I have some wonderful news to share: the first draft of Pearseus: Endgame is finally complete! This volume concludes the series and returns to the larger philosophical questions posed by Rise of the Prince, whereas Vigil was more of an adventure.
Having reached this happy point, it’s now time to choose a cover. Given the plot, there are two main options; to go with either a lava background or an underwater theme. Alex Saskalidis of 187designz has once again worked his magic and come up with two drafts. Which means, I need your help once again.
Before you choose, you may also wish to consider how well the new drafts fit the rest of the series:
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I’m looking forward to read it!
I put a post in my blog with a short review… I hope it’s readable 🙂
Take care, Nicholas :-)claudine
Yay! Thank you so much, Claudine 🙂
So sorry I got here late. I am so running behind with emails these days. I missed voting and I loved the fiery one better. Both are beautiful and eye catching, though. Well done for completing the series, Nicholas. Can’t wait to read it!!
Lol – there’s no rush!
You’re among the first people who will receive a copy. Thank you 🙂
Wow, congrats on your new book! For a soothing end the blue cover, for an action packed thriller ride the red cover. Hope that helps.
Well, what happens if I have an action-packed thriller with a soothing end?? 😀
I went with the fire one, Nicholas. Although the water cover is potentially more inviting, when lined up against the other covers it just seemed to blend in – and the colouring had similarities with Vigil. So it was the contrast that swing it for me in the end. Good luck making that decision
Yes, good luck indeed! Thank you, Graeme 😀
The fire one is beautiful and dramatic, but the water one is clearer and I like the tranquility, (so I’m hoping the series ends happily?) I also think the blue one will be easier for readers to see on Amazon’s little thumbnails…
It does end happily (for most, anyway). Thank you! 🙂
The blue cover is highly inviting. Has a surreal feeling to it that I am drawn to. Even if I hadn’t known about your other books in the series, I would pick up that book.
That’s good to know! Thank you, Paula 🙂
Love, love the dark lava, it looks so powerful! The sea is similar to the Vigil cover. Just sayin’ 🙂
Thank you, Debbie! 🙂
Good to hear the 4. book is nearly finish. congratulations. But, i think that too, only you know up to now how the ending is. I for myself, love the ocean one. It is calm, the red one, is dramatic, apocalypse. so, whatever it suet for the book, you should take.
That’s the thing; both are equally appropriate, as they represent the two main plot lines! Decision, decisions… sigh… 🙂
My choice was the sea due to it fitting so well with the other book covers. Both are quite stunning though.
Thank you 🙂
I thought the fiery red suited the title more, but as others have said, the blue looks hopeful and rounds out that end of the colour spectrum. I’m guessing nothing in the plot leans toward either fire or water, or you would have made your choice based on that.
Actually, they represent the two main plot lines, hence my bafflement. Thank you, Audrey 🙂
Tough choice. They’re both excellent. I went with the lava, but really, you could either way and still have a fantastic cover. Congrats on finishing the first draft!!!
Thank you so much, Sue! It’s true; I never thought I’d see the day. For some reason, this was the toughest of them all to write.
I chose the fire one because it ties in with your title, End Game. It has a certain climatic appeal and being book five in your series is the cherry on top. 😉 Great covers, by the way! Can’t wait to read it when it comes out. If you want a spot on POTL blog, let me know.
Sure do! Thank you so much for the kind offer 🙂
Congratulations on book 4! Yay. A tetralogy. I seem to gravitate toward those as well. I voted for the sea theme. I think it complements the others and I like the introduction of the differentiating color. The lava is great, but a little too dramatic compared to the others in the series. That said, they’re both lovely and intriguing! Good luck!
Thank you, D! It’s actually book 5 if you count Schism (the prequel) as well. That numbering thing has always bugged me… 🙂
First of all, YAY BOOK FOUR!!!!!!!!!! I’m so excited to read it! I’ll have to reread the first 3 though, so I remember what’s going on with everyone.
Now, covers. I just voted for the lava one, but I have abruptly changed my mind and now prefer the sea one. I shall now share my reasoning with you.
At first, I thought the red cover would work better, because book 3 has a blue-themed cover, and that would be a lot of blue all in a row. But then I thought, “You know what, I really prefer the blue one. Too bad it would mean two books back to back being blue.” But THEN I RECONSIDERED. Because I think going with the lovely light blue is a kind of hopeful way to end the series. You start off parchment and red. Then you get darker and redder as the action picks up. By book 3, we’re full on black, and things are more intense than ever. But we want to end on a hopeful note, so we take the blue tones from book 3 and transition it into a full blue cover for book 4. Blue evokes peace, and tranquility, and freedom, and all that fun stuff — and I’m assuming your book does have a happy-ish ending (within reason), which means the color symbolism would work well. I think it makes a really nice progression, in terms of color, and also reflects the rise and fall of the overarching narrative.
