Saturday, December 29, 2012

Shelf Candy Saturday #49: Falling Kingdoms, by Morgan Rhodes





Welcome to
Shelf Candy Saturday!!


This weekly meme/blog hop, hosted here,
features beautiful book covers!


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. (You have 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, but it's not required. You can simply feature a cover and explain why you love it!



Here's my choice for this week!



Hardcover, 412 pages
Razorbill
(an imprint of Penguin Group USA, Inc.)
December 11, 2012
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction


Why do I love this cover?

Blue is the most beautiful color in the universe.  It simply is.  I have no words to explain the aesthetic pleasure I experience when I look at an object graced by this color...so of course this cover would attract my attention right away.  The way the artist handled the color here, too, is very appealing to me.  I love that mist in the background, through which a gloomy castle can be seen.  The flying white bird also has an ethereal look to it. 

There's much more to this cover than that gorgeous shade of blue, though.  That hooded figure is very dynamically rendered, and I love how the blue shade flows over the robe, with its realistically handled folds. 

The figure's forward momentum is what creates most of the cover's dynamic flow.  Contributing to this as well is the knife thrusting forward.  The hooded figure is holding something else in his (her?) right hand.  I'm not sure what it is...perhaps some sort of magic wand?  Could it be a king's scepter?  And just who is this very mysterious person?

The lower half of the cover contains what appears to be a round seal, perhaps that of one of the kings in this novel.  It also looks like an ornate carriage wheel.  It, too, adds to the mystery, since it's very shady and vague. 

Following the circular movement of the seal/wheel is the gorgeous, majestic font used for the title.  On the actual book, the letters are raised, and shine in a metallic silver color.  Absolutely stunning!

The color gray dominates the bottom half of the cover.  Although I have never liked this color, it looks absolutely beautiful here! 

In short, this is a breathtaking cover, one that I really love to look at (I bought the book two days ago!), and will make sure to protect with one of those archival dust jacket sleeves!





This very striking cover
is the work of
Shane Rebenschied!!


Artist Bio
(from the Shannon Associates site)

Shane Rebenschied is best known for his photo illustrations, the realism of his 2D digital designs and science-fiction and fantasy book covers. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design in 1998 with an emphasis on traditional and digital media. Since then his work has appeared in the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles and New York annuals as well as numerous national and international publications and advertising campaigns. He is a fan of old paper and stains, and can often be found staring at pieces of corroded, rusted metal. Some of Shane's clients include Harlequin, Penguin Group, Usborne Publishing, BBC, and Tor.

  

Links for this artist



(includes an interview with the artist)









What do you think of my choice?
What beautiful cover(s)
are you featuring this week?









4 comments:

  1. I think that this is one of your best choices Maria. At least for me the color blue does not convey a sense of mystery or darkness. My basic impression of this cover however is of enigma and a little bit of darkness. The gloominess that you refer to likely has a lot to do with it.

    Happy New Years!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, Brian!

    I'm so glad you like this cover! Well, I think that the sense of mystery in this cover is present despite the blue. And yes, the combined images do present an enigma.

    I featured this book in a "Waiting On Wednesday" post some time back. I knew I would buy it as soon as I could, because that cover just called to me! Lol. But I do like the plot as well!

    Thanks for the great comment!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great cover. It definitly has an air of mystery...and is easily idenifiable as a fantasy book. I like when you can tell what kind of book it is by the cover.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, Wendy!

    Glad you agree that this is a gorgeous cover! And I think you're right -- it's great to know, just from the cover, exactly what type of genre a book belongs to.

    Thanks for participating in Shelf Candy Saturday!! :)

    ReplyDelete

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