This week we border just a little too close to the phoned-in generic too often. Nothing truly awful, but not a lot to distinguish itself either
The Vampire Armand (The Vampire Chronicles #5) by Anne Rice
Anne Rice = Big Name = Abstract Generic that vaguely suggests you’re going to read a dull book about Italian frescoes. At least this is vaguely tangentially related to the characters within
Flight from Hell (Otherworld #15.5) by Yasmine Galenorn
I’ve always kind of liked the Otherworld covers in a, this-is-a-classic-generic-urban-fantasy-cover kind of way. They’ve never stood out as especially different, but they’ve always been somewhat iconic of the genre - the classic “this is a badass woman in full pose with an interesting background with little hints of supernatural” that we’ve seen a dozen times. Yes, it’s generic, but it tells you exactly the kind of book you’re getting - and the Otherworld series has sufficient length and prominence that they can pull off the “iconic yet generic” cover look.
Unfortunately, those generics also come with tropes -so while Menolly is fully covered, she’s also rocking a massive hip thrust. At least she’s avoided the crouching that was so common in earlier books.
The main problem with this cover is, of course, the main problem with the book - this book is supposed to introduce a new series and I see Menolly on the cover
The Kraken King and the Inevitable Abduction (Kraken King #5, Iron Seas #4.5) by Meljean Brook
Though it pains me to say it, this cover is one of the few in this series (and in Steampunk in general) I don’t like. The drawing feels too cartoonish and not well executed enough (those rope look like slabs of wood dangling from the gas bag) and it’s just kind of dull. It feels very phoned in. Steampunk? Shove a dirigible on there! Done. It’s not good for any book, but Steampunk, which rests so much on its aesthetic, needs prettier covers than this
Sanguine Eyes (Salt Lake After Dark #3) by J.K. Walker
This cover fits, the bleeding eye, the title, the actual content of the book - it fits. So I’m going to nitpick. Firstly, I think the make-up is a bad idea. The big eye-shadow, the pink hair, had the pink blush all suggest that that streak of blood could be make up and not, well, blood. In fact, darkening and enriching the blood would be good - as would reddening the actual eyes. I also think the red splatter around the title is just over the top and a little childish. It’s called “sanguine eyes” we have an eye that is crying blood. We don’t need spatter.
