Saturday, October 6, 2012

Shelf Candy Saturday #38: Dark Storm, by Christine Feehan



 
 
 
Welcome to
Shelf Candy Saturday!!

This weekly meme/blog hop, hosted here,
features beautiful book covers!
It was originally hosted by
Stephanie @
Five Alarm Book Reviews,
a blog I really miss...
 
 
If you'd like to participate, just grab my button (or create your own), write your own post, and link up in the Linky widget at the bottom of this post. Just be sure to click on "Read more" so that the entire post will open up.
As a bonus, you can include information on the artist, designer, and/or photographer in your post, but it's not required. You can simply feature a cover and explain why you love it!



Here's my pick for this week!
 
 
 
 
 
(Dark #23)
Hardcover, 384 pages
Berkley Hardcover
October 2, 2012
Genres: Paranormal Romance,
Urban Fantasy
 
 
Why do I love this cover?
 
This is an intricately-designed, jewel of a cover... I am in awe of the creativity displayed by the designers.  The entire effect is nothing short of magical!
 
This is, of course, a composite image.  The abstract, leafy pattern that frames the central area is just exquisite; even though there's no depth to the image, the patterns look three-dimensional.  You expect the ridges and lines to be raised, even though they're not.
 
 The photo of the man at the top lends realism to this cover.  I love that he's looking down pensively at the single flower he's holding in his hand.   The contrast between his muscled upper torso and the fact that he's holding a flower is so sweet...I can already tell that this is a good guy!
 
The play of colors -- including blue, my very favorite -- in the middle and toward the bottom of the cover, is just absolutely beautiful, and creates more magic.  There seems to be a larger flower to the left, underneath the author's last name, and there's also a small, frightening image -- a piranha opening its mouth to show its lethal teeth.  Lightning forks down from the deep blue, stormy sky.   Right underneath the title, bright red flames shoot up into the murky air.  In the midst of the magic, there's also danger...
 
The lettering used for the author's name, as well as the title, is nothing short of gorgeous, as well.  The letters are classical, yet also have a medieval flavor, and look very sculptural.  They're the only elements of this cover that are indeed raised, so one can run one's fingers over them.
 
Altlhough I adore this cover, I do have to point out that I think the author's name is much too big.  I think the title should have gotten more emphasis.  After all, the title of the book is Dark Storm, not "Christine Feehan".
 
In spite of the above objection, I firmly believe this is one of the most beautiful book covers I've ever seen, and I am proud to say that this book is now a part of my collection!  I got it just two days ago, courtesy of Amazon!   
 
 
 
 
 
  What a combination of talents
are showcased in
this amazing cover!!
 
The entire cover design is the work of
George Long.
He has combined images from
two stock photo sites:
Unfortunately, I was unable to find
any information about him.
 
The lettering was done by
Ron Zinn.
I was unable to find any information
about him, either.
 
When I did a Google search
for both of them,
lots of people with the same names
came up.
None of them were designers
or calligraphers, though.
The only thing I came up with is
that both of them
have done work for the Berkley
Publishing Company.
 
 
 
 
What do you think of this
amazing cover?
What beautiful covers are you all
featuring this week?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

5 comments:

  1. Awesome pick! I love how textured the cover looks and how well the images have been combined. It almost doesn't look like a composite. It makes me sad we have different covers in the UK.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PS - I love your blog header! Soooo cute and Halloweeny :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, Claire!

    Oh, it was love at first sight when I came across this cover!!! It's just SO BEAUTIFUL!!! The design, the colors...and you're right -- it really doesn't look like a composite at all! That shows you how brilliant the designer and calligrapher are!! And the fact that it has a textured look is another plus.

    You know, sometimes I prefer the UK covers, so I try to get those -- either from The Book Depository, eBay, or a great site in New Zealand -- fishpond.nz. Why don't you do the same thing? I'm sure you can get this cover from Amazon, whether in the U.S. or Canada. And eBay is international, as well. Then there's Abebooks (owned by Amazon), and Alibris. Hope you're able to get this one!

    Thank for complimenting my blog header!! Of course, it's a temporaty one, and I'll be going back to my regular header (which I LOVE!!) after the Halloween season. I wanted to put up something for Halloween, but was turned off by all the scary, even gory images I found on Google. Then I saw this one, and knew it was THE ONE!! Lol. It's completely ADORABLE. I made sure it was free to download, too, since I don't want any problems with copyright owners!!

    Thanks so much for both comments!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  4. It is a neat cover.

    I really like that creature ( I think that it is a dragon) that seems to be peeking out in the right middle. I would love to see a larger and more comprehensive picture of it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, Brian!

    Yes, this really IS a neat cover!

    A dragon, huh? Well, maybe you're right. I thought it was a piranha, because the creatures are mentioned at the beginning of the book. I wish I could put up a larger picture, but this is the largest I can get it and still have it fit inside the post area.

    Thanks for commenting!! : )

    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!! :)