It is, of course, possible that I’m looking too much into this. If you don’t want to puzzle out my reasoning, just go with this: the blue one is really pretty, and I like it. Ta da!
Ha ha – ooookay, thanks for sharing our reasoning there. Actually, it made me think you have an excellent point, and I love the progression thingy (and yes, I’m a sucker for a happy ending, so…) Thanks 🙂
I liked the blue because it doesn’t overpower all the other covers, and as previously mentioned, the sea is central to Greek life – so the blue is appropriate.
Excellent points. Thank you, Noelle 🙂
The red feels apocalyptic, the blue conclusively resolved philosophically. Although seeing it in the series might sway the choice from a colour and aesthetic pov I doubt whether a reader choosing or concluding a series with a single work would give that much attention. On its own I prefer the blue and agree with Charles that it stands out better as thumbnail. Besides as a Greek writer, the sea is central to everything, geographic, historic, mythological- and personal?
All excellent points! Thank you, Philippa 🙂
The fire one is amazing! I will be upset if the sea on wins
Lol – I wouldn’t want you to be upset. Still, vox populi, vox dei, as the simple folk say…
I opted for the underwater one as a balance to 3 of the other books, which are all ‘earthy’ colours – this way it kicks off Vigil with the blue theme 😉
Ah, good point. Thank you, Jan 🙂
As much as I love fire, the water one is clearer. From an Amazon thumbnail perspective, I’d be able to read that with less focus than the fire one. Seems to almost devour the words there.
That was a concern of mine, too. Thanks 🙂
Congratulations on completing the series, Nicholas! The covers look great – I went with the fire and brimstone one, but I actually think both would work well. It depends how the series is going to end. I thought the fiery one was a bit more apocalyptic, if that helps ?
Thank you, Helen! Good point 🙂
Hi Nicholas.. only you know the ending of the series.. The red infers that it is going to be a fire and brimstone and somewhat violent climax.. The blue conveys more of a calm resolution..Both are terrific.
Good point. Thank you, Sally 🙂
Difficult to choose. As a stand alone, for an ending book in a series and with a title like End Game, the fiery cover is better. But … you already have a more muted reddish cover in the series. Still… I think I’d go with it.
However… what about your bipolar cover? It’s a bit visually confusing, and it doesn’t blend all that well with the preceding covers… but on the other hand it’s the culmination, the “final explosion” and it’s the sort of visually intriguing cover that would make me interested in the book and cause me to pause and think a bit more than I might otherwise do if I were simply scanning through covers … so there’s an argument for it being different.
Good luck in your choosing! Heh, you could always go for the minimalist look I chose for my first book cover:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150911084004/https://antibrains.com/toc.html
Heh, I eventually switched over to a cover with a bit more eye-candy because the old Amazon 2-D cover images simply made my book look like three words floating in space on the Amazon page. I don’t think any of your covers quite have THAT problem!
:>
MJM
Lol – thanks, I guess! You pretty much summed up the dialogue in my head 🙂
I love the blue. You already have a red book cover. The blue balances book 3, making the set complete.
Ah, good point. Thank you, Lorraine 🙂
That Red is the more dramatic for me Nicholas 😀
That, it is! Thank you, Chris 🙂
I went with light blue. Seems to be the most popular so far. I chose it based on the four covers shown just above the poll. Mad Water is dark red, and no other covers are pale blue. I think it would suit a box set nicely.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thank you, Pete 🙂
I agree re: the fiery one – fits in better with previous covers .. good luck and well done!
Thank you, Susan 🙂
Both covers are unique, but I chose the blue sea cover as it’s the most different and catches the eye. It’s a lovely shade of blue. Congratulations on finishing the final book in the series. 🙂 — Suzanne
Thank you so much, Suzanne 🙂
Nicholas, even though I prefer the design of the watery cover, I chose the fiery cover because book two already has the word water in the title, and when you view the books together as a set, the red color is a more fitting ‘bookend’ to the first white cover.
Ah, an excellent point! Thank you 🙂
I’ve chosen the sea. But I have to warn you that blue is my favourite colours, so… you know… 😉
Lol – looks like there’s a pattern emerging here 😀
Hey, Nicholas – good to hear the final book in the Pearseus series has wrapped up its first draft 🙂 I went with the blue colour – what can I say, blue is my most favourite of colours and I love the sea. But if you are looking at the colour schemes of the other books, I would say the firey cover fits in better. Either way, both covers look great 😀
Thank you so much, Catherine! You are one of my favorite readers, so expect a free early copy in a month or two 😉
Thanks Nicholas – I’m looking forward to reading the final book 🙂