a critique site for book lovers, hosted by author Jude Hardin
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The Valley of Shadows by Mark Terry
What's the genre? What is it you like or don't like about this cover? Does it make you want to know more about the book? Does it make you want to BUY the book? Discuss.
Thriller? Sci-Fi thriller? I really love this cover. I like the typeface choices and treatment, the strong red juxtaposed against the greys and blues of the mountains and city, and the subtle crosshairs mark (I don't see a helicopter??)
My only caveat is that I'm not absolutely sure of the genre, but I think it works for either, which is a good thing.
Robin, interesting comment. It's a thriller, the 4th in a series featuring Derek Stillwater, a troubleshooter for Homeland Security. Your comment is probably spot-on. The first 2 in the series, The Devil's Pitchfork and The Serpent's Kiss had titles that made sense in the context of the book, but probably gave the impression I was writing something supernatural (I know some people thought so). That was further confused by the fact that the publisher of those books labeled them as mysteries, which was not accurate. The third in the series, The Fallen, might have had that problem as well, although I don't think the cover made any confusion about it.
I definitely get a modern thriller vibe from this cover. The genre is not my cup of tea but the cover is clean and neatly arranged. Fonts are very visible and both the author and the title are clear.
Nice cover. Makes it plain from the get-go whether you should look closer or not. Not my cup of tea but should attract the large readership of people whose tipple it is. :)
I like the idea of the cover but a few things I would like to suggest to change.
Move the scope down so that you can see more of it. With the cross hairs riding the baseline of your text it's losing some of it's power, also it's not pointed at the city. Pointed at a building will make it seem more threatening.
The words "Novel" are two small to read in thumbnail. I would suggest to make them bigger.
I actually disagree with Eric, I like the crosshairs where they are. Moving them down would give them an odd position in relation to the title IMO. I don't have a problem with "a novel" being small in the thumbnail since it's not critical information.
Very nice cover, Mark. I like the layout, the colors, the fonts, and the way the "shading" goes from light to dark and the type does the opposite in contrast. I tend to agree with Eric on the crosshairs. If you moved them down so that they were aimed at the top of the building in the center of the city it might make it stand out a little more. At first I had to look twice to see what they were. But that's a very minor issue. As I said, very nice.
Ought to be interesting. I like the helicopter in the cover art.
ReplyDeleteThriller? Sci-Fi thriller? I really love this cover. I like the typeface choices and treatment, the strong red juxtaposed against the greys and blues of the mountains and city, and the subtle crosshairs mark (I don't see a helicopter??)
ReplyDeleteMy only caveat is that I'm not absolutely sure of the genre, but I think it works for either, which is a good thing.
Robin, interesting comment. It's a thriller, the 4th in a series featuring Derek Stillwater, a troubleshooter for Homeland Security. Your comment is probably spot-on. The first 2 in the series, The Devil's Pitchfork and The Serpent's Kiss had titles that made sense in the context of the book, but probably gave the impression I was writing something supernatural (I know some people thought so). That was further confused by the fact that the publisher of those books labeled them as mysteries, which was not accurate. The third in the series, The Fallen, might have had that problem as well, although I don't think the cover made any confusion about it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely get a modern thriller vibe from this cover. The genre is not my cup of tea but the cover is clean and neatly arranged. Fonts are very visible and both the author and the title are clear.
ReplyDeleteKatie Salidas
Nice cover. Makes it plain from the get-go whether you should look closer or not. Not my cup of tea but should attract the large readership of people whose tipple it is. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the cover but a few things I would like to suggest to change.
ReplyDeleteMove the scope down so that you can see more of it. With the cross hairs riding the baseline of your text it's losing some of it's power, also it's not pointed at the city. Pointed at a building will make it seem more threatening.
The words "Novel" are two small to read in thumbnail. I would suggest to make them bigger.
I actually disagree with Eric, I like the crosshairs where they are. Moving them down would give them an odd position in relation to the title IMO. I don't have a problem with "a novel" being small in the thumbnail since it's not critical information.
ReplyDeleteVery nice cover, Mark. I like the layout, the colors, the fonts, and the way the "shading" goes from light to dark and the type does the opposite in contrast. I tend to agree with Eric on the crosshairs. If you moved them down so that they were aimed at the top of the building in the center of the city it might make it stand out a little more. At first I had to look twice to see what they were. But that's a very minor issue. As I said, very nice.
ReplyDelete