All the books in the trilogy are getting a new look!
 |
| Click to embiggen! |
Some facts:
- Penguin/Razorbill didn't change the covers lightly. We talked about the whole process, what was best for the books, and what the readers would like. That said, of course, we also knew...
- We can't please everyone. There will be some people who don't like the new covers. There are a lot of people who didn't like the old ones, too. It would be absolutely impossible to please everyone, but I do believe that...
- These covers capture the essence of each book. I really love that they are each stylized to look like the outside of the ship (rivets! Yay for rivets!). The ice is obviously symbolic to Amy for the first cover, and the leaves line up great with the third book, but my favorite is the second book. True fact: in the original book designs, they did several mock-ups for AMS. My favorite mock-up was a cover that was mostly orange, but no one else liked that one as much. So I'm secretly pretty thrilled that the second one is finally orange :)
- The covers don't spoil the plot. This one was a huge issue for me, because I like my twisty plots! Every idea we had for the cover of Shades seemed to reveal a plot element that I wanted to keep hidden. This cover, though, seems to perfectly encapsulate the secrets of what is left for Amy and Elder to discover, and I truly appreciate that!
Changing covers, especially before the series ends, is always controversial, but I hope that you like the covers as much as I do! And if you'd like to read the summary of SHADES OF EARTH, you can do so here! (I didn't want to copy and paste it here since there are mild spoilers if you've not read the second book yet.)
Please feel free to leave your thoughts here, positive or negative. But remember: a book cover is like the gift wrap on a present--the real gift is the words inside. And speaking of that...I need to get back to editing those words for you! :)
48 comments:
Ahhhhhh! Ok, I have to admit the new covers look pretty great (and I definitely see the new symbolism...very nice touch). Although I'm not particularly happy that my covers won't match, they look fantastic together and definitely fit the series. Congratulations, Beth! Can't wait to get my hands on a copy of SHADES OF EARTH!
I think the new covers are gorgeous!
I'm a huge fan of the new covers!!! Love them.
I'm totally in the camp of kind of sad that my set won't match since the first two are signed and personalized. I thought the original covers were absolutely gorgeous and I'm not lying when I say that the cover for AtU is one of my all-time favorite covers.
Of course, I will buy the final book but I'll be sad it won't match but like you said, it doesn't change the content.
I do understand why they changed it and I AM super excited for you and the books to gain new fans that might not pick up a "girly" looking book!
I love the new covers, even if they're nowhere close to as pretty as the first ones. I do hate it when they change though, because I now won't have a matching set, and so I might as well get Shades of Earth from the library instead of buying it since I don't want mismatching covers on my shelf..
I've liked all the covers for the series, and I think these are great too! only sad that my set of books will be unmatching... or rather, unmatching-er :)
I'll admit to being a bit OCD about my covers and like them to match, I completely understand the reasons behind the change. After all, the point is to get as many people as possible reading your books and these will definitely appeal to both sexes more than the others, which were a little girl-centric. They're pretty darned cool looking, too, which helps ease the pain. :)
I LOVE THEM, I LOVE THEM, I LOVE THEM. I will have to buy them all so I can stroke those rivets!!
I love the new covers! I'm sad that my copies won't match, but I'll see if I can pawn them off to my friends who don't care if they match or not, and just buy these ;)
The second cover is also my favorite! The water droplets are awesome. Great books deserve great covers ;)
I love them! They rock the sci-fi theme so much better.
Yay.
The old covers are pretty, but I think I prefer these new ones. The new AtU seems a better fit than the old one for the story. But I understand the matching concerns (I felt this way when they switched up the Artemis Fowl designs).
Will the rivets be embossed too? That would make them more awesome.
*Sobs*
I don't like them
I wish SoE matched!
Will it be the same book size (like the cover size) as the other two? the other two are bigger than most books.
Content-wise, I am very excited!!!! :)
Although the covers are lovely its like a slap in the face to those of us who bought the hardcovers, who loved them and wanted a set. Otherwise we would just read the books on an e-reader. I know this was the publisher decision but I really do think they should have thought about this a little more. This seems like a decision that should have been for the paperback versions.
