Tor.com is happy to share the cover for the UK edition of Peter F. Hamilton’s The Abyss Beyond Dreams, the first book in the Chronicle of the Fallers, coming October 2014 from Tor UK! (The US edition will be published by Del Rey.) The book is set in the Commonwealth Universe and comes chronologically between The Commonwealth saga and The Void trilogy.

Julie Crisp, the Editorial Director of Tor UK, shares some of the design process for the cover, including the inspiriation behind the look for Hamilton’s new series.

Peter F. Hamilton has been published by Macmillan for over twenty years now and in that time we’ve had several different looks for his covers, from the original iconic covers of the brilliant Jim Burns, through to the huge epic landscapes of Steve Stone. But this is science fiction—where would we be without some form of evolution?

We wanted to do something different with the new book, and revisit the Commonwealth series. They are such filmic, exciting adventures that we wanted a treatment to reflect that. We looked at several different forms of media for inspiration—games, comparable authors, and films. Here are just some of the numerous images we looked at:

When I first saw the concept I was blown away. Since then, with Peter’s help, we’ve gone into detail with character descriptions, background action scenes and colour schemes. We’re hopeful that the cover will manage to capture the attention of that most elusive of creatures—the science fiction naysayer.

The difficulty with this genre has always been trying to persuade those cinema goers who are more than happy to watch the most recent Star Trek (and not just for Benedict Cumberbatch and Chris Pine), or sit through the boxset of Battlestar Galactica, or eagerly speculate about the new Christopher Nolan film Interstellar, but then claim they never read science fiction. They have no idea what they’re missing out on—we wanted to show them!

Peter’s novels are epic, thrilling adventures following original and brilliant characters. His main protagonist Nigel Sheldon is every bit as sexy as anything Star Trek has to offer (sorry, Benedict), the politics and character encounters are just as involved and explosive as a Game of Thrones plot and the action and pace is no less than any Matt Damon/Tom Cruise blockbuster.

Hopefully the new look will encourage all those who claim they don’t read science fiction to give it a go…

The US cover was revealed a few months ago and they’ve gone with this rather stunning look.

And this is the UK version by Larry Rostant:

We were all thrilled with it, as was Peter who said: ‘This is exactly the kind of image I’ve been wanting on the books, a stylish design incorporating character with the kind of dramatic starscape my stories are associated with.” Hope you love it as much as we do.

You can read an extract of the novel on the Tor UK blog, and be sure to stop by and see Peter F. Hamilton on his upcoming UK tour, the dates for which are found below:

Wednesday 8th October

12.30pm Waterstones Guildfor

71-73 High Street, Guildford GU1 3DY

Contact the store for more info +44 01483 536366

Waterstones Guildfor 71-73 High Street, Guildford GU1 3DY Contact the store for more info +44 01483 536366 7pm Foyles Charing Cross Road

113-119 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0EB

For more info visit www.foyles.co.uk/events

Thursday 9th October

1pm Waterstones Swindon

25/26 Brunel Plaza, Brunel Shopping Centre, Swindon SN1 1ND

Contact the store for more info +44 01793 436465

Waterstones Swindon 25/26 Brunel Plaza, Brunel Shopping Centre, Swindon SN1 1ND Contact the store for more info +44 01793 436465 5.45pm Forbidden Planet Bristol

Clifton Heights Triangle West, Bristol BS8 1EJ

Contact the store for more info 0117 929 7767

Forbidden Planet Bristol Clifton Heights Triangle West, Bristol BS8 1EJ Contact the store for more info 0117 929 7767 8pm Toppings Bath

The Paragon, Bath, Somerset BA1 5LS

Contact the store for more info +44 01225 428111

Friday 10th October

12pm Waterstones Milton Keynes

Unit 72, Midsummer Place, Milton Keynes MK9 3GA

Contact the store for more info +44 01908 395384

Waterstones Milton Keynes Unit 72, Midsummer Place, Milton Keynes MK9 3GA Contact the store for more info +44 01908 395384 7pm Oxford Blackwells

50 Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BQ

Contact the store for more info +44 01865 792792

Saturday 11th October

12pm Waterstones Birmingham

24-26 High St, Birmingham B4 7SL

Contact the store for more info +44 0121 633 4353

Waterstones Birmingham 24-26 High St, Birmingham B4 7SL Contact the store for more info +44 0121 633 4353 4pm Waterstones Nottingham Bridlesmith Gate

1/5 Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham NG1 2GR

Contact the store for more info +44 0115 9470069

Monday 13th October

2pm Waterstones Manchester Trafford Centre

42 Regent Crescent, Trafford Centre, Barton Dock Road, Manchester M17 8AP

Contact the store for more info +44 0161 749 8623

Waterstones Manchester Trafford Centre 42 Regent Crescent, Trafford Centre, Barton Dock Road, Manchester M17 8AP Contact the store for more info +44 0161 749 8623 6.30pm Waterstones Liverpool One

12 College Lane, Liverpool L1 3DL

Contact the store for more info +44 0151 709 9820

Tuesday 14th October

12.30pm Waterstones Sheffield Orchard Square

24-26 Orchard Square, Sheffield S1 2FB

Contact the store for more info +44 0114 272 8971

Waterstones Sheffield Orchard Square 24-26 Orchard Square, Sheffield S1 2FB Contact the store for more info +44 0114 272 8971 7pm Waterstones Leeds

93-97 Albion Street, Leeds LS1 5JS

Contact the store for more info +44 0113 244 4588

Wednesday 15th October

1pm Waterstones Newcastle

Emerson Chambers, Blackett Street, Newcastle NE1 7JF

Contact the store for more info +44 0191 261 7757

Waterstones Newcastle Emerson Chambers, Blackett Street, Newcastle NE1 7JF Contact the store for more info +44 0191 261 7757 7pm Waterstones York

15 Coney Street, York YO1 9QL

Contact the store for more info +44 01904 620784

Thursday 16th October

7.30pm Toppings Ely

9 High Street, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 4LJ

Contact the store for more info +44 01353 645005

Friday 17 October

1pm Waterstones Colchester

12-13 High Street, Colchester CO1 1DA

Contact the store for more info +44 01206 561307

Waterstones Colchester 12-13 High Street, Colchester CO1 1DA Contact the store for more info +44 01206 561307 7.30pm Waterstones Norwich

11-17 Castle Street, Norwich NR2 1PB

Contact the store for more info +44 01603 767292

Thursday 6th November

6pm Waterstones Edinburgh West End

128 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 4AD

Contact the store for more info +44 0131 226 2666

Friday 7th November

12.30pm Waterstones Glasgow Sauchiehall Street

153-157 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3EW

Contact the store for more info +44 0141 332 9105



Julie Crisp is the Editorial Director of Tor UK, publisher of authors including Peter F. Hamilton, China Miéville, Adam Nevill, Paul Cornell, The Walking Dead & The Returned.