Book Covers

[murphy]

It reminds me of this cover.

 

[fjeronimo]

It reminds me of this cover.

I can see why (that is also a great cover). I looked that book up (The Madness Season) and it seems that it makes a good although potentially light read.

Do you recommend it?

 

[CyBeR]

I think this is a really impressive cover:

I almost bought this book a couple of month ago. Is it any good?

 

[fjeronimo]

I almost bought this book a couple of month ago. Is it any good?

I found it a pretty good read and I'm curious enough to try other works from the same author.

It is a first in a series and it focuses on a long running war between two robot factions where various conflicts of ideologies and principles are portrayed, mostly in the form of dichotomies : free will vs. destiny, individualism vs. society, science vs. religion, male vs. female, mechanical life vs. organic life, etc.

It is a deeper book than the cover might convey initially, but be warned that the author (deliberately) leaves some loose ends for the sequels...

 

[murphy]

I can see why (that is also a great cover). I looked that book up (The Madness Season) and it seems that it makes a good although potentially light read.

Do you recommend it?

I enjoyed it, but it's not a light read. Friedman tends to the dark side.

 

[dask]

What? No "Happy Halloween" thread? Let this then suffice:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

[D_Davis]

Judging a Book by its Cover

I love a good book cover (and yes, sometimes I love a really bad cover as well). As a matter of fact, I buy a lot of books solely because of the cover; yes that is true, and I am not ashamed of it! It's one of the main reasons why I collect vintage paperbacks.

Good book covers, like good album covers and good movie posters, seems to be a dying art. Things seem very generic these days, and with the move towards digital editions the covers themselves are become totally lost.

I'd like to devote this thread to books with great covers, and the discussion of the artists and the aesthetics of the cover art. They don't even necessarily have to be good books - I've read some bad books with great covers.

I'll start with two of my favorites - one old, and one new:

I love the retro-future design of this cover. It just screams 19050s, 60s. I've yet to read the novel, but I'm hoping the text has the same kind of wacky feel to it.

I bought this book because of the cover. I read it, and it blew my mind. In my estimation, it is the new standard by which I judge all fantasy fiction. An absolute masterpiece. The cover is elegant and mature, and expertly designed, and the novel's interior matches with a unique page design.

 

[HareBrain]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

Nice idea for a thread. One of my favourites has always been the Pauline Baynes cover for The Lord of the Rings.

Ever since I was a kid, I've been intrigued by the characters at the edges and in the corners; and I've always loved landscapes that fade into blue distance for the desire to explore they invoke, which works particularly well in fantasy.

 

[D_Davis]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

That's a great cover - never seen that particular edition before.

 

[Star Girl]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

That Lord of the Rings cover is beautiful! Much nicer than the newer black ones.

Sadly I can't find a bigger picture of this one so you can't see the detail. I know it doesn't looks like much, but I love how the lettering says 'Asimov' on the book, the question mark key, and the smoke coming from the empty hollowed book. Just makes me wander what mysteries lie in wait.

 

[HareBrain]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

It might have been UK only. Pauline Baynes did a lot of work on Tolkien's less well-known books (Smith of Wootton Major, Farmer Giles of Ham, etc), both covers and interior illustrations, and also for CS Lewis's Narnia books. Very talented lady.

Of course, the classic LOTR hardback cover of Sauron's eye, surrounded by the fiery letters, was a great piece of design.

 

[D_Davis]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

My collection of More Than Human covers:

 

[Mouse]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

There's a topic on this already somewhere. I remember I posted The Lies of Locke Lamora cover. Awesome cover, crap book.

Anyways, some new ones from me then:

This one I was admiring just this morning actually. I love it:

 

[Extollager]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

Nice idea for a thread. One of my favourites has always been the Pauline Baynes cover for The Lord of the Rings.

Ever since I was a kid, I've been intrigued by the characters at the edges and in the corners; and I've always loved landscapes that fade into blue distance for the desire to explore they invoke, which works particularly well in fantasy.

Yes!

This art wasn't used on any American editions of LOTR so far as I know. However, I believe some of the back cover art from this edition was incorporated into the Caedmon longplay vinyl record Poems and Songs of Middle-earth.

Baynes' lovely Middle-earth map contributed to the design of an early-Seventies trade paperback edition of LOTR from Ballantine.

 

[Mouse]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

Because dolls are just creepy.

And this one is on my wish list on Amazon. Mostly because the cover looks good!

 

[j d worthington]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

I must admit that I'm not generally swayed one way or the other by book covers, when it comes to purchasing or enjoying a book. Which is not to say that I don't think they're important; they can be, and I can enjoy, admire, dislike, or outright loathe any particular cover. For example, the dustjacket for Wilum's new book, Some Unknown Gulf of Night, has an exquisite piece of art which admirably captures both the feel and some of the iconography of the book; the beautiful rose-and-old-gold jacket for (iirc) the first edition of Moorcock's The Revenge of the Rose is also a superb example of "how to do it well".

On the other hand, sometimes simplicity works very well -- whether that be a black cover with a simple gold design, a beige cover with a pen-and-ink sketch, or even a white background with black lettering (with just a bit of blue somewhere for added contrast) can work very well.

Then there are the humongous numbers of simply atrocious covers which most genre fiction seems to garner over the years.....

And yes, I tend to agree that things have grown too bloody generic. It used to be everything imitating something out of Tolkien, or Howard... now it's tentacles everywhere, in and out of season, and I'm beginning to feel that all those cephalopods are finding a way to have their revenge for various sins in seafood restaurants....

 

[HareBrain]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

Sorry to be OT, but Mouse, I assume you've read Corbenic? There's a thread I started on Catherine Fisher in YA, I'd be interested to hear what you thought.

 

[Heather Myst]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

Covers are important to me. I know for sure that I never would of purchased Jim Butcher's Codex Alera books if not for the excellent cover art.
I loved David Coe's Winds of the Forelands series but the covers on all five books were not great and I wonder if the books would of sold better with different cover art.

 

[D_Davis]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

A couple of recent purchases based solely on the cover art:

Modern genre covers just can't even come close to comparing to the art and design of their vintage brethren. So many vintage paperbacks have art worthy of being framed, and the lettering and overall design is more unique, evocative and alluring, while modern covers seem to be made with generic Getty Images photos and boring text.

 

[Mouse]

Re: Judging a Book by its Cover

Sorry to be OT, but Mouse, I assume you've read Corbenic? There's a thread I started on Catherine Fisher in YA, I'd be interested to hear what you thought.

I have it, but I've not got round to reading it yet! I'll try to remember to post in your thread once I have though.