Enigma Cover Reveal

"Enigma: Lost Colonies Book 1 by Ryan Southwick" Image of a woman and silver tiger against an alien landscape.
Cover art by José del Nido

I'm happy to share José del Nido's latest masterpiece in the sparkly new cover for Enigma! José captured the protagonist Britta Silverstar perfectly: her slight figure, the ’ware on her left arm, her jeweled hair pin, and her bedraggled business outfit after a harrowing trek through the wilderness.

As the name implies, Enigma is a mysterious planet shrouded by perpetual clouds and atmospheric properties that render technology useless. The artist captured Enigma's alien flora and the eerie magenta tint cast over everything by the cloud layer. As for the silvery tiger... I don't want to spoil the story, so let's just say it's spot-on.

You may notice a glowing structure in the sky at the top of the cover. Enigma is science fiction with strong fantasy elements, which I'm categorizing as "science fantasy," that should appeal to fantasy fans as well as sci fi / space opera enthusiasts. The large spaceship at the top represents the space opera portion of the story that, while important, doesn't comprise as much as the fantasy portion.

I originally planned for the cover design to more closely resemble Project Xerxes but, after receiving the final artwork, I realized that Xerxes' simple design wouldn't do it justice. Xerxes may consequently receive a facelift to bring it in line with Enigma and set the tone for the rest of the series.

Enigma is slated for a May release.

Enigma | Ryan Southwick
Two friends, divided by tragedy, race to thwart an insidious plot that threatens humanity’s survival across the galaxy.