Saturday, September 14, 2013

Shelf Candy Saturday #84: Blue Fire, by Janice Hardy




Welcome to Shelf Candy Saturday!!



This weekly feature
showcases beautiful book covers,
and provides information,
if available, on their very talented creators!

For more information
about Shelf Candy Saturday,
just click HERE.



This week, I am again featuring
two different covers for
the same book!



Blue Fire
(The Healing Wars #2)
Hardcover, 384 pages
Balzer + Bray
(An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
October 5, 2010
Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction






Why do I love this cover?

While searching for great covers on Goodreads earlier today, I came across this one, and was absolutely blown away by it!   It's just absolutely stunning.

First of all, those lovely blue flames are enchanting and mesmerizing.   I love the way they gracefully frame the starkly classical font used for the title.   They almost seem to move, as they dance upward from the mysterious-looking blue crystal cradled in the realistically rendered hands.

The contrast between the blue flames and the orange-red background is what makes this cover such a stunning one.  Light orange sparks fly around the bottom, while at the top,  an orange-tinged full moon presides over the faraway city horizon.

This image is bold, capturing the eye at once.  Although the flames are a complex maze of detail -- with hints of strange, magical markings toward the top -- the overall impression is of one unified image, which packs a lot of visual appeal.

This dynamic cover was created by the very talented Brandon Dorman, an illustrator of children's and young adult books.   In 2005, he graduated with a BFA from Brigham Young University - Idaho, and has created many illustrations for books and magazines since then.  He has also written and illustrated two children's books -- Pirates of the Sea, and Santa's Stowaway


Brandon Dorman Online




  



Why do I love this cover?


This is the cover of the UK paperback edition, which can be purchased by clicking on the Amazon UK link above.   I love this version because of all the blue!  I also think that the white-hot hands are very effective.  The font is great, too -- it looks like sky writing.   Although this cover lacks the poetic, highly aesthetic feeling of the first one, it is indeed a striking one, and it does make it obvious that this is a young adult novel. 

I must confess that I have never liked covers displaying tiered images.  I think it takes away from the impact of the cover.   Its use on this particular cover does convey a sense of mystery, however; it is enhanced by the group warriors in shadow, lined up along the bottom of the cover.   Therefore, I think the tiered images do work here.  The fact that the girl's face is also in shadow, and her hair is all straggly, adds to the mystery.

I have been unable to find out who the creator of this second cover is.  I did attempt to do so by looking through the online Amazon reader, but unfortunately, the artist is not credited.  Perhaps I'll know if I ever buy the book.

I think I might very well end up getting both the hardcover and trade paperback editions, since I do love them both!  Oh, what an obsessed bibliophile I am.....lol.




What do you think of my choices?
Leave me a comment
and let me know!






3 comments:

  1. Very nice covers.


    i like the second UK paper back cover a little better. The hardcover is indeed striking in the color contrasts but maybe a bit too much so. The UK paperback cover seems more balanced.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Brian!

      Interesting.....I like the hardcover a little better! But I do like the UK edition. Just look at all that blue!!!

      You know, now that you mention it, perhaps the hardcover would work better if the background were a darker shade of the blue. I'm trying to visualize it.

      Knowing me, I'll probably end up getting them both, anyway!

      Thanks for another great comment!! : )

      Delete
  2. I like the second cover better. it relates better to the title.

    ReplyDelete

THIS IS NOW AN AWARD-FREE, AND TAG-FREE BLOG. Thanks for the compliment, though! : )

As of today, 9/23/18, I have permanently enabled comment moderation, due to a sudden rash of SPAM comments. I appreciate your patience!

Thanks for your thoughts on my posts! I always reply here, as well as comment back on your blog. Have a WONDERFUL day!! :)