Inspired by the latest Top 5 Wednesday topic: “Disappointing Eye Candy”, we decided to do it in reverse and talk about a few books we loved but made us yell: “Good Lord, that cover!”
1. The Historian
Such an interesting book! This was an instant favorite for us. The amount of research the author did is palpable and then she applied it into a story that not only makes sense historically, but is able to add a supernatural element seamlessly. Then you see the cover, and it doesn’t tell you anything. The image they chose -with the weird Renaissance man- feels like it's just pasted there, being random. You don't necessarily need an image to make it have meaning, but if you're going to make a type arrangement, at least try a little harder - talking about the second cover - that is just bad photoshop layer effects (careful there with Bevel & Emboss). The fourth cover tried to be better, drawing inspiration from the concept of vampires with the "blood" brushes but it fell a little short and just needed one extra push to make it interesting.
2. The Golden Compass
This one is especially sad for us, given how majorly awesome this book series is. Somehow, after 20 years, there isn’t a single edition of this book/series with a decent cover. No one has managed to create a concept that captures what this book is really about. Let us tell you something, this book isn’t about a girl and her bear, not even close. Yes, it’s true that Iorek, the Panserbjørn, was a pretty important (and cool) character but a secondary one still. Where are the dæmons? Where is the actual object this book is named after (or at least an appealing representation of it)? They could have even played around with the concept of Dust. So much content to choose from, so many wasted opportunities.
3. Mage Heart
Definitely, not a favorite, but still a good read, “Mage Heart” has some of the worst covers we’ve ever seen. It is difficult to pick favorites between the awful typography, no cohesive color theory, the weird blurry images, the overwhelming clutter, the amateur-looking Photoshop…It’s all pretty bad. We must give props to the designer that made the cover for the latest edition, though. The 2012 cover definitely redeemed itself with a high-quality illustration and a better use of typography. However, it’s still a little off with the concept, because: Why is there a Geisha? She wasn’t Japanese.
4. Ella Enchanted
This was a great book to read when we were in our teen-years. Even now, it's just a good story. Something interesting happened with the covers here: The first one has a more mature style that doesn't appeal to its target audience; the second one feels like they wanted to bring the story into modern times. It's basically the same concept as the first one but overdid it with the Photoshop; The third one is actually good, with a lovely illustration and well integrated typography. They got it right and they should have stopped there; but no, because the fourth one is just terrible. Somehow, the last cover turned this book into a weird modern-day fairytale comedy, not to mention the fact that it connects it directly with the awful thing that was the movie.
What do you think about this topic? Do you have any books that you loved but couldn't deal with the cover? Let us know in the comments below. We want to hear from you!
Read you next time,
This was a great book to read when we were in our teen-years. Even now, it's just a good story. Something interesting happened with the covers here: The first one has a more mature style that doesn't appeal to its target audience; the second one feels like they wanted to bring the story into modern times. It's basically the same concept as the first one but overdid it with the Photoshop; The third one is actually good, with a lovely illustration and well integrated typography. They got it right and they should have stopped there; but no, because the fourth one is just terrible. Somehow, the last cover turned this book into a weird modern-day fairytale comedy, not to mention the fact that it connects it directly with the awful thing that was the movie.
What do you think about this topic? Do you have any books that you loved but couldn't deal with the cover? Let us know in the comments below. We want to hear from you!
Read you next time,
2 comments
Hi Miss Phi. I wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award. I am nominating mostly book reviewers because I know from experience that it can get overwhelming sometimes, and because I really enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeleteMy vote for worst cover... Vittorio the Vampire by Anne Rice; especially the old hardcover edition. The story is great; if you can get past that nasty cover!
Thank you so much! We will be writing a post about the nomination next week. I highly appreciate you keeping my blog in mind.
DeleteWe totally agree with your cover nomination, that is a terrible cover.