The Good, The Bad, And The Overused Title 2

Book Cover Edition
Holy months-long hiatus, Batman! Yes, unfortunately school, work, and all the insanity those things entail and my own laziness have relegated Classy Graffiti to the wayside for a while. So, I figured I'd make my triumphant return to the lucrative world of blogging with a post nearly-identical to my last. Again, I'd like to make a disclaimer that I haven't actually read any of these books -- these critiques are based solely on a visual read of the covers.

The Good: The Girl Who Played With Fire

This one's pretty basic, but I like it. The colors are bright and vibrant in a way likely to catch your eye from a distance, but without being garish, or eye-burning. The photo used evokes a fiery image without being literal about it the so many artists seem to go. Alternately, it's not so obscure that it seems to have no connection to the plot at all ("Hey, this book is about vampires. What should we put on the cover?" "Let's use a chess piece." "BRILLIANT!").
My one problem with this is probably that the arrangement of the text might be a little hard to read, but I consider that fairly minor. The viewer's eye bounces back and forth down the cover fairly easily, and the motion adds greatly to the cover's visual interest. The less-than-conventional arrangement also adds a minor sense of unease, which enhances the sense of danger the cover seems to be promoting. The text and illustration loses some points for the overall-centered nature of the cover, but the individual elements are asymmetrical enough that it doesn't bother me as much as it usually does.

The Bad: Wheel Of Time, The Gathering Storm

A cover with a bunch of people standing around posing dramatically in a way that may or may not actually relate to the plot. Wow. NEVER seen that before. I suppose it could be worse. It could be a bunch of heads floating around, but this kind of thing seems unfortunately common in fantasy novels in particular. This one isn't quite as bad as usual, with there at least being some implied action and tension, what with the gaping hole in the house and Rand's (I'm assuming that's him, unless the series switched protagonists after I stopped reading) rage-against-the-heavens pose there.
Of course, this is ruined, just a bit, by the way the fact that the house appears to be built at an angle, relative to both the text and the characters. Not built into the side of a hill, or built with slanting walls for some reason, but, in fact, like one side of it is sinking into the ground. This might be an attempt to create a sense of unbalance, or visual conflict, but it honestly just looks like the illustrator couldn't be bothered to use a ruler.
Secondly, what the hell is up with Rand's left hand, there? A quick look at Wikipedia says he lost it in one of the books, but it just looks like the artist forgot to paint it in. And if it really ISN'T there, what the hell is keeping that bit of cape over his wrist? At that angle, it looks like it should be sliding off, but no. Maybe one of his numerous powers is now telekinetic manipulation of cloth.
Flaws aside, this actually isn't that horrible of a cover. It is, however, really really generic, and probably isn't going to do much in the way of grabbing the attention of someone who isn't already a fan.

The Ugly: Inherent Vice

Okay, remember the garish, eye-burning colors I mentioned in the section about The Girl Who Played With Fire? Here's what I mean. I have nothing against purple and green. And I'm sure they could be used together by a sufficiently competent artist without searing off the viewer's retinas, but that sure isn't the case here. (Oh yeah, your retinas are now charred disks of carbon. Anything else you think you're still seeing is a figment of the imagination. My bad.) On the one hand, this cover does a good job of evoking the feel of a seedy, trashy little roadside diner or strip-club or something, which I'm sure was the intent. The problem is that it was done in colors designed for use in flagging down passing aircraft.
Honestly, I'd be afraid to read this book in public without a plain brown cover to go with it. That title, in that font and those colors, really makes it look like that car's gonna be rocking around within five pages. Like the Gathering Storm cover, this seems to be banking on people already being fans of the author. That might not be a problem, but you shouldn't try it with a cover that conjures images of a Las Vegas bar featuring topless dancers. Finally... I don't care what anyone says, that car is the Ecto 1. Unless this book involves a pair of surfing strippers strapping on personal nuclear reactors to investigate the paranormal, it should not have Ecto on the cover. Bad illustrator. No cookie.

Honorable Mention

I love this series. I really do. And I like the covers; they do a good job capturing the atmosphere of the novels, or at least a fairly major part of them. My complaint? They all look the same. Every one of them. It's all Harry standing there looking dramatic, against a backdrop that may or may not actually be indicative of the plot. I know it's probably a publisher thing, but please, how about a little variety in these covers?











Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images displayed. They are displayed for entertainment purposes and not for profit. All images property of their respective owners.