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Originally Posted by fjtorres
I'm a big fan of BAEN but their recent set of covers for the Poul Anderson Dominic Flandry books...annoy me... Double pandering there. (Plus I have the 80's paperback with the non-pander covers.)
However, the same approach to the latest Bujold Cover doesn't bother me at all. Mostly because the cover reflects both the tone of the book and an actual scene from the book.
Context matters, I guess.
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Context definitely matters. I love Patricia Briggs' work, but I loathed the cover for Moon Called. I thought it couldn't get worse until Blood Bound came out. Because not only could it be considered gratuitous, it doesn't fit the story. She's a mechanic. A CAR MECHANIC. How many of them do you know that run around dressed like those covers? Zero.
On top of that, they're ugly.
That is the one book I remember leaving at home for a trip. I had been so looking forward to reading it, and I honestly don't care what people see me reading, but I had no intention of carting that thing around and reading it on a plane. Ugly. Such covers don't do her work justice.
I love to tout her work and tell everyone I know what a great author she is, but if I didn't already know that, I probably never would have read that series. The cover doesn't make me think of a great mystery or a well-plotted and carefully detailed urban fantasy. I'd have never picked that book up off the B&N shelf while browsing and purchased it. Luckily I'd read enough of her work to already love her writing style.