Garth Nix has a pretty good idea of the problems inherent in writing a book that features some magic and a sword here or there.
But who was the boy? Where was the boy? Was there a second salad bowl, a second verse to the prophecy, long lost to the Wise but known to an aged crone in the forest of Haz-chyllen-boken-woken, close by the sea, where a small boy with eyes the colour of dark mud swam with the dolphins?
Yes, there was.
What kills me isn’t his keen grip on the ghetto of “fantasy literature,” but that he managed to talk his publishers into releasing his books with covers that buck the stereotype. These flagrantly stiff, stylized Byzantine paintings make the books feel like future classics. Plus they’re about zombie hunters, which is totally cool.
I’m not really convinced that these covers are bucking much of anything. The type is utterly nondescript, composition boring and the illustration, while no doubt technically accomplished, is still firmly traditional rather than progressive.
Bucking the trend in fantasy cover design would mean NOT showing some olde tyme prince worried by a shadowy monster under some stereotypical typeface selection. Bucking the trend would mean going abstract (see the covers of Greg Egan’s books, as an example of how to buck the trend in sci-fi cover design).
I very much like this cover, personally. The way that Sabriel’s dress blends into the River of Death is a neat touch – the River is intoxicating, so there’s a bit of foreshadowing on the cover. And the bell-bandolier, a major part of the book, is well-executed, but, it’s specified in later books, the bells are actually upside-down – a very important factor, because any one of the bells ringing inadvertently could be disasterous, let alone all seven. The villain is bland, could have been done better, and her hair is weird. The costume is the way that it’s specified in the book – an ugly costume, I’ll admit, but you work with what you get.
Not sure how much this captures the suspenseful, “can’t-put-this-book-down” mood of the book. For that, I’d have to reread it.
“Bucking the trend in fantasy cover design would mean NOT showing some olde tyme prince worried by a shadowy monster under some stereotypical typeface selection.”
It’s actually NOT an old tyme prince or even a princess. She battles the living dead. And she doesn’t look particularly worried to me. Tuh!
Anyway, my copy of this book is extremely worn and I can’t even estimate how many times I’ve re-read it ever since its illustration caught my eye in middle school. It’s the only “fantasy” novel I’ve held on to.
i think the illustrations are really good, one idea to push at the constraints of the genre even further might be to use a determinedly non-fantasy font and use details of the illustrations which wrap-around the entire book. I think the frames are a little…well…framey
jaclyn – My point was more that there’s nothing visibly atypical about the character on the cover, regardless of whether she’s a he, a prince or a court jester or whatever. And ‘worried’ has other meanings appropriate for this illustration.
Could it be the people who like this cover like it because of the story, and not because the cover is particularly well done?
seems to me the only people who really enjoy this cover are those who have read it or have interest in the book’s content/genre. shouldn’t a book cover be attractive to anyone who sees it? not just its normal audience?
Perhaps not groundbreaking, the Dillons have been working in the science fiction and fantasy market since the 1950s, but who cares…they have continued to evolve and create breathtaking work for decades.
ok maybe what i meant to say is that a book shouldn’t take knowing, understanding, and appreciating the content to be attractive, but that it should have the potential to attract an audience that is completely unfamiliar with its content.
and please… can we get a new cover? i’m sick of this one.
I have to chime in and agree that these covers are not fantastic covers. The type is ill-considered, which unfortunately destroys the quality of the illustration. I would love a chance to take a swing at typesetting these covers with that caliber illustration, however. Also; nowhere on covers.fwis.com does it say the covers have to be GOOD for them to be critiqued; we may, from time to time, elect to post crappy ones ripe for the pillorying! Enjoy!
What I wonder is how many of the people who post the cover is “dull” or “unattractive” read fantasy fiction? Granted, I love the series but I had never even heard of the author or book until I spotted the cover in a large bin.
I was at a Scholastic books warehouse looking for good deals on paperback fantasy novels, and there was a huge bin with tons of books. This book caught my eye because the cover art was different from any other fantasy novel I’ve seen before. It intrigued me and I bought the book even though the cover was half torn off.
Well, I like the cover and it is the whole reason that I picked the book out—because like EVERY book cover has someone who is blonde or something, and this was the closest one I could find to my image type.
This series has had a lot of different covers.
The Australian covers are quite different:
http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741140408
I think I prefer the black covers – they’re not exactly brilliant design, but they make for a striking series.
Garth Nix has a pretty good idea of the problems inherent in writing a book that features some magic and a sword here or there.
What kills me isn’t his keen grip on the ghetto of “fantasy literature,” but that he managed to talk his publishers into releasing his books with covers that buck the stereotype. These flagrantly stiff, stylized Byzantine paintings make the books feel like future classics. Plus they’re about zombie hunters, which is totally cool.
Speaking of fantasy novels, an art director from Tor posted some advice for would-be sci-fi/fantasy cover illustrators. There’s not much in here about re-inventing the genre, but the advice is good and the anecdotes are hysterical.
— Eric Jacobsen, 2006-07-19 02:15:00
p.s. Updates will be slow this week while Ben is fending off Rhinos in the Serengheti.
p.p.s. a few months ago I challenged Ben to post a decent children’s book cover. He owes me twenty dollars.
— Eric Jacobsen, 2006-07-24 18:57:00
These are without doubt, THE worst covers that have EVER appeared on this website. Truly dreadful.
— handwasher, 2006-07-25 02:07:00
Those who DON’T hate these covers might like to know that the cover illustrations are by Leo and Diane Dillon.
