We’re thrilled to reveal the amazing cover for Within Without, the fourth in Jeff Noon’s award-nominated and critically acclaimed Nyquist Mystery series. Within Without is due to be released on 11 May 2021, by Angry Robot.

Before we show you all the cover, here’s the official blurb:

In the year 1960, private eye John Nyquist arrives in Delirium, a city of a million borders, to pursue his strangest case yet: tracking down Oberon, the stolen, sentient image of faded film star Vince Craven.

 

As Nyquist tracks Oberon through a series of ever-stranger and more surreal borders, he hears tantalising stories of the Yeald, a First Wall hidden at Delirium’s heart. But to get the help he needs to find it, he’ll have to journey into the fractured minds of the city’s residents, and even into his own…

Well that sounds super intriguing, right?! So we won’t keep you waiting any longer, here’s the cover which was done by cover artist Glen Wilkins.

Within Without | Jeff Noon | ISBN eBook: 9780857668998 | 

ISBN PB: 9780857668981 | PUB DATE: 11 May 2021

ANGRY ROBOT BOOKS, LONDON

Available to pre-order from the following places:

Angry Robot | Waterstones | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

We were so pleased to have the opportunity to interview Glen Wilkins:

Welcome to the Hive, Glen. 

What a stunning cover for Within Without! It’s a very striking, Escher-like design; can you tell us what you hand in mind with the portrayal?

It’s the fourth title in a series so the design and illustration style had to mirror the other titles. There is a huge nod to Escher and I suppose this is reflected in the stairs and arches that lead to nowhere. A little easier to do on the computer than in his day with pen and paper. The challenge was getting the illustration to fit with the set but to have its own identity.

Can you tell us something of your process for making the design? How much of a brief were you given and how closely did you stick to it?

The brief described people walking up stairs that were a dead end, arches, black holes in walls etc. I drew a simple main structure and then just kept adding elements to make it more complex. It was quite organic really, grew on its own, I just pressed some buttons.

There are some little details to be found here and there upon the building; was this a part of your brief, or was it a choice on your part to include these little clues?

Jeff, the author, had a list of things to add into the illustration. The people, the bug, film reel and the flamingo. Not sure how that dog got in there but I’m glad he’s there!

Your colour scheme works with contrasting colours that give the impression of night-time, moonlight, and shadows. Was this intentional? Were there any other colour palettes you worked through first?

The lighting on the other titles is very directional and is set against the black of the cover. We’ve printed a shiner on the illustration so it’ll zing on the book. Love a nice print finish. We picked a blue as it was the last primary that hadn’t been used yet. When the next book comes out we’ll go metallic silver or gold to change it up a bit.

During the process of designing covers are there any aspects you often find difficult? Or least enjoyable? And which parts do you find most enjoyable?

It’s all enjoyable. All the times you don’t get it right, all the times it’s missed the brief slightly, all the times I’ve gone off on a tangent, has led to getting to the final design. It’s all valuable and it’s all fun. And it’s hard work and sometimes it’s very hard but the more you play and try and say “what if?” the more the final design shows and, hopefully, is successful.

On average how long would you say it takes from creating a first draft to having a final cover ready for publication? 

Not sure how long, it varies, but there’s prolly about 70%+ of the work that ends up unseen. And the final design then evolves, right up to the PDF date. “Just one more tweak!”

This isn’t your first cover with Angry Robot; your cover for Chris Panatier’s The Phlebotomist is again striking, unusual, and intricate in the way of a science-journal diagram. Did you have fun designing a vibrant pink cover?!

Yeah, that one was fun. I looked at a lot of Victorian medical drawings (another tangent for me as the book is set in the future) but I wanted imagery and typography to mirror that Victorian look. The title is designed to look like a brass plate on the front of some weird cabinet of curiosity. The Magenta is so strong, you can’t help but pick it up. What I love is that Chris actually drew the final heart and flowers illustration himself, so it’s a real personal piece for him (he’d make a good tattoo artist!). 

That’s very impressive!

Do you have a personal favourite cover design of yours? Or one you found the most enjoyable to work on?

In the mid-90s I design a book about gorgeous George Clooney, I like to think it helped propel him to fame! 

Are there any other cover artists or designers which have influenced and inspired you over the years?

Here’s a few (I have a long, long list) designers and what they have done.

Saul Bass – Hitchcock movie titles

Maurice Binder – Dr No Bond movie titles. I met him at college, he was amazing and generous and looked like a bond villain.

Barney Bubbles – the album covers for Elvis Costello and Ian Dury

Milton Glaser – I love NY logo

Paul Rand – Eye Bee Em

Alan Fletcher – I have nothing to say, and I’m gonna say it! 

My Dad – designed the Ford Cortina

I’ve avoided book designers as I didn’t want to upset anyone I’d forget to mention!

Finally, one of our favourite questions here on the Fantasy Hive: which fantastical creature would you ride into battle and why? 

An Orange Space Hopper (Proud child of the 70s)!

Thank you so much!