Shelf Candy Saturday No. 214: Gyre, by Jessica Gunn

Welcome to Shelf Candy Saturday!

*Late Edition*

This is my weekly feature

showcasing beautiful covers!

It also provides information, 
if available, on their 
very talented creators!

Here's my choice for this week!

Gyre
(The Atlas Link Series, Book 1)
Jessica Gunn
Trade Paperback, 312  pages
Curiosity Quills Press
February 1, 2016
   Fantasy, New Adult, Romance,
Science Fiction, Young Adult Fiction 

My Thoughts About This Cover

In this week's post, I'm contrasting two different covers for the same book.

This is the case of a cover that was changed, presumably by the publisher, and said change has not entirely been for the better. I MUCH prefer the first cover chosen. It really bothers me that publishers do this kind of thing!! Maybe, in this case, it was the author who initiated the change. I really have no idea.

This first cover has a very simple, yet very effective design. And the color used all over the image happens to be my very favorite, too!! This beautiful design is just highly symbolic to me. It makes me think of distant galaxies, constellations, space travel....as well as the famous model of the interlinked DNA strands. It even makes me think of different dimensions or universes. And, of course, there's that GLORIOUS blue!!

I also LOVE the font used for the title! Although it's basically a classic one, it's been enhanced in a very elegant way. Its design has even been brought down to the author's name, which is located at the bottom.

Below is the new cover chosen for this novel. I can find no trace of the one above. I thought it might have been the cover for the British edition, but I checked out The Book Depository, and they have the same cover shown below, which is also on Amazon.

Although this second cover is not really TERRIBLE, I don't find it as interesting as the first one. First of all, it's more of a typical SF cover. Although the composition is nice, and I like the large, orange-toned image that looks like a stargate, I just think this cover does not have the originality of the first one above. Well, at least the cover artist did incorporate some blue in it; in this case, it's more of an aqua tone. 

I will admit that there's a sense of heightened mystery about this second cover. Maybe this is what the author, and/or the publisher was/were after. The viewer does start to wonder what that glowing object up in the sky is, and how it's connected to the young woman silhouetted below it. The expanse of aqua, which has two distinct tones, suggests ocean and sky -- the sky below the stratosphere. Above that, there's the deeper blue of the universe beyond. Oh, I'm getting a Star Trek vibe here!! And I do like the Art Deco font. Hmmm.... I think this second cover is starting to grow on me.... However, the first one remains my favorite!! 

I have been unable to discover the identity of the first cover artist. It might be the same person who created the second cover, but I really don't think so, as the styles are not similar. Then again, I might be mistaken about this.

The creator of the second cover is Eugene Teplitsky. He's the Managing Partner and CTO at Curiosity Quills Press. He has a wide range of experience, from web application development to graphic design, with a specialization in the publishing industry. He's a graduate of City University of New York City College, and lives in the Washington, DC, area, with his three kids.

Online Links

Eugene Teplitsky Bio

Curiosity Quills Press

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What do you think of 
this week's covers?
Please leave a comment
and let me know!