Revealed: A New Cover Look For Peter Higgins’ Wolfhound Century Books

Simon Spanton drops by to tell us all about the incredible new look for Wolfhound Century, Truth and Fear and Radiant State by Peter Higgins.

Peter Higgin’s Wolfhound Century books have been acclaimed by everyone from Nina Allan to Francis Spufford with Richard Morgan, Adam Roberts and Hannu Rajaniemi inbetween.

This spellbinding mix of  fantasy and SF set in a world that echoes a surreal and magical Soviet Union of the first half of the twentieth century has won ardent fans but we would love it to reach more. This is a series that has bewitched every publisher who has seen it (we acquired it only after a fierce auction and it has sold to publishers around the world). So, to revive this series and to launch the final part of the trilogy we have decided on a dramatic new cover look both for the new book and for new editions of the first two titles.

We wanted something that would stand out, that would convey the rich, almost mythic feel of the books, something that reflect the strong sense of place in the books but which would also focus on the powerful portrayal of the characters. Who to approach for this new look?

I had sent copies of the books to Jeffrey Alan Love (who did the stunning covers for Simon Ings’ books) and I knew he had fallen in love with them. One day looking through his website I saw a wonderful acrylic painting he had done of Prince Igor in a field of blood. Suddenly it all dropped into place. Would Jeffrey be interested in having go? Happily he jumped at the chance. And this is what he has produced – a look to take these books to a whole new readership. A look that will jump off the shelves. I can’t wait for Peter’s books to go out into the world again in this new livery.

Welcome to Vlast…