There are many of us who have e-readers but still buy books because we love to hold them, look at their covers,have them on our bookshelves and so forth. This is the second time this has happened to me. In the other series the third book didn't come out in hardback as a result I have not bought it or read it.
WIth publishing industry hurting so much I think they should consider those of us standing by them and supporting them when making decisions like this.
While it's sad they won't match, I do really like the change. I think this gives the books broader appeal. The original covers might look to "girlie" and not "SF enough" (I really hate both of those ideas, but hey, we all judge books by their cover, right?) I think the changes will not only reach across genders but also age and give the books a broader audience. It also makes them look more SF instead of your typical girl on the cover of a YA novel cover.
I was really sad when I saw the new covers (especially since the new cover won't match my other books). I get a middle grade feel off them, and they aren't the kind of covers that appeal to me - I think I'd like them more if the font was integrated into the ship more (like engraved and with foil) and if the pink was gone.
However, as long as the new covers gain you more readers, then I'm glad. I'm a huge fan of your novels, and if new covers draw in more readers, then that is fantastic. I'm so excited for Shades of Earth and I can't wait to see how it will all end! :)
A little disappointed that the third won't match, but I haven't bought book 2, so that makes me feel a little better. (In middle of AtU at the moment, actually. The cover is so shiny!)
I do love the new covers, though! The miniature Godspeed above each title is super cute. =D
~Riv Re
Riv Reads
NO!!!
I am really OCD about my books, if they are on my shelf they have to all match - all of them the same style and size. It just looks messy and un-organised otherwise. I have to have matching sets.
I hate it when publishers change mid-series. Why can't they wait til all 3 are out and then do a re-release/design.
Other series have done this and I just stopped buying their books. For example Joseph Delaney's Spooks series. I brought book 1-5 and adored them, then they changed the cover, I don't' like the new ones and they don't match so I gave up. Was a shame as he lost out on sales and I lost out on a great series (i borrowed them from the library so I could still read them once, but they were hardbacks so I took the cover off to read them.) I still feel cheated about it!
i know it sounds really petty and even anal/obsessive but I can't have mis-matched series.
I even just got someone in America to buy me the new Veronica Roth book (Insurgent) and send it to me in England as they changed the covers here and I couldn't stand it. It's really that bad.
I am so disappointed! Can't afford to re-buy the others either so sorry Beth, but I won't be buying the new book, it will be a library read and return. *sad face!*
I wholeheartedly agree with Kate. I have a Kindle but I still buy "real" books and I had my first two original hardcovers signed and personalized by you during Breathless Reads. It saddens me that after supporting the pub, the author, and the bookstores that this happened. And it's the second time for me too and I did not buy those books. I can't buy this unless I wait till Xmas and get Amazon gift cards so I can buy the whole set on Kindle. Otherwise, I'll have to just borrow it too...along with figuring out towhst to do with the two I have which can't sit on the shelf without the third. If this was done by Penguin to attract older readers, well, I'm an adult and these covers don't attract me. If they were designed for boys, well, they're still not really boy books on the inside and they alienate this female (and I'm not the only one). I've also been wondering if it's about money for the pub. I sincerely believe they could have just given us the matching third book and waited a year to reissue the hardcovers with the new designs. It wouldn't have hurt them. And like me and others I've talked too, it drives us further into the "arms" of eBooks where we hardly have to see the covers.
I admit I really like the original cover for A MILLION SUNS but I also really like the covers for books 2 and 3. Overall I think the new covers work :)
I kind of absolutely love the new covers. They completely capture the disparity of the situation life aboard a spaceship is sure to entail. I think my favourite is probably AtU because of the ice, but all three are gorgeous!
Only complaint- 2013 release date?!?! I don't think I can wait that long after AMS's cliffhanger ending! Until then, it's going to be my goal to get an ARC! Please let us know when you get them in!
Once again, congratulations!!!
I have to agree with many of the comments here. I have the first two signed and it kills me that now the third will look like it belongs to a different series. HOWEVER, unlike some here, I WILL still buy the third book. Two reasons: 1) I love the series and I am devoted to it. 2) The series is more valuable with the third book, than without it-- not that I intend to sell them, but that's the collector in me talking.
