Saturday, January 18, 2014

Shelf Candy Saturday #100: The Book of Dreams, by O.R. Melling




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'm contrasting two different covers
for the same book!!




The Book of Dreams
(The Faerie Chronicles)
Trade Paperback, 538 pages
Penguin Group
January 1, 2003
Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction



https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/729033.The_Book_of_Dreams?ac=1


http://www.amazon.com/Book-Dreams-Chronicles-Faerie/dp/0141004347/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390010071&sr=1-1&keywords=the+book+of+dreams+o+r+melling



Why do I love this cover?

When I first saw this cover, I was not only stunned, but hit by a strong wave of 'cover love'!  The landscape is not only beautiful, but has a very magical feel.  The meticulous detail, the gorgeous colors -- everything about this cover gives it a very strong visual appeal.  It reminds me of Tolkien's Middle Earth, as well.  This, of course, makes me love it even more.

I also feel a very strong Celtic, Irish influence here.  When I looked up the author, I discovered that her fiction springs from the folklore of both.

Interestingly, when I look at this picture from a certain distance, I can see male faces in the forest that adorns the hills on the left-hand side of the image.  They are the faces of bearded, fierce-looking warriors.  I wonder whether this was intentional on the artist's part.  Whether it was or not, it makes the picture even more fascinating to me.

The borders framing the landscape are beautiful as well, with their very bold, yet intricate patterns, obviously influenced by Celtic art.  I also love the red background at the top and bottom of the cover, as well as the very graceful-looking font. 

Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any information about the artist and/or designer.  Sometimes I can find out an artist's name by looking at the credits page for a book, in the Amazon reader.  This one is not available in the reader, though.  Whoever this artist is, he or she is definitely highly talented!





The Book of Dreams
(The Chronicles of Faerie)
O.R. Melling
Trade Paperback, 720 pages
Amulet Books an imprint of
Harry N. Abrams (Reprint Edition)
March 1, 2010
Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20415194-the-chronicles-of-faerie


 
http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Faerie-Book-Dreams/dp/0810984180/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-2&qid=1390020032    
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chronicles-of-faerie-o-r-melling/1101012845?ean=9780810984189    
http://www.bookdepository.com/Dreams-O-R-Melling/9780810984189    



This is the other, more recent cover for the book.  I love this one, as well!  Of course, the feeling I get from it is totally different.  Whereas the original cover focuses on an entire fantasy world, this one focuses on the main character, Dana Faolan, who is also the heroine of a previous book in this series - The Light-Bearer's Daughter.

I love this young woman's assertive stance, her bold look.  Yet, she is utterly feminine.  This is reinforced by the hot pink streams of magical smoke in the background, out of which a writhing dragon is materializing. 

The original cover is idyllic, while this one is dynamic, preparing the viewer for a fierce, magical battle.

The font used for the title is very effective, and has a rather medieval-looking influence. 

I really can't choose between these two covers!  I love them both, and, crazy bibliophile that I am, I don't think I can rest until both editions of this book are in my personal collection, especially since I've heard great things about this novel!

Although this book is available in the Amazon reader, I could not find the artist or designer's name anywhere on the credits page.  I checked the back cover, but it wasn't there, either.  I hate it when publishers fail to credit the person responsible for the cover art and design!  This person is vitally important in marketing the book, so he or she should definitely be mentioned somewhere -- either on the back cover, or inside the book.  Sadly, this is not always the case.

  



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








4 comments:

  1. Hi Maria. I am glad that you were able to post this week.

    I definitely like the first older cover better. I think that I see the faces that you mention and I would guess that they are intentionally there. Unfortunately I cannot find a higher resolution image of that cover.

    As we discussed before, the inability to easily find an artist who created a cover is very frustrating. Of course if one cannot look the pages of a book it is understandable as the information can be inside. However, it really should be an industry standard that the information be listed on the credits page. I wonder what the artists who paint these pictures would think.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Brian!

      Yes, I'm very glad to be continuing with this feature. I would never completely abandon it, though, since it's something I love to publish on the blog. I ADORE beautiful book covers! However, last week I just couldn't post....in fact, I couldn't post anything until yesterday, due to "life interruptions"......

      So I'm very glad to be back with "Shelf Candy Saturday"!!

      You know, I must confess to a slight preference for the original cover. I guess I should have explained that the reason I also like the newer one is that I consider it more appropriate for a young adult novel, which is what this is, The older cover looks more appropriate for an adult novel.

      Regardless of this, I do think the original cover is far more original in style than the newer one. I guess I must also confess that what I really LOVE about the second cover is that mystical-looking smoke, with the dragon head on that elongated neck! Fascinating! I also love the hot pink color.....although my favorite color is indeed blue, I do like hot pink. In fact, this is the only shade of pink I like; I CAN"T STAND pastel pink! Lol.

      Anyway, I am very disappointed about not being able to locate any information about these artists. If I had seen the artist's name in the credits page of the second book, I would have been able to Google it. Maybe if I owned these books, I would have access to the names of these very creative people.

      Thanks for commenting!! : )

      Delete
  2. I love the first cover! I can't see the faces that you mentioned but I see the figure of the woman in the center of the book and what looks like a fox head by her waist. I suspect there are more stuff hidden in there. It's a beautiful cover though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Alyn!

      I do like the first cover a little more than the second one, but, as I told Brian, I think the second cover is more appropriate for a young adult novel. But they're really both beautiful!

      Thanks for commenting!! : )

      Delete

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