— Rachel Perkins, 2006-07-25 05:43:00
I’m not really convinced that these covers are bucking much of anything. The type is utterly nondescript, composition boring and the illustration, while no doubt technically accomplished, is still firmly traditional rather than progressive.
I think it is you that owes Ben the twenty :)
— jim, 2006-07-25 08:54:00
Bucking the trend in fantasy cover design would mean NOT showing some olde tyme prince worried by a shadowy monster under some stereotypical typeface selection. Bucking the trend would mean going abstract (see the covers of Greg Egan’s books, as an example of how to buck the trend in sci-fi cover design).
— rek, 2006-07-25 10:03:00
I very much like this cover, personally. The way that Sabriel’s dress blends into the River of Death is a neat touch – the River is intoxicating, so there’s a bit of foreshadowing on the cover. And the bell-bandolier, a major part of the book, is well-executed, but, it’s specified in later books, the bells are actually upside-down – a very important factor, because any one of the bells ringing inadvertently could be disasterous, let alone all seven. The villain is bland, could have been done better, and her hair is weird. The costume is the way that it’s specified in the book – an ugly costume, I’ll admit, but you work with what you get.
Not sure how much this captures the suspenseful, “can’t-put-this-book-down” mood of the book. For that, I’d have to reread it.
— cfk, 2006-07-25 16:37:00
“Bucking the trend in fantasy cover design would mean NOT showing some olde tyme prince worried by a shadowy monster under some stereotypical typeface selection.”
It’s actually NOT an old tyme prince or even a princess. She battles the living dead. And she doesn’t look particularly worried to me. Tuh!
Anyway, my copy of this book is extremely worn and I can’t even estimate how many times I’ve re-read it ever since its illustration caught my eye in middle school. It’s the only “fantasy” novel I’ve held on to.
— jaclyn, 2006-07-27 10:19:00
Oh, and there should have been a ”;)” after that “Tuh!” before anyone gets all huffy at me.
— jaclyn, 2006-07-27 10:20:00
not bad illustrations. But not great.
The covers look slapped together rather than being designed as a whole.
Bit dull.
— jason, 2006-07-27 19:42:00
i think the illustrations are really good, one idea to push at the constraints of the genre even further might be to use a determinedly non-fantasy font and use details of the illustrations which wrap-around the entire book. I think the frames are a little…well…framey
— nick, 2006-07-27 21:52:00
next
— bob, 2006-07-28 09:49:00
jaclyn – My point was more that there’s nothing visibly atypical about the character on the cover, regardless of whether she’s a he, a prince or a court jester or whatever. And ‘worried’ has other meanings appropriate for this illustration.
Could it be the people who like this cover like it because of the story, and not because the cover is particularly well done?
— rek, 2006-07-28 11:15:00
seems to me the only people who really enjoy this cover are those who have read it or have interest in the book’s content/genre. shouldn’t a book cover be attractive to anyone who sees it? not just its normal audience?
— ashley, 2006-07-28 12:35:00
Rek, I know, I was just being facetious.
“Shouldn’t a book cover be attractive to anyone who sees it?”
Has a book cover EVER been attractive to anyone and everyone? Is it even possible?
Anyway, despite the illustration, I agree that the cover design is really awful.
— jaclyn, 2006-07-28 16:51:00
Perhaps not groundbreaking, the Dillons have been working in the science fiction and fantasy market since the 1950s, but who cares…they have continued to evolve and create breathtaking work for decades.
— Irene Gallo, 2006-07-31 10:45:00
ok maybe what i meant to say is that a book shouldn’t take knowing, understanding, and appreciating the content to be attractive, but that it should have the potential to attract an audience that is completely unfamiliar with its content.
and please… can we get a new cover? i’m sick of this one.
— ashley, 2006-08-01 09:49:00
I have to chime in and agree that these covers are not fantastic covers. The type is ill-considered, which unfortunately destroys the quality of the illustration. I would love a chance to take a swing at typesetting these covers with that caliber illustration, however. Also; nowhere on covers.fwis.com does it say the covers have to be GOOD for them to be critiqued; we may, from time to time, elect to post crappy ones ripe for the pillorying! Enjoy!
— Chris Papasadero, 2006-08-02 14:32:00
although the illustration isnt perfet, i still think that it represents the writing well.— a devoted fan, 2007-03-21 15:26:00
What I wonder is how many of the people who post the cover is “dull” or “unattractive” read fantasy fiction? Granted, I love the series but I had never even heard of the author or book until I spotted the cover in a large bin.
I was at a Scholastic books warehouse looking for good deals on paperback fantasy novels, and there was a huge bin with tons of books. This book caught my eye because the cover art was different from any other fantasy novel I’ve seen before. It intrigued me and I bought the book even though the cover was half torn off.
— nina, 2007-08-21 09:17:00
Well, I like the cover and it is the whole reason that I picked the book out—because like EVERY book cover has someone who is blonde or something, and this was the closest one I could find to my image type.
— Katie, 2008-03-02 19:24:00
What the hell? I love this cover. The cover is better than the book itself, sadly.
— Flor, 2008-06-09 19:36:00
A good cover of a children’s book? What do you all think of David Wiesner’s “Flotsam”
— Lizanell Boman, 2008-07-02 18:43:00
This series has had a lot of different covers.
The Australian covers are quite different:
http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741140408
I think I prefer the black covers – they’re not exactly brilliant design, but they make for a striking series.
— Hannah, 2008-07-08 20:39:00