Fantasy Friday 5 - Beautiful book covers
This week, I'm talking about book covers. I love how fantasy book covers usually have painted/illustrated covers instead of photographs. I'm usually put-off by book covers that feature people's faces, because I like to imagine my characters. That's another reason I love fantasy book covers - they usually feature silhouettes or landscapes, which helps me imagine the world even better without being too imposing.
One of my favorite book covers are the ones from the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. I love the US Daughter of Smoke and Bone book covers, but I like the elegance of the UK editions. They both fit the story in different ways - the US covers capture the raw emotion and intensity, while the UK covers hint at the elegant beauty of the prose.
I really love the cover of The Way of Kings. It's so beautifully drawn, and I love the suggestion of possibilities that may arise from the horizon. The cover brings so many questions - who is that guy standing there, and what is that figure on the other cliff? What sort of plan or destiny brought these characters here, and what will happen next? What world is this, with gorgeous cliffs and swirling skies? I'm so excited to start reading this in the summer - if you're interested, you can join in on the Way of Kings readalong as well!
There are so many different covers for The Lies of Locke Lamora, but these are my favorite:
I love the rich colors and the simplicity of both designs. The font and the deep purple fit the Venetian(ish) setting really well at hint at magic in the first cover. The second one looks so warm and rich, and again a little bit like Venice.
I remember reading that the cover art for Eragon took hours and hours because each scale was drawn by hand. I can't even imagine that kind of detail, and I've spent a really long time staring at these beautiful, detailed dragons.
What are some of your favorite book covers? Do you prefer drawn/illustrated covers or photographs? How do you feel about characters on the cover?
Thanks for taking part, Kritika :D Those are some truly gorgeous covers.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sad that my version of Locke Lamora is so plain (I have a plain yellow Gollancz anniversary one that came as part of a set), because those covers there are just lovely.
Love those covers! Especially the Eragon ones. It's amazing the work that goes into covers, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction