Comments on: Book Cover Smackdown (March Military SF Edition) – “A Few Good Men” vs. “Fire Caste” vs. “Gears of War: The Slab”

By: Carl V.

Carl V. — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:43:26 +0000

In regards to Baen I have to admit that I don’t get it. I don’t understand their aesthetic. So many of their covers look the same and so many of them are not that well executed from a technical standpoint, let alone unattractive for other reasons. But then again that is just my taste, they obviously are someone’s version of a good cover since they have pretty steadily cranked out the same look for years.

I do forgive them this, however, because I admire the commitment they have to keep authors’ work in print.

By: Eva Lefoy

Eva Lefoy — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 04:32:44 +0000

I just don’t know what to say. The first cover is good, but at first I assumed that was some sort of plumage, not a tattered flag. On recognizing the flag, my brain automatically inserted Kurt Russell into the main character role and from there my brain pretty much spun it’s wheels in the mud. No immediate analogies jumped out at me regarding the other two covers. I’m afraid I blew it!

By: John

John — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 01:04:46 +0000

I don’t get it,Baen is a successful publisher,surely they can hire competent illustrators ?

By: Carl V.

Carl V. — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:19:04 +0000

None of these are all that great, although The Slab is by far the best. A Few Good Men is a typical ugh Baen cover. I enjoy Gears of War and the Traviss book is actually one I might enjoy reading.

By: Fred Kiesche

Fred Kiesche — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:53:20 +0000

The Slab is the best of a pretty meh trio.

By: David Greybeard

David Greybeard — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:44:55 +0000

GEARS OF WAR takes my top pick. Sexy guns on that guy!

With the Warhammer title a close second.

They both make me want to read the books even though I’ve never played either game.

Can always tell a Baen book by the horrible artwork on the cover. Well, unless it’s Eagleton. So that top book ranks last.

By: The Doctor

The Doctor — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:17:01 +0000

All three are terrible. And I’m not just talking about the covers. Oh well.

By: RkR

RkR — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 20:04:59 +0000

I bemoan the loss of good cover art. None of these does a thing for me, I’m afraid.

By: Steve Oerkfitz

Steve Oerkfitz — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 17:46:07 +0000

Thye Slab is the best of the three, but I’m not likely to read any of thse. A Few Good Men is the type of cover that turns me off-looks like a slightly better version of a Baen Book.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 17:29:11 +0000

My favorite is the Slab. It just looks like all hope is given up and there is nothing left for him. The cover alone makes me want to read to see how he got to that point and how he is going to pull himself out.

By: Ingrid K. V. Hardy

Ingrid K. V. Hardy — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 15:34:57 +0000

Without a doubt, my favorite is the cover for The Slab. To me, it really shows a loneliness, a weariness, and a massiveness (I’ll quit now with the words of ‘state’…:-)) The quality of the artwork is really, really nice as well, and I really like the moody lighting, even if it might not be as colorful as the others. I love this cover.

By: Gustavo Campanelli

Gustavo Campanelli — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 11:02:16 +0000

The better one is A few good men, it’s a nice and messy one.

That being said, I would not touch Fire Caste at all. After what GW tried to pull with “Space Marines” I don’t want anything to do with that Franchise.

By: X2-Eliah

X2-Eliah — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 07:16:57 +0000

Hm. I’d say that the ‘few good men’ cover is the better of the three, due to the rather nice balance of tone and colours, and the use of iconography (character pose, flag, glorification of the handgun) to indicate the novel’s content/story tone. Now, mind, I would never buy that novel to read – becuase of said iconography, in fact – but that dopesn’t change the fact that (imo) it’s the most evocative.

Also, fire caste’s covermachoman looks like he’s wearing an adult diaper.