Comments on: Book Cover Smackdown! ‘Blackveil’ vs. ‘The Inheritance’ vs. ‘The Floating Islands’

By: Toni

Toni — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 04:15:48 +0000

I would go with "The floating Island"...it seems lofty (hee hee) and magical. Plus it reminds me of "Castle in the sky". I would choose "blackveil" next. The cover is intense and I expect to be bombarded with fantasy lore and action. i can easily dismiss "the inheritance" as a romance novel of some sort.

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 01:45:22 +0000

I like the chiaroscuro on Blackveil, but Floating Islands is better.

By: Lingeorge

Lingeorge — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:51:28 +0000

Blackveil, Yes that is the one. When I opened the page, Blackveil jumped right at me. The mostly white with a circle, I passed right over. The islands? OK, but eyes went right back to the dark forest, shining city, and dark-vs- purple and wanted to stay there.

By: Frag

Frag — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:25:59 +0000

Tough call. I suppose Blackveil gets the nod. It strongly delivers what readers of fantasy look for in their covers. And Giancola creates magnificence the way I create... er, sweat, I suppose. But I really like The Floating Islands cover a lot. It looks a little like an N.C. Wyeth illustration. Unfortunately, that storybook feel coupled with the uninspired title treatment sort of strands the cover. With a little better art direction I think it could have been the standout. And yes, the snuggling kitties on The Inheritance do absolutely nothing for me. I will assume they are there as a warning that I will enjoy nothing about the book and should stay far away.

Although, in full disclosure, I am allergic to cats.

By: Andrew Liptak

Andrew Liptak — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:14:15 +0000

Floating Islands for me. Beautiful cover!

By: John Stevens

John Stevens — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:11:24 +0000

I would go with Blackveil too. The typical fantasy images, but very well-rendered, with a hint of menace and density in the background. The Hobb book is too plain, although I understand that her names are the selling point. The Floating Islands cover certainly resonates with the title, but you get no sense of activity from the image.

By: Dave Tackett

Dave Tackett — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:11:45 +0000

Easy win for Blackveil. It pulls you into the story. Unless I caught the name Robin Hobb, I would walked right past The Inheritance. Two cats making a yin-yang symbol, really? And though Floating Islands is pretty and probably straight out of the novel, the Gorillaz "Feel Good, Inc." video was pretty much the end of floating islands for me.

By: Aldo Ojeda

Aldo Ojeda — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 14:51:56 +0000

Blackveil: Donato Giancola, nuff said. Waaay better than the UK version.

By: Filippo Bia

Filippo Bia — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 10:02:27 +0000

The Floating Island ... even if too much miayazakian... if you know what i mean

By: DeadParrot

DeadParrot — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 08:13:37 +0000

That gave me a good laugh. Although it isn't clear from the cover, Robin Hobb & Megan Lindholm are in fact two different pseudonyms of the same author. Megan Lindholm began publishing earlier, and I understand that Robin Hobb was created when Megan Lindholm's sales were stuck in the mid-list.