Category: Covers

Ryan Ribble & The Tower of Lore

Covers

The author says:

This young adult fantasy is set in the modern times, but in a fantasy world that is built around various lores from our own. It is supposed to appeal to readers that like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter. The protaganist is Ryan Ribble a rabid gamer, and Deidre Mikals another girl from his own world. Together they must ascend the mysterious tower in a race to restore the princess’s magic before her time runs out and an invading army overtakes the land.

Nathan says:

I can see what you were trying for here, but it really doesn’t work. The main font especially doesn’t look like it’s intentionally pixelated; instead, it looks like an oopsie by someone who didn’t know how to use the software. The image of the boy isn’t especially dynamic or interesting, and his pixelation again looks like a mistake more than a conscious decision.

From your description, it doesn’t seem like this is supposed to be a LitRPG or a “sucked into the game world” adventure, and if that’s the case I think you’re overplaying the “gamer” angle. I think simply having a boy in modern dress (possibly with a Minecraftish tee shirt) surrounded by people in pseudo-medieval garb against a fantasy background would work better.

And your name shouldn’t be the easiest-to-ignore element of the cover.

Other comments?

Atlantis Lost

Covers

The author says:

This is the beginning of a fantasy series set in the modern oceans, where the last merpeople in existence live in secret, struggling to survive. Over the series, the mers come out of hiding and reshape their relationship with humans through war and peace. The book is set in real underwater locations, and is illustrated with B&W stylised photos of the animals which live there, hence the choice to use a photo for the cover (I took the picture, so no copyright issues). Each book in the series will have an underwater photo from the appropriate location as its cover. This is intended for eBook publication. The cover is as close to finished as I can make it, so not just a concept test.

Nathan says:

Nice photo.

For a cover like this, which is essentially a background photo behind type, you really need typefaces that are going to carry the weight.  This typeface doesn’t.  I can see that you’re trying to convey a slightly antique, slightly fantastic mood with the type, but this typeface is too generic and overused (you also miss an opportunity to play with positioning between the initial caps and the rest of the words in the title).

Also, if “Pelagius Nemo” is the byline (and even I’m not 100% sure that it is), this might be an occasion where “A Novel by” is justified (or something more specific — “An Undersea Adventure by,” “A Saga of (and Under) the High Seas by,” etc.).

Other comments?

Invisible in Vegas

Covers

The author says:

This crime fiction novel is set in present day Las Vegas. The target audience is adult men and women who enjoy Robert Crais, Michael Koryta, Reed Farrel Coleman, James Swain, Jonathon King, and James W. Hall. The protagonist is Gus Donnelly, a man whose grandfather and parents opened a Las Vegas casino in 1959. Along with his best friend Marcus Anthony, he is searching for a poker chip from his family’s casino worth $10 million dollars. The cost of failure is the death of his girlfriend. I’ve done my amateur best on the cover. The photo is free.

Nathan says:

Technically it’s a nice try.  Conceptually, it needs some work; I can’t speak for anyone else, but to me the cover says “dramatic thriller” — the kind that is usually targeted to WOMEN, not men.  I don’t know whether it’s because a female face alone on a cover is a trope more usually aimed at women, or what…  But let’s take a look at the covers for the authors you cite:

What I’m seeing, more often than not, is clear color and large type — any image is so much an afterthought that, in some cases, it’s practically invisible.

With that in mind, here’s a two-minute redo:

See what I mean? It’s not a good cover by any stretch (because two minutes), but it conveys more clearly its affinity with the authors you cite.

Other comments?

The Hidden Dragon

Covers

The designer says:

This book is a dystopian action, soft sci-fi. The target audience is adults age 19-30 or so. The book has LGBT+ themes, and later books in the series will contain somewhat less action and more political maneuvering as the story progresses, though action will still be present. The story primarily focuses on a violent rebel group that seeks to overthrow the repressive government. I am not the author, just a friend who is also not a professional designer. I did make this cover, however, and the author also agreed to changes based on your feedback.

Nathan says:

It’s a very eye-pleasing cover, although I’m not crazy about the typeface used for the series title, especially as it clashes with the other typeface used.

My bigger question is whether it communicates what you want it to about the story and setting.  It’s got a bit of that Hunger Games vibe, but that series isn’t the be-all end-all of dystopias; what can you do to communicate “dystopia” or “repressive government”?  Uneven paint in place of the smooth red background?  Rust and bolts on the dragon?  A militaristic stencil in place of one of the fonts?

I’ll let the others give more ideas.

Forebodings

Covers

The author says:

The book is a sci-fi/fantasy novel set 3,000 years in our future on a distant planet which evolved to develop both an ecology and a human society that is fantastical. The sci-fi aspect of the novel enters in a few scenes in Book 1, but will more fully reveal itself in the next books when the planet is invaded by its gods…from Earth. The target audience is YA to adult. This might appeal to readers of Herbert, Sanderson.

Nathan says:

I think you know that the artwork is fantastic — no complaints there.

The text is too unassuming; you have space to enlarge the title to make it more readable, so do so.  It’ll be even more readable if you strengthen the borders on the letters to mark it off from the background. Enlarge the byline, too.

Other comments?