I prefer the Grave Thief's cover, but I think both covers have a typography problem. Step back a bit from them both, and the Grave Thief's title starts to fade, while This Crooked Way's title disappears completely. The artwork is gorgeous, but Cooke and Conti-Zilsberger seem not to have known how to make the titles work with it -- outlines around the type are not the answer.

Posted by Joel Bass on Monday April 13, 2009 at 1:53 PM

Gonna go with The Grave Thief here.  The more crisp look gives the impression that there are real characters here with real objectives.  Get past this alien/moster/guardian, get through castle gates, plunder ancient relics, etc (sorry, I know nothing of the real story). 

This Crooked Way, on the other hand, has a blurred, unclear look with a generic battle scene.  The only think that interests me here is that eggish thing in the bg.  Also (and it could just be the scan), the type looks like it came from a home printer from 1986.

Posted by A_Z on Monday April 13, 2009 at 2:40 PM

Both covers look busy but The Grave thief cover looks more appealing.

Posted by Jim on Monday April 13, 2009 at 2:55 PM

I should mention: for best visual results, click the respective "this corner" links to get the much bigger pictures, allowing you see more detail,  Don't rely on the image resizing done for the benefit of posting here.

Posted by John D. on Monday April 13, 2009 at 3:02 PM

This one's a tough call - Judging a book purely by it's cover, I don't care for either of them overlymuch, but This Crooked Way, while better in the full view, is still too red (and the giant marshmellow in the back doesn't work for me).  If handed the two, I'd be more likely to read the back cover blurb on The Grave Thief first.  Being "book three" suggests right off that if I'm happy with it, there are two more behind it waiting for me.

Posted by Kristine on Monday April 13, 2009 at 3:39 PM

It's close - both have a similar style. I would prefer The Crooked Way if it weren't for the glowing sword-that-looks-like-but-isn't-a-lightsaber. So I'll go with The Grave Thief.

This reminds me that I really need to read both of these authors - I've heard mixed things, but enough to make me curious.

Posted by neth on Monday April 13, 2009 at 5:03 PM

No contest! The Crooked Way. To see why I liked it, go to the Pyr blog. The Grave Thief is just too bland.

Posted by Christine on Monday April 13, 2009 at 7:50 PM

Grave Thief. What is that messed up, Starship Troopers alien-looking thing he's about to fight? Awesome!

Posted by captplothole on Tuesday April 14, 2009 at 7:29 AM