Cover Art that has caught my eye (some of it for all the wrong reasons...)

It was quite ironic really, just as I was really getting into culling the reading pile (there were books there that were never going to be read) the postman knocks on the door with a huge bag full of books that somehow managed to arrive on my doorstep all at once... I had to laugh, so did the postman as he wasn't carrying that large bag anymore :o)
Here are a few of the books that came with the post, for one reason or another the cover art caught my eye...

'Star Wars, The Old Republic: Revan' - Drew Karpyshyn (Del Rey)

Proof positive that, once you've got a successful franchise on the go, you don't really need to make an effort with cover art any more. I mean, the artwork looks ok but... a Jedi with a lightsaber. Wow, that hasn't been done before has it...? I'm sure that will look nice with all the other 'Jedi with a lightsaber' covers on the bookshelf. I'm reading the book anyway (it's 'Star Wars', I can't help it) but try a little harder next time guys? Here's the blurb,

Revan: hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior. A Jedi who left Coruscant to defeat Mandalorians—and returned a disciple of the dark side, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the price of redemption was high. His memories have been erased. All that’s left are nightmares—and deep, abiding fear.

What exactly happened beyond the Outer Rim? Revan can’t quite remember, yet can’t entirely forget. Somehow he stumbled across a terrible secret that threatens the very existence of the Republic. With no idea what it is, or how to stop it, Revan may very well fail, for he’s never faced a more powerful and diabolic enemy. But only death can stop him from trying.

 'Dead of Night' - Jonathan Maberry (St. Martin's Press)

The Leisure edition of Brian Keene's 'The Rising' had a similar kind of cover but not only am I notoriously forgiving when it comes to zombie cover art, you just can't beat undead hands grasping at you from the front of a book. I would probably read a wider range of books if this style of cover art was the norm :o) As it is, I'm reading this book while you're reading this post! Here's the blurb,

A prison doctor injects a condemned serial killer with a formula designed to keep his consciousness awake while his body rots in the grave.  But all drugs have unforeseen side-effects.  Before he could be buried, the killer wakes up.  Hungry.  Infected.  Contagious.  This is the way the world ends.  Not with a bang…but a bite. 

 'The Weird' - Edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (Corvus)

If it wasn't for 'The Wise Man's Fear', this anthology of weird tales would be the single largest review copy I've ever received. As it is. I will be reviewing 'The Weird' but don't expect to see that review any time soon (look at the size of it!)... Nice cover art though, offering proof that Octopi can read books. I'm not sure if that's weird but it's certainly intriguing...

'Theft of Swords' - Michael J. Sullivan (Orbit)

A little too soft focus for epic fantasy? Is our man getting ready to draw steel on some miscreant or is he showing off for the ladies...? I think only he knows. I'll be reading this one soon(ish), if only because everyone else has already read these books and thinks that they're great. I want some of that! Here's some blurb,

THEY KILLED THE KING. THEY PINNED IT ON TWO MEN. THEY MADE A BAD DECISION. Royce Melborn is a superb thief, his partner, Hadrian Blackwater is a skilled mercenary. Together they make a profitable living as agents-for-hire to wealthy nobles until someone sets them up to take the blame for the murder of the king. Captured and sentenced to death the two are saved by an unlikely woman with a simple demand that will change the lives of the thieves, the course of a kingdom, and the foundation of an empire. 

Not a great week for cover art then but seeing as I'll be picking all these books up anyway... does it really matter in the end? What do you reckon...?