"Twelve Months" Cover Released

[Lord Kinbote]

https://x.com/longshotauthor/status/1946226959748305041

And USA Today story:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2025/07/18/dresden-files-twelve-months-jim-butcher/85190986007/

[Mira]

  Very few clues here..  Grief is written all over Harry's face for sure.. I also think from what is behind him we are finally going to get the skinny on what a starborn is and why Harry seems to be different.. Or at least not like Listen or Drakul.

[g33k]

  Very few clues here..  Grief is written all over Harry's face for sure.. I also think from what is behind him we are finally going to get the skinny on what a starborn is and why Harry seems to be different.. Or at least not like Listen or Drakul.

Shards of crystal, odd rune-work glowing on a boulder behind him.
I think that scene is on (maybe even inside) Demonreach... possibly Harry is visiting Thomas?
 

[Cats_are_evil]

Has Harry's staff always been warped? Because to me it's definitely not straight. Also, he looks like Roland from the Dark Tower.

[Mira]

Shards of crystal, odd rune-work glowing on a boulder behind him.
I think that scene is on (maybe even inside) Demonreach... possibly Harry is visiting Thomas?

Possible, though my thoughts when I saw the shards was Arctus Tor.

[g33k]

Possible, though my thoughts when I saw the shards was Arctus Tor.

Also possible, though I didn't see the shards as looking very "ice" like (much more mineral).

It's also worth recalling that the artist afaik doesn't always capture a specific "scene" from the book.

[Mira]

Also possible, though I didn't see the shards as looking very "ice" like (much more mineral).

It's also worth recalling that the artist afaik doesn't always capture a specific "scene" from the book.

I agree as far as the color goes, one thinks blue generally when one thinks of ice.  Crystal maybe? 

[KurtinStGeorge]

Maybe the symbol behind Harry has something to do with the runes on parts of Demonreach or perhaps it has something to do with Harry being Starborn, seeing as what might be tendrils of energy from the symbol appear to be interacting with Harry’s staff.

However, there is another possibility.  Lasciel’s sigil was described by Harry as being vaguely suggestive of an hourglass.  The symbol behind Harry fits that description, if the hourglass was sitting on its side.

To back up this possibility, about a year ago Jim dropped that Hannah Ascher was PO’d that Harry had dumped several tons of molten rock on top of her in Hades vault.  It seemed to me rather odd that Jim let us know that Hannah is still alive.  Especially odd if we weren’t going to see Ascher or Lashiel for several books.

Perhaps the tendrils reaching out towards Harry’s staff mean that Harry isn’t finished dealing with Lashiel in some manner, besides her trying to kill him.

[Mira]

Maybe the symbol behind Harry has something to do with the runes on parts of Demonreach or perhaps it has something to do with Harry being Starborn, seeing as what might be tendrils of energy from the symbol appear to be interacting with Harry’s staff.

However, there is another possibility.  Lasciel’s sigil was described by Harry as being vaguely suggestive of an hourglass.  The symbol behind Harry fits that description, if the hourglass was sitting on its side.

To back up this possibility, about a year ago Jim dropped that Hannah Ascher was PO’d that Harry had dumped several tons of molten rock on top of her in Hades vault.  It seemed to me rather odd that Jim let us know that Hannah is still alive.  Especially odd if we weren’t going to see Ascher or Lashiel for several books.

Perhaps the tendrils reaching out towards Harry’s staff mean that Harry isn’t finished dealing with Lashiel in some manner, besides her trying to kill him.

I don't see that sign even vaguely looking like an hour glass on it's side or otherwise.  Looking at it again, I think it's something that Harry made with his staff and burned into the rock, we see what looks like fragments of molten rock here and there and possible tendrils of power coming from Harry's staff.  Also note, and I saw this the first time I viewed the cover, that Harry's pentacle seems to be glowing.  I didn't mention it the first time because I thought I was imagining it.  However, the pentacle hasn't been mentioned in a long time either, nor the jewel from his mother that was added to it back in Changes.

[RobReece]

I'm not sure how accurate the covers are supposed to be, (hat), but what stood out to me was that his staff was glowing orange, not green.  Orange like when he was employing Hellfire as opposed to the green he's been utilizing since his hookup with Alfred and Demonreach.

[Mira]

I'm not sure how accurate the covers are supposed to be, (hat), but what stood out to me was that his staff was glowing orange, not green.  Orange like when he was employing Hellfire as opposed to the green he's been utilizing since his hookup with Alfred and Demonreach.

I was thinking the same thing, we've talked about the hat before, the cover art always shows a hat, but a hat is rarely mentioned in the books.  When it has been mentioned I seem to remember a ball cap being described, not the floppy brimmed hat always shown on the cover art..  So yeah, I think we often read too much into the cover art for the books. 

[EBRIEN]

The green crystals are on Deamonreach. Also, remember when Lara and Mab show up in the backseat of his car and his magic is tinged with green? Mab (I think) says something about his connection with the Island.

[Mira]

The green crystals are on Deamonreach. Also, remember when Lara and Mab show up in the backseat of his car and his magic is tinged with green? Mab (I think) says something about his connection with the Island.

You could be right, I don't remember that detail... 

[KurtinStGeorge]

The one time I thought a cover was really accurate in a symbolic manner was the one for Turn Coat.  Not the obvious part that shows Harry holding a sword.  Behind and below Harry are two hooded figures.  Two wizards showed up on Demonreach to prevent the supposed traitor Harry was going to reveal to the Council, though Harry was only able to prove that Peabody came to Demonreach.

Of course, the cover for Changes showing us Chichen Itza was pretty revealing.

[KurtinStGeorge]

I'm not sure how accurate the covers are supposed to be, (hat), but what stood out to me was that his staff was glowing orange, not green.  Orange like when he was employing Hellfire as opposed to the green he's been utilizing since his hookup with Alfred and Demonreach.

Like maybe a Denarian will be involved in this story, but more intimate than Nicodemus showing up with his latest plan to kick of an apocalypse.

Even if I am wrong about Lashiel, if Harry is using his staff to create a sigil of some sort, what would he use it for, as a design for a summoning circle for a specific being or perhaps as a defensive ward?