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Worst book covers

wolverine

By wolverine,
in Literature

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wolverine Council Member

wolverine

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Someone in another thread talked about how they do judge books by their covers and it got me to thinking about some bad book covers, especially since Heroes Die just arrived in the mail for me yesterday.

Seriously, Heroes Die is one of the worst book covers for I book I have ever owned. It will make me embarrassed to read in public.

A few other bad book covers I can think of off the top of my head that I have are Dragonmasters (great book), almost all the WoT books (good books), and a couple Zelazny books (also very good books.

Edit: Oooohh, I thought of another one. When I saw the cover for Warbreaker, with Storm on it, I was a little discouraged from getting it (and haven't yet).

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Jaime L Council Member

Jaime L

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There's a newish site dedicated to "bad" SFF covers called Good Show, Sir. Some real howlers featured there, and, alas, some rather interesting ones, too, that've been caught in the bad-cover net.

That's pretty entertaining.

Like AwkwardFamilyPhotos applied to books. About the same proportion from the 70s-80s too.

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Humble Asskicker Council Member

Humble Asskicker

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Take your pick of the WoT covers and you'll at least make the full top ten list.

It's a crazy little world we live in when one of the best selling modern fantasy series has the consistently worst covers in a genre already known for some dubious cover art (although there are the exceptionally good ones as well).

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Liadin Council Member

Liadin

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The US covers for anything are craptacular because you look at the Uk covers and see what they could have been. I'm actually having a real hard time thinking of a us cover i liked more than a UK one.

This is generally true. However, with ASOIAF I much prefer the American covers--as I was living in the UK when I first read them I had to read this copy of ASOS. Bleeeeeh.

Martin's portrait gallery provides a lot of laughs, actually. There's this, which someone loved so much that they used it on every single book. And this, and this, which looks like nothing so much as Jon decapitating himself. And this.... huh?

And this is the part where Jaime went on Crusade. You only thought he was a prisoner in ACOK. And multiple creepy depictions of the birth of the dragons. And the Grim Reaper on a reindeer, of course. And.... ugh. And one more.... yeah. We've gotten pretty lucky in the U.S. with this series. :laugh:

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Happy Ent Council Member

Happy Ent

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I think these nice covers for Prince of Nothing win: one, two.

Sweet Sejenus! Where did you find those?

I agree that they aren't really good, but it's the first Prince of Nothing art I've seen!

One: Cnaiür faces an Imperial Saik schoolman at the battle of Kiyuth.

Two: I hope this is the one scene that was highest on my list of "what I'd like to see art of." Akka faces the Imperial Saik outside Shimeh. Esmi in the foreground.

Though these pieces are a tad disappointing in their execution, I'm happy to see original Bakkerworld art. Thanks for posting.

Edit: Kiyuth schoolman is casting the Dragonhead spell.

Shimeh schoolmen are casting, from left to right:

1. Don't know. The sun spell falls from the sky, while he's holding a fireball in his hands.

2. Maybe the incandescent sparrows?

3. Dragonhead again

4. Lightning. Again, this is supposed to fall from the sky "boiling clouds of black. Lightning flashed from a blinding skein"

Akka has some nice, circular wards going. I don’t like the very non-Gnostic lightning, though.

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jurble Council Member

jurble

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I think these nice covers for Prince of Nothing win: one, two.

Whoa, what? How have these remained hidden? And why are they 70's terrible?

And yeah Akka's magic in the second cover is definitely not gnostic, it looks pretty anagogic, though holy shit, Esmenet is hot there.

Google says the language is Croatian. I'm surprised Bakker even is in print in Croatia.

And this.... huh?

Battle of the Blackwater Bay man.

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Grogsmash Landed Knight

Grogsmash

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Take your pick of the WoT covers and you'll at least make the full top ten list.

It's a crazy little world we live in when one of the best selling modern fantasy series has the consistently worst covers in a genre already known for some dubious cover art (although there are the exceptionally good ones as well).

Yep, its embarrassing how bad the WoT covers are. Please at least give us covers that don't look like they were drawn by an 8 year old.

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Happy Ent Council Member

Happy Ent

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Who the heck is the jester? Is there a jester with a morning star in ASoIaF? :worried:

If it was a genuine question:

Shagwell dropped from the weirwood, braying laughter. He was garbed in motley, but so faded and stained that it showed more brown than grey or pink. In place of a jester's flail he had a triple momingstar, three spiked balls chained to a wooden haft.
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