LONDON: Treasure, a mysterious locket and "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" are images on the covers of the final Harry Potter novel by author JK Rowling. Bloomsbury Publishing and US publisher Scholastic posted the covers on their websites this week showing the child and adult editions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which are due to hit bookstores on July 21. The , drawn by Jason Cockcroft, depicts the fictional boy wizard and his friends Ron and Hermione in their cloaks, looking shocked and surrounded by what seems to be a magnificent treasure.
The of the Bloomsbury book cover is a photograph of a silver pendant inlaid with a snake-like green S, which could be a reference to a locket discovered by Harry and linked to his nemesis Voldemort. Scholastic's was created by Mary GrandPre, the acclaimed illustrator of all six previous US editions of the Harry Potter books. "The front cover of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows features a dramatic sky of oranges and golds.
It depicts 17-year-old Harry with arm outstretched, reaching upward. The structures around Harry show evident destruction and in the shadows behind him, we see outlines of other people," said David Saylor, Scholastic's Vice President and Creative Director on the company's website. "On the back cover spidery hands are outstretched toward Harry," he said.
"Only when the book is opened does one see a powerful image of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, his glowing red eyes peering out from his hood," Saylor said. Rowling has been credited with re-introducing the joy of reading to a generation of children growing up with personal computers, the internet and video games. Adding to Harry hype this summer will be Warner Brothers' release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth Hollywood film based on the books.
Speculation has been rife that Rowling, who became the world's first billion-dollar author on the back of the success of the Harry Potter books and movies, may kill Harry off at the end of book seven. She said last year that at least two characters would die in the final book, and that she understood authors' desire to kill off the main character of a successful series.
What's your opinion of the artwork for the new Harry Potter novel?
Send us your and we'll publish your comments. You'd think that for the massive amounts of money the illustrators are getting they'd manage to make Ron and Hermione look slightly realistic, and like they're actually 17/18 years old, not still 13.
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