Thursday 22 July 2010

Which cover would you go for...?

This one is perhaps a bit of a no-brainer but I’m going to run with it anyway and see what happens J

Every so often I’ll get two copies of the same book from different publishers. I’m only ever going to read one of these (really can’t be bothered reading alternate chapters, from each, in the interests of being fair...) but want to give some coverage to both so... which cover do you prefer?

Up this time round is China Mieville’s ‘flawed but still quite splendid’ ‘Kraken’. I posted my review a couple of months ago so won’t waste your time saying what the book is about, have a click over Here if you want to read more...

Here’s the UK cover....



And here’s the US cover...



So, what’s your preference? The way I see it, if you’re going to have tentacles on your front cover then make them tentacles (with suckers and everything!) not the merest suggestion of tentacles... It’s a foregone conclusion as far as I’m concerned, the UK cover wins hands down this time round for that very reason. I’d also say that the colour scheme on the UK cover is more suggestive of the tone of ‘Kraken’ than the US cover. ‘Kraken’ is a garish novel (in a good way), more so than you’d think by looking at the US cover.

What about you though? If you saw both of these covers on the shelf, which one would you take home with you?

Comments please!
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25 comments:

  1. Unknown22 July 2010 at 08:24

    Have to go with the second cover. The first one is a turn off for me where the second cover is more artistic imo.

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  2. Unknown22 July 2010 at 08:47

    I'd go with the UK cover.

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  3. JamesY22 July 2010 at 08:47

    Ultimately, I'd prefer the Subterranian Press edition cover. Of the two here, I think the US cover is better than the UK version. Maybe I'll investigate securing an import edition .....

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  4. Marjorie22 July 2010 at 09:07

    I like the Us one, more subtle & understated, although neither would put me off.

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  5. Erik Lundqvist22 July 2010 at 09:24

    I did go with the UK cover

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  6. Andrew Leonard22 July 2010 at 09:33

    Would take the UK cover over the US. But as JamesY said, the Sub Press tops them both.

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  7. Kahless22 July 2010 at 11:07

    I'd go with the UK cover, without seeing the title it jumps out at me. The US one is just plain.

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  8. Unknown22 July 2010 at 11:37

    I'd go for the US cover, does more for me artistically than the UK one. Haven't read the book so can't comment on how they suit but I'm not 100% sure thats the purpose of a cover, or is it?

    I'm not keen on the lettering of the UK one either, the authors name dominates.

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  9. logankstewart22 July 2010 at 14:26

    Agree with you, Graeme, the UK has a more appealing cover, but like JamesY said, the Sub Press is even nicer.

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  10. Midnighter22 July 2010 at 14:30

    It's go to be the US cover for me.

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  11. Thufer22 July 2010 at 14:49

    While both are attractive, I must say I perfer the UK cover. More powerful.

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  12. Esther22 July 2010 at 14:53

    The second cover is a bit too subtle for me. At first look it seems restful and serene but by the second glance I'm bored.

    The red is much more attractive and squidy tentacles should have suckers not resemble sea-weed

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  13. Bad Alice22 July 2010 at 15:33

    The US cover awakens my curiosity, and I like the transformation of the title into tentacles. It's ominous. If I saw the UK cover I might dismiss it - oh, a book about a squid, hmm, next. The US cover suggests without pinning one to the literal.

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  14. WonderBunny22 July 2010 at 15:46

    I like the UK cover. But I'm in the US so I'll end up with the US cover.

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  15. base2wave22 July 2010 at 16:58

    I'm torn on this. I've already bought the US edition, but I like the cover of the UK edition better.

    That being said the Subterranean Press edition [subterraneanpress.com] of this book is STUNNING. I'm debating buying all three.

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  16. Myra C22 July 2010 at 18:09

    I like the U.S. cover.

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  17. Simeon22 July 2010 at 18:33

    Obviously the UK cover. I mean, tentacles are awesome, and the US cover has no spirit whatsoever. It's more or less blank.

    http://rolandscodex.blogspot.com/

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  18. Rabid Fox22 July 2010 at 19:43

    I'm drawn to the tentacle. Does that me a bad person? :)

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  19. ediFanoB22 July 2010 at 20:39

    Without hesitation the UK Cover.

    The US one looks like anorexic tentacles.

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  20. Zzzzzz23 July 2010 at 08:16

    Rabid Fox:

    Being drawn to tentacles does not necessarily make you a bad person. But on balance, probably.

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  21. Unknown23 July 2010 at 20:40

    Honestly, neither cover interests me. I'd only pick them up because they're Mieville, not because they look nice.

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  22. Mieneke van der Salm24 July 2010 at 09:33

    I'd say the UK cover because of the colour scheme and it's boldness. Though I do like the typographic design of the US cover, like others stated, it's just a little vague.

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  23. Graeme Flory26 July 2010 at 14:50

    The SubPress cover totally wins of course but I was only going by the books that I'd been sent... ;o)

    Thanks for the comments everyone!

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  24. Benjamin26 July 2010 at 20:14

    I actually like both covers. While the UK one fits better the tone of the book, I also tend not to like garish art on my books. It could go either way.

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  25. Nicole 28 July 2010 at 03:17

    The UK covers ALWAYS look better than the US covers. I don't get it...it's like they hate us over here...

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