De gustibus non est disputandum. There's no accounting for taste.
6.23.2009
Owl Pellets
Holy crap that's a big owl!!! What does it eat, beavers?? And how, pray tell, is that man's arm not broken? He's got to have quite the gun show to keep that thing up!!
How does it fly? That was the first thing that caught me: proportionally, its wings are too short and stubby for the body and ridiculously huge head! Maybe it's just badly-done perspective, but it looks like the artist used a hummingbird as a body model.
Owl Sight? As in, "Anybody seen an owl around here anywheres? I coulda sworn there was an owl here a minute ago." It's possible the owl is regular sized, and the people are really, really small. Like The Borrowers small.
From what I remember of those books, the owls and eagles and other birds ARE bred/magically enhanced to be bigger and more intelligent than regular birds. Doesn't explain how that guy's arm isn't dangling uselessly after being pulled out of the socket, but the bird, at least, is "correct." We'll have to handwave it away as "MAGIC!"
If the owl is supposed to be perching on the guy's arm, it's very badly done--for one thing, it has no feet. And if these are the same Giant Magic Birds as in some of her other books, they aren't supposed to be *that* big. They're bigger than normal for their species, but not human-sized. But this particular book came out after I'd outgrown the author, so I can't swear they aren't a different kind of giant magic bird.
More likely, though, it's just a standard Mercedes Lackey Horrible Cover. She definitely exemplifies the fantasy-with-pink-and-purple-covers marketing category.
The owl is actually supposed to be an eagle owl, so larