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Old 07-31-2012, 10:14 PM   #30
Andrew H.
Grand Master of Flowers
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When I spent more time in bookstores, I always paid attention to the cover. Particularly in SF, the cover was almost like a trailer for a movie: at a glance it told you a lot about the contents of the book - whether there were aliens, other planets, spaceships, robots computers, giant cities; whether it was about exploration or fighting or travel; and often something about the tone of the book - whether it was more of an adventure novel or a more intellectual novel. In addition, some artists were A class and some were B class, so if the novel had a cover by a one of the better artists, it was a clue that the publishers thought the book was a better book.

I don't think that covers in other genres communicate as much as sf covers do (since sf can take place *anywhere* at any point in time, past, present, or future. But the covers of crime novels communicate quite a bit as well - is it a police procedural, a private detective story, a lawyer focused story, or a crime focused story. Is it big city, small town, rural area...or maybe a specific location, like the everglades or Boulder, Colo. Is there a lot of action in it, or is it mostly about solving the crime? Is it a "cozy?" Does it involve children? Does it take place in the present day or sometime in the past (i.e., when was it written?).

And most of this hits you before you read anything on the book's cover.

I put off reading Colleen McCollough's "Masters of Rome" series for almost a year (in the early 90's) because although the descriptions of the book made it sound like historical fiction (with a good dose of history in it), the covers made it look like a romance novel. (It was historical fiction, with copious endnotes; they eventually changed the covers).
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