – who created prosthetics for the original Hellraiser and has recently worked on Assassin’s Creed – designed the sculpture using a drawing of mine and the results are amazing, especially when you see the finished photographs of the sculpture with the model’s body. The US cover was much more of a traditional shoot, but we used the most fantastic model Fleur Randall who really brought the character to life. It was lovely to be able to shoot another US cover tying into the rest of the series, along with a new approach in the UK.” – Larry Rostant
Oh, any I suppose you want to hear from the author as well? Well, okay, here’s Peter V. Brett on Larry Rostant’s covers and how the decision to feature both Leesha and the Demon was made:
“Artist Larry Rostant really set a high bar with his cover of The Painted Man. I owe much of my initial success to that amazing image, and it set the tone for covers going forward, each a portrait of one of the main POV characters in the series. The difficulty was that I was only writing a 5-book series, and have over a dozen POV characters, each of them cover-worthy in their own right.
Thankfully, with both my US and UK publishers, Del Rey and Voyager, respectively trying to differentiate the books for their own markets, we’ve been blessed by the ability to have more than five characters portrayed. The Daylight War showed two very different sides of Inevera, and The Skull Throne got to feature fierce Renna in the US and the talented Rojer Halfgrip in the UK.
I always knew I wanted to put a demon on the cover of the final book, and with the help of Millennium FX in making props and costuming, Larry was able to create the amazing demon cover that will grace the book jackets in the UK.
But in the US, there was a strong call for Leesha Paper, who was with us from the beginning and frankly deserved the cover treatment long-since, to have her turn. Larry found a simply gorgeous model, Fleur Randall, to play the part, and she did literally hundreds of poses in a photoshoot that must have taken all day to achieve the perfection of the final piece.
Best of all, the markets have agreed to share the art, so underneath the Leesha book jacket in the US, you will find a Alagai Ka, the prince of demons leering at you, and underneath Alagai Ka in the UK you will find Leesha drawing a mind ward of protection.
I couldn’t be more pleased at how this final chapter in the Demon Cycle is playing out. Special thanks to Fantasy-Faction for having my back. Marc and the gang have been some of my biggest boosters from the very beginning, and I couldn’t be more pleased to have them be part of the coming out party. Roll on August 15!” – Peter V. Brett
Peter and I want to know which do you prefer?
Do vote and then leave your thoughts in the comments section below, Peter and I will be reading them all!!!
[socialpoll id=”2422383″]
But I prefer X cover! It’s so damned unfair!!!
Before you go breaking stuff, both the UK and the US versions of the book will come with both covers. The UK version will have the demon dustcover with Leesha printed on the hardback, The US version will have the Leesha dustcover with the demon printed on the hardback.
Anything else you can tell us?
The Core is expected to be Peter’s longest book, at around 20% larger than The Daylight War. We will meet a new character who we believe will be the protagonist of Peter’s next series. The Core hits shelves in the US on August 15th and the UK on August 10th.
Julia Kitvaria Sarene
I went demons…
I know, I know…
I’ve been demanding Leesha for so long. However, Alagai Ka wasn’t even on my radar. I didn’t even consider it a possibility. The fact that they actually sculpted a demon just for this cover (although I see Peter Brett is now using it to take amusing pictures with) shows how much they care about these covers and I really love that Hellraiser kind of vibe to it 😀
My first glance of Alagai Ka in the article thumbnail gave me a real fright. I love it!
Demon all the way!
Love it, probably my favourite cover in the series so far.
Definitely the demon. It’s unlike any fantasy cover I’ve seen. The thing looks real!
Love the uk cover! Not that bothered with the US one, but I’m always a bit thrown with seeing human characters faces, that don’t match my imagination!
Awesome, both are just awesome!! How can you ask us to pick one over the other!!!
Gotta go with the demon!
I went Alagai Ka as well – I got actual shivers when I scrolled down and saw it. I swear it’s eyes are following me! I think the US cover perfectly sums up Leesha though, and I’m so pleased she got a cover as she really deserves one. They’re both excellent but, yeah, Alagai Ka! So unexpected and so, so terrifying.
Fantastic, not the Leesha in my head but definitely going forward. One of my can’t come soon enough books
I will buy both just as always, but it’s good to have Leesha on a cover.
Sweet and sour Jesus, those are cool!
Amazing !! I really like the US cover.
fantastic covers!! I’ll always remember trying to dl The Daylight War whilst on hols in India on terrible WiFi!!
These are absolutely amazing! I couldn’t be any more excited for this book if I tried!
