You can check it out here at the Leaky Cauldron.
And we thought there was something ominous about the US cover...check this one out! The UK art has always been less subtle and "gives away" more of a story moment. It's interesting art too though, reminds me a bit of a comic book.
The details here are intriguing. We have our trio together, clearly fighting against the enemy. Harry's got a superhero look about him. There's what looks like a dragon's horde of treasure at their feet, and flying all around them. (Any horcruxes there? There are golden cups, anyway...) I get the sense they're being sucked into that circle behind them, like it's some sort of vortex, but that's just an idea.
And I am going to have to rescind my earlier first impressions of the US cover art :-) because I just saw the back cover, also posted at the Leaky Cauldron, which gives us an expanded view of the front cover image.
Harry is clearly on his feet, not flying. He and Voldemort appear to be having a rather public showdown (don't those look like shadowy people in the stands behind them?). Harry is clearly waiting for something -- my new guess is that he has "accio-ed" something and is waiting for it, or is waiting for Fawkes to swoop down with a weapon. I like the latter idea, but would bet it's the former -- note that Voldemort (and it's definitely Voldemort, you can see his long bony fingers and those red slits for eyes under his hood) is also gesturing like he's waiting for something or has accio-ed something.
And note: THEY'RE BOTH WANDLESS. Which could lead us to what seems like a predictable conclusion, that they're waiting for their wands. EXCEPT we know that they can't fight conventionally, with their brother wands -- unless they knowingly choose to deal with priori incantatem, which is a bit hard to believe. Or unless Voldemort has a new wand, and everybody knows about it, including Harry -- remember Ollivander had disappeared as of book 6, and no one really knew where he'd gone or whose side he was on. Even if you believe Ollivander to be a good guy, there is the possibility that he was coerced into tweaking Voldemort's wand or creating a new one altogether.
OK, I've ranged far afield from what's actually available in the cover art. Over to you, Erin -- eagerly awaiting your thoughts!
Edited to add: if you "click to expand" the US back cover image, there are other interesting details. The broken stone or wooden object -- some sort of dais or table? (Made me think of the Stone Table in Narnia, on a smaller scale.)
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3 comments:
Hmmmm, interesting! Could Voldemort and Harry be reaching for / accio-ing the same thing? A horcrux perhaps? Voldemort sure does look creepy with those red eyes of his... At any rate, it seems this is probably the climactic moment in the book. Intriguing glance indeed!
The UK cover sure is different. I don't think I realized that the illustrator was different there. The picture looks cartoonish and full of action. I first thought of Gringotts; would they have that much treasure just lying around in one of the vaults? Or maybe some mysterious place in search of one of the horcruxes or some vital information.
It's encouraging that Ron and Hermione are with Harry, I think; it would seem at least some of the culmination of Harry's journey must happen to him alone, but it's nice to see him still working as a trio with his two best friends!
I'm not sure about the accio-ing -- I think Harry is definitely summoning/ awaiting something, and I love the confident expectancy on his face, but the more I look at Voldemort, the more I wonder if he's not trying to stop/counteract something. It's hard to tell, the way his hand is positioned.
I'm not positive, but I think the UK cover artist may have actually changed from the last time out -- I remember the UK cover art from book 6, and I don't remember it being in this style. If you enlarge the UK cover and scroll right, you can see the right hand flap with a picture of Prongs. I was so excited by that. At least it seems like Harry will have plenty of help.
Some of the eagle-eyed Harry readers over at the HogPro boards also spotted a fourth on the UK cover. It's so busy, so detailed, it's very hard to catch. But look at the hand holding the sword's -- it's not Ron's or Hermione's. Then check out the ears peeking over Harry's shoulder. Could that be Dobby wielding what appears to be (at least possibly) Godric's sword?
I think you're right on that the UK cover scene looks like it's at Gringott's. Dana and I went back to the introduction to Gringott's in SS, and there's actual a reference to people being "sucked in" if they try to rob high-security vaults, which struck us as interesting... the trio (plus house-elf) certainly look like they're being sucked through a doorway, or blown back through one. The other thing that's interesting to note is how beat up they all are already -- you can especially note wounds on Harry and Hermione's arms.
The pictures give us plenty to think about, that's for sure!
Definitely a lot to think about! And now I must study that UK cover again, since I missed both Prongs and the extra hand... ;)
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