Questionable Fantasy Novel Covers

[Tinker Gnome]

Whenever you get embarrassed around your mom because of such a subject, just close your eyes and imagine her naked too. I guarantee you won't be embarrassed any more. Really.

......

You are just making it worse Shilly boy.

 

[Dimwhit]

I've never understood why the Fantasy genre feels it has to sell out to smut. It's a shame. There's a lot of modern Fantasy I just don't bother reading. It's not that I'm a prude (I mean, Sin City was my favorite movie of the year). It's just that Fantasy has always gone to the beat of its own drum, and this trend is just a sell out to me.

 

[Ranger REG]

Whenever you get embarrassed around your mom because of such a subject, just close your eyes and imagine her naked too. I guarantee you won't be embarrassed any more. Really.

Too bad my mom -- bless her soul -- doesn't look like Bo Derek.

 

[shilsen]

......

You are just making it worse Shilly boy.

Story of my life

I just had an online chat with my mom (I'm in the US, she's in India) where at one point I was teasing her that she really needs to start dating and have sex more often, and I remembered this thread. Yes, I am a strange man, but it's by choice. And as a result, I don't have to be embarrassed about anything with my mom (or anyone else) and can be open about everything in my life. I'd hate to have it any other way.

 

[Dog Moon]

Hey, the artist is Brom. That's kinda cool, though admittedly this isn't my favorite piece of his.

I, personally, don't mind art like this, as long as it stays clean. If the Drow chick on the cover was doing it with a spider or something, THEN I'd have a huge problem. Besides that, I'm pretty much used to seeing girls [hey, there are plenty of big muscular guys wearing only a little bit of cloth to cover their important place too] wearing flimsy outfits. I don't quite see it fitting hand in hand with the genre [As in it being necessary], but there is enough of it's presence that I am not put off when they are put together.

 

[trancejeremy]

You just now have noticed this? It's been a staple of fantasy novels since almost, ever. Has its roots in the pulp days.

One of the first artists to not do the cheesecake stuff was that Darrel K Sweet guy.

What I hate is when the cover (and the blurb) don't have much to do with the novel. Or get something wrong. For instance, pretty much every Garrett PI novel by Glen Cook features Garrett wearing a had (generally a Fedora). Yet numerous times in the book itself, Garrett says how much he hates hats and he never actually wears one.

Though in that case, they put a hat on because the guy is a detective. At least they have a reason.

 

[CCamfield]

And the Garrett PI books generally do have a femme fatale in skimpy clothing on the covers too.

Those books aside... err... I guess this is going to be judgemental, but I find that it's generally the lousier fantasy novels which have cheesecake covers. Or it could be the more typical epic or high fantasy books, which I don't seem to read as much of these days.

 

[Particle_Man]

I hate how the MM illustration of the Orc shows them using a different weapon "greataxe" than that "issued" to them "falchion". Or the DMG showing the duelist in Light Armor when their powers work so much better in no armor at all. This mistake is repeated in CW with Eye of Grumsh being all about the orcish double axe, and the picture showing another greataxe. I don't mind the pictures. I don't mind the text. But could they at least MATCH?

 

[MadMaxim]

Well, I don't think the cover is bad. She could have been a lot less clothed and then it would probably have been a problem. I don't think there's anything wrong with the cover.

 

[takyris]

I've actually tuned out the sexy book covers long ago. I'm interested in another modern trend, though -- when I've walked through the fantasy section, I've seen a lot of fantasy novel covers that almost look like romance novel covers (not full make-out, but women in modest garb, handsome sensitive-looking guys at their shoulders, misty atmosphere -- the usual stuff). It looks like a strong effort to make the fantasy section more appealing to women. (Not that every woman is going to like those covers, just like not every guy is gonna be sold by a woman-in-wet-tissue-paper cover.)

Check out covers by the publisher Luna -- they're definitely fighting the trend, as they're the "Fantasy for Women" publisher.