My own set aside, I do like these new covers. I agree with you, I think they better represent the individual books. I especially love the cover for ATU and how it captures the cold atmosphere and emotions of book one. Don't get me wrong, I loved the original cover design. But since this is the final design, I wish they had started with this artwork instead.
Woohoo! :) They look great!
While I understand the reasoning for the new covers and can see the awesome uniqueness for each book, I still like the originals... But it's not going to deter me from picking up the third one. I love what's in the books; the beautiful covers are just a plus.
Two thumbs up!! I like them, they are fresh and mysterious
As a writer, I can imagine how tough this decision was for you and Razorbill! It's a risk, either way, isn't it? Keep the romantic covers that possibly alienate boys, or change them up to appeal to the boys and sci-fi readers but possibly alienate new non sci-fi readers. I agree with many of the others - why not finish the series with the originals and then re-release with these new covers? Everybody wins, that way, right?
Since I'm not huge on sci-fi, If these had been the original covers I'd never have picked them up. Just not my thing. The "girlie" originals were more welcoming/appealing for me (and made me a HUGE fan of your brand of sci-fi!). All that said, this cover will not stop me from buying SoE. The inside is what matters to me...since I'm already a fan.
yeah, they're nice and beautiful, cool, but what should I do with my other two books? now they don't pass together anymore v.v
Welcome back Beth.
I am glad that I still have our vacation to look forward to in August--we used to go places in June and July and then it seemed like the summer was over when I returned to the work grind.
You have just single-handedly ruined my favorite series. Great job, Penguin.
Don't think I'll be buying the last one now, I can stand them. The covers are what attracted me to the books originally, and now my last one wont match.
Also the original AtU cover is my all time favorite.
Why why why did you change something that was already perfect?
Although I liked the original covers, I prefer the second set. I think they will appeal to all SF readers, not just the female ones.
The first cover (pink side) was pretty and I liked the positive/negative, floating kissers/umbilical cord imagery. But when I lent it, recommending it, to my pink-hating, SF-loving husband, I turned it inside out, to reveal the navy side. I really think if he'd been browsing in the bookstore, he would have passed by that pink cover.
The navy side was a winner and so are the three new covers. Yah, rivets! Congrats!
Well, see, Barb brought up something I forgot about. The cover was already interchangeable so males could be reassured of their sexuality...so why make completely new ones?
Though sad Shades of Earth won't match, I'm liking these new covers!
OOHH!! I LOVE the new covers. They're all very science fictiony, and I only really liked the AtU cover and not the A Million Suns one.
Annoyed consumer is annoyed.
JUST bought A Million Suns so I could HAVE the trilogy in all of its beatutiful hardback glory.
And now there are new covers.
Shit.
I really do like the new covers, but now I want to re-buy books one and two, so they all match. I swear I'm starting to collect your books in all their forms like I do the Sherlock Holmes stories. Hehe!
I love how much symbolism are in these covers! Although I, too, am sad that my covers won't match, I do think these ones fit the series better :)
I can't wait to FINALLY read SHADES OF EARTH!
I can live with the covers for AtU and AMS, but I hate the cover for Shades of Earth. The font is what's really bugging me- too sharp and pointy for me. I'll buy the book, but the cover is going to bug me SO MUCH. I agree with everyone else. The first two covers were beautiful, why'd they have to be changed?
I am really thinking about not buying any more books until the last book is out because I love when my covers of my series match. Why do publishers keep doing this to us? For me, it was the Curse Workers series, then the Shade Trilogy, then Shatter Me series, and now this one.
I don't want to buy physical books anymore. And it's true that because publishers are doing this, I have been buying more e-books. And I hate ebooks! But on there, I don't see the covers so it doesn't bug me as much.
I think I am going to have to pick up this book at the library to read. I might buy the books in paperback since those covers are okay hopefully the third one matches the first two. Or I will just wait until the third book is paperback.
Love the series though, and can't wait for the third book! I will always be a fan of your writing Beth :)!
