Book Cover Smackdown! ‘Echo City’ vs. ‘Halo: Cryptum’ vs. ‘Zoe’s Tale’
By AidanMoher |
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 at
11:29 am
Grab your Spartan Armor, folk! It’s time for another Book Cover Smackdown!
Here are the contenders…
Your Mission (should you choose to accept it): Tell us which cover you like best and why.
Books shown here:
- Echo City by Tim Lebbon (Artist: Kathleen Lynch)
- Halo: Cryptum by Greg Bear (Artist: Sparth)
- Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi (Artist: Vincent Chong)
NOTE: Bigger, better cover art images are available by clicking the images or title links.
Related posts:
- Book Cover Smackdown! Zoe’s Tale vs. Killswitch vs. Leviathan
- Book Cover Smackdown! Dragon Haven vs. The Infernal City vs. The Zeppelin Pulps
- Book Cover Smackdown! Terra Insegura vs. Haze vs. Boneshaker
- Book Cover Smackdown! ‘Zoo City’ vs. ‘Plague Year’ (Czech) vs. Firedrake
- Book Cover Smackdown! ‘Leviathan Wakes’ vs. ‘Fuzzy Nation’ vs. ‘Out of the Dark’
Tagged with: Book Cover Smackdown • Cryptum • Echo City • Greg Bear • Halo • John Scalzi • Old Man's War • science fiction • Tim Lebbon • Xbox 360 • Zoe's Tale
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a difficult one between Echo City and Zoe’s Tale… Both exhibit beautiful covers but my preference for natural environment pushed me to choose Echo City. Beautiful landscape overlooking a city down below. I checked the synposis of that book and I am definitely buying that one. Same with Zoe’s Tale as I already have first three Old Man’s War books. Sorry I didn’t find Halo book aesthetically appealing.
I like the Halo:Cryptum art so much, I have it as my desktop wallpaper. I’ve always liked the design aestetic of the Forerunner race in that mythology, even though I’m not really a Halo player.
That said, I like both the Halo:Cryptum and Echo City artwork for simliar reasons. Both hint at grand things that dwarf the protagonist and will engage the reader. Echo City’s layout is nicer, though, so that might win for me, even though I prefer the Halo art a smidge.
Hm, these are all pretty cool looking ones. I have to say I’d go for Halo: Cryptum first, because it really looks like it’ll fit nicely with the Halo world, something I’ve always associated with wonder and awe and ancient buildings. Zoe’s Tale is also pretty cool, although I already have the book. Echo City is also nice, but a bit bland.
Echo City immediately catches my eye. I love the bounded feel of the larger-than-life title, and the tones of the horizon. The other two leave me pretty flat. I know Halo video game stuff to be surprised or intrigued. It just “blends in” to my cynical eyes! And, the Zoe’s Tale is … discomforting?
Well, you’re certainly putting Finch at a disadvantage here!
JeffV
Wow–how did Aiadan and I both miss that? Our eyes must still be glazed over from the Tronmas posts, eh.
I agree with some of the others that this is a difficult one. I actually like all three. I would probably rate Zoe’s Tale highest simply because I have a fondness for the story and like seeing Hickory and Dickory on the cover, but I am also a BIG fan of the sweeping sf vistas of the sort that Sparth, Martiniere, and in this case Lynch obviously do so well.
I like that Echo City has the big title, which catches the eye, but does it with a bit of opacity so that it doesn’t completely mar the image. The Halo title with the large black band across the top really damages the scope of Sparth’s image.
Echo City I think. I actually like all three covers a great deal. Echo City wins for me though because Halo cover doesn’t have enough to break up all those straight lines for me. It’s just too angular.
Zoe’s Tale has a great cover too, but just on principal I cannot vote for one where the characters are posing like they are having engagement photos taken for their local newspaper – even if said looks amazing.
Echo City is the most eye-catching. The type transparency works for me. The others aren’t bad, but look more templated. SF covers should vere on the side of mind-blowing abstraction which I know doesn’t work for the retailers, but hey, what do you want to see more on your bookshelves?
Sparth.
Personally the only one that catches my eye is Zoe’s Tale. I think it’s fabulous