Vote: The Nemesis List covers

Tor UK has released two possible covers for The Nemesis List by RJ Frith, and is asking for you to tell them which one you prefer. Tor UK’s Julie Crisp has also given us an update on what’s happening with the book, which won our global writing competition, War Of The Words, at the end of last year.

“So it’s been five months since the winner of the War Of The Words writing competition was announced and we’ve been rather busy over at Tor Towers. First of all we briefed the cover artwork and got a designer cracking on that. We actually managed to get Steve Stone – an incredibly accomplished designer who has worked on the most recent version of Peter F Hamilton’s Evolutionary Void – to work on it and he’s given us two great cover concepts. We love them both but we figure that as you’re the target readership then maybe you should get a vote on how the cover looks! So they’re both here and on the website for your opinion.

We’ve also written the cover copy, which went through a couple of tweaks but is now all approved and set to go. And while all this was taking place, the manuscript was also undergoing some changes. RJ is a wonderful writer; very descriptive with lots of pace and great character development, so many of the editorial changes commented upon were just basic structural suggestions. RJ and I have been working on the script for a while now and it’s just heading over to the copyeditor for their input.

Then it’s onto book proofs. So we’ve been busy but very productive and it’s all looking set for a publication of November this year!”

The book covers are below, click to see them full size in a new tab. Also following the covers is the synopsis from the back cover.

Humanity has expanded into the stars but at the price of its freedom. An autocratic and overbearing Government now rigidly controls every technical and scientific advancement. Deviation is punishable by death.

Out on the edges of space, criminals thwart the law, making money out of illegal tech, their ships jumping from galaxy to galaxy to avoid detection. Ex-soldier Frank Pak doesn’t care about politics or breaking the law, he just wants to keep his ship running. When he’s offered a contract to escort a runaway back home to his loving family – he doesn’t ask questions.

But his cargo is more dangerous than he realizes. Jeven Jones is no ordinary passenger. A result of illegal human experimentation, he’s a fast-tracked evolutionary leap into future.  Thanks to his ability for perfect recall and a series of mental skills that he has no control over, Jones is a wanted man. The Government wants him dead. A fledgling revolution want to use him to unlock all the technology the Government has ever denied them.

If Jones lives he’ll start a war. If he dies the entire future of humanity dies with him…

Register your opinions in the comment thread below.