Wow. That demon.. I think it’s stunning. I also think I’d be afraid to have it facing out in my personal library 😉
Looks like it’s time for a re-read :O
Just love that demon – it’s such a powerful image! I’ve been enjoying the pictures Peter V Brett’s been posting of the sculpture as it progresses and to see it on the cover like this is awesome 😀
Demon. Mesmerizing. Can’t take my eyes off that thing.
Hard choice, but I love the demon cover! It’s enough to give you nightmares! Can’t wait to read it!
UK cover for the win
For once I am happy that I live in the U.S. Love both but Leesha has the edge for me.
Yikes!
I’m torn between them. On the one hand, the US cover pretty much matches the other UK ones. On the other hand: *DEMONS*. Yeah, I’ll have to side with demons on this one.
HOLY FFFFF…!! omgomgomgomgomg what are words? Absolutely incredible! Both of them! What an awesome way to start the day.
Woohoo! UK gets Alagai Ka! 😀
Love them both guys but voted Demon. I think it’s a break from the norm having the good guys on the front cover! Keep up the good work guys (and thanks for coming to Leeds Pete, you were awesome)
These are amazing! Now I feel the urgent need to reread all the books before this one comes out.
Definitely Demons – the blue cover just doesn’t do it for me.
Fantastic cover art! I love the intensity of Leesha, and the model for Ka did an amazing job, as well. I prefer Leesha on the cover, though. I’ve been waiting the entire series for it to get to her.
awesome, The Leesha one for me, brilliant
Demon but too match my other covers I’ll have to get the US one
Awesome! So excited!
So much great info! Love Leesha, she looks perfect! And can’t wait to know more about what we’ll get to read next
Prefer the US cover. Surprised and impressed they took the risk on the demon for the UK, but it doesn’t work for me.
I simply cannot choose… I’ve always wanted Leesha on a cover, but between her and Alagai Ka? 😀 Awesome stuff!
Both really well made and pretty, but as I don’t like either character I have trouble getting excited for it. I’m going to go with the US one for my copy, as that’s where I live and it’ll be cheaper/faster.
I am definitely looking forward to reading the book, though.
Leesha! Omg these are both so good! So excited!!
Would rather just have the awesome Leesha cover, the demon just looks fake, like dr.who fake.
Beautiful covers! I need to get the books 3 and 4 finished before August!
I want demons! I think the darkness of the storyline should be told by the cover of the book!
Conceptually I like the demon better, but the Leesha cover is just so damn perfect.
Until I actually saw Alagai-Ka, I was ready to vote Leesha…Until I actually Saw That Cover! You can totally pick up on the Hellraiser vibe (kudos)
The US cover is certainly prettier, but it’s kinda generic. You can imagine it being the next cover for any one of half a dozen other fantasy series. If that were the Duchess of the Shallows or anyone who hangs out with Veranix I wouldn’t be all that surprised. But the demon… that’s very Brett. They’re going to the Core. It’s full of demons. On the cover should be a demon. If that turns off people who pick up this book having read none of the others… well, they weren’t gonna get it anyway…
Leesha cover is beautiful ,but that demon is horrific and fascinating and tips my vote.
UK cover so cuddly yes
I’m so sorry we’ve getting the Demon! That seems appropriate for the US! Both are excellent pieces of art. That blue of Leesha warms my heart and gives me hope. The other scares me witless.? Will get both, l love both. Demon cover is too life like. I guess that means the artist has done his job TOO well..? Bless up.
I prefer the UK cover. While Leesha is undeniably an important character, the image of Alagai Ka more accurately represents what the series has been building toward. It is unique and evokes a sense of the dangerous struggle that awaits our characters.
Regardless of the cover, I look forward to reading how it all ends!
The Alagai Ka looks fantastic, and very well presented, but I had to go with the Leesha cover. It looks great, the model is gorgeous, and it’s such a powerful image. Plus, Leesha deserved a cover.
[…] Friday, Fantasy Faction unveiled the UK and US covers for Peter V. Brett‘s fifth novel, THE CORE. The […]
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I always remove the dust covers before I read a book. I much prefer the demon cover, tough the Leesha cover is impressive, so I may have to try and leave on the dust cover. I considered just getting the us version but I prefer the correct spellings for words which made this impossible.
Actually, I like it more as it is planned for the US version:
Leesha on the dust cover and Alagai Ka literally hiding underneath directly printed on the hardcover.
But I definitely like the demon more, so voted for the UK version here.
Sadly, the German versions do not contain these great pieces of art, but nevertheless look good as well.
I vote for Leesha because that Demon is so realistic it frightens me and might scare off new readers. However, I admit it grabs your attention. Just not in a favorable way for me.