Temeraire

The Friday Face-Off: Green With Envy

| proxyfish

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a new weekly meme here at Books by Proxy. Join me every Friday as I pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.

Green With Envy

 

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Welcome to this week’s Friday Face-Off! This Face-Off is comparing books with predominantly green covers and, for me, there’s only one book which came instantly to mind!

Published by Gollancz in the UK and by Tor in the US, Elantris by Brandon Sanderson is not only a brilliant read but has some stunning artwork gracing its covers. Scroll down to see which one takes this week’s crown.

Gollancz – UK Cover

Artwork by Sam Green

Tor – US Cover

Artwork by Stephan Martiniere

| The Friday Face-Off: Winner |

Stephan Martiniere’s US cover is undeniably beautiful and incredibly detailed. It has a brilliant traditional and almost sci-fi quality to it which still manages to resonate beautifully with the narrative. However, the Sam Green covers for Brandon Sanderson’s extensive repertoire have been a long time favourite and so this week’s winner was an easy choice. Monochrome with a flash of colour, these beautiful illustrations never fail to impress. Capturing the beautiful eerie quality of a city under a magical plague, this wonderfully stylised artwork along with its eye-catching typeface couldn’t fail to come out on top in this week’s Face-Off.

Which cover wins your vote this week? Have a cover of your own? – Post the link below!

Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads

Next Friday’s theme is: Water, Water Everywhere

Remember to check The Friday Face-Off Feature Page for upcoming themes

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The Friday Face-Off: Here be Dragons

| proxyfish

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a new weekly meme here at Books by Proxy. Join me every Friday as I pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.

Here be Dragons

Temeraire / His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

Welcome to this week’s Friday Face-Off! This Face-Off is all about dragons, so I’ve gone for the first book in a series I intended to start almost ten years ago and still haven’t got around to!

Published as Temeraire by Harper Voyager in the UK and as His Majesty’s Dragon by Del Rey in the US, the first book in Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series has some stunning cover art on offer by some very talented artists. Take a look and see which one is your favourite.

Harper Voyager – UK Cover

Artwork by Andrew Davidson

Del Rey / Ballantine – US Cover

Artwork by Dominic Harman

| The Friday Face-Off: Winner |

For me, the UK cover of Temeraire wins hands down. That wood engraving by Andrew Davidson is ridiculously detailed and has some wonderful depictions of dragons. I love the illustrative style, the very simple colour palette and the interesting typeface which grows from the tail of the main dragon!

On the other hand, despite an eye-catching piece of dragon artwork in the centre, the red background of the US cover completely distracts my attention – so much so that I’d almost say I disliked it if it weren’t for the alternative editions below. The typeface similarly does nothing for this cover which has led to a very easy decision this week! I only hope Andrew Davidson continues to produce beautiful cover art!

| Alternative Cover Bonus |

Temeraire - Alternative

Artwork by Dominic Harman

Additionally, Dominic Harman has produced several alternative covers for the UK including this mass market edition (left) based on the first edition UK cover, and the latest cover (right) which is incredibly similar to the US cover from Del Rey. Despite both these covers being beautiful and the fact that I prefer both to the US offering above (the cover on the right definitely benefits from a light background and improved typeface!), I can’t help but think it’s something of a loss to have come away from that gorgeous wood engraving from Andrew Davidson.

Which cover wins your vote this week? Are any of the alternative editions your favourite? Have a cover of your own? – Post the link below!

Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads

Next Friday’s theme is: Green With Envy

Remember to check The Friday Face-Off Feature Page for upcoming themes

 Follow my blog with Bloglovin