I simply adore the first two US covers, I'm waiting on buying the second book- i'm in the UK- because i don't like the cover as much. The new covers are hideous. I get why they've been made/changed but it really spits on those readers who have supported the series from the beginning.
I hope there is some way that a matching Shades of Earth cover (paperback & hardback)to coincide with the original ones can be brought out alongside these. I don't think i will be buying the last book otherwise. That sounds melodramatic, but i hate having different covers and these are simply too ugly(imo)to have on the shelf!
Really disappointed in Razorbill-penguin.
Well, I like the third cover best among the three, but I honestly don't like mismatched covers on my shelf. But whatever, I'm reading it anyway. It's just a cover.
Honestly, I LOVE the new covers. The original covers were pretty, but these are much better. However, my biggest pet peeve is when books aren't the same height within a series, so could you please release all these covers in a hardcover format? Perhaps it's just me, but I would spend the money to repurchase the first two given it annoys me that much.
You all do realize that this doesn't change the content of what's inside the book, right?
I'm pretty fed up with most of the fans this series has. The publishers can change the covers anytime they want. And you guys do realize they'll be on Earth now? Maybe that's why they changed them, who knows?
And saying, "You guys ruined my favorite series!" Uh. They simply changed the cover. What makes the series is the amazing story Beth Revis has made for us to read and enjoy, not the cover. If anything, the covers are just a bonus.
And then complaining about mismatching books and how many of you won't be buying this book now is pretty insulting to the writer. Who has spent countless hours writing and editing this book for us to enjoy and love. Who cares if your books are mismatching? At one point that would bother me, too. But then I realized something. It's all about the story and the content within the book that I care about. Like I said, the covers are just a bonus.
So, while the rest of you people go to the library to "rent" the book out because you can't stand the cover, I'll be buying the book and enjoying the way it is. It may not match but not everything has to look perfect. Sometimes imperfect work, too.
I just can't believe that you are trading in the gorgeous, starry covers of Across the Universe and A Million Suns. In comparison the new covers are ugly.
If you are truly going to do a cover change for all these books, then you also need to do a similar SOE cover to those of the original covers.
Wow. I picked up the hardback Across the Universe on a whim due to the original cover--can't say I would have done it with these covers. The new ones look middle grade and generic to me.
I know authors usually have little say in covers, and I hope that these sell well for you, Beth. But I like my covers to match, so there's no reason for me to buy a hardcover Shades of Earth now.
If Penguin offered an alternate cover that people could sign up for (like what happened with Andrea Cremer's Nightshade repackaging), I'd have no qualms buying Shades of Earth in hardback. As is, guess I'll be canceling my pre-order.
Well, while I don't think the new covers are hideous (even though I liked the old ones waaaay better), I still think this change is a slap in the face for all devoted fans of the series. I get that many people might not get that, but for me, as for a lot of other readers, having mismatching covers for a series is a major buzzkill. I WILL certainly buy Shades of Earth (on my Kindle, though), but I still think it would be fair to those who have been following the series from day one and who have eagerly awaited the release of book 2 and the cover reveal for book 3, to stick to the original design for the hardcover and use the new covers for the paperback versions only. I, for one, am pretty sad and disappointed...
Wahh Mrs. Revis please keep the covers the same! I love the first two covers SOOOO much and the third one just put me down a little :(. The first two are absolutely stunning! Please, please, PLEASE convice Penguin to design a cover that goes along with the existing two books. I'm still looking forward to Shades of Earth but the cover thing just bums me out. If you read this, Mrs. Revis, thank you for your time :). You're a really talented author and I honestly do sometimes wish that I had as much creativeness/imagination as you!
I agree with everyone who has said that changing covers now really is a slap in the face to those of us who have been fans of the series from the very beginning. I was very attracted to the cover of the first book, and although you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, we readers still pick them up because of the covers. Changing the covers just to attract more males is just not enough to make this change excusable and again is a slap in the face to us faithful readers. I will still buy the final book because I will want to know how everything ends.
I will always love my original dust jacket with the blueprint of the ship - but these new covers ROCK! :) My pre-ordered book is on it's way - that Amazon box can't show up fast enough! :D!!
Post a Comment