Covering Covers: Blood of the Mantis

Over at Pyr-O-Mania, Lou Anders has posted the Pyr cover to the US edition of Adrian "Have Fun With That" Tchaikovsky's Blood of the Mantis

I must say I like this cover alot. More so than Jon Sullivan's previous Pyr re-cover for Empire in Black and Gold shown below. I don't normally like photorealistic characters on my covers but the new one isn't bad, whereas the WaspWarrior guys on the EiBaG cover look a little goofy (especially the wings). The thorn people on BotM are very intriguing and make me want to know more. My eye is also drawn to the red glow at the bottom of the book which highlights the authors name and adds a sense of mystery to the scene portrayed.

While I don't love the Empire in Black and Gold cover, I do love the layout and spine of both books. I think the font choice is unique and well spaced/accentuated. The spine design will guarantee that the books should look fantastic lined up on a shelf. I do hope that they keep the Pyr logo the same size. It changes based on the spine width and that bugs me in series.

On the other hand, the original Jon Sullivan covers (UK editions) were great as well). I'm not sure if I like the old covers more or not. It's a toss up. All in all, Jon Sullivan seems to have a great grasp on this series. I think I will go cover hunting to see what else he has designed.

What happened to the cover for Dragonfly Falling? 2 comes BEFORE 3, Lou...

UPDATE: Aidan was kind enough to link me the Dragonfly Falling Cover, which I now remember seeing. That one might be my favorite. It's between 2 and 3 certainly. So Lou can count. I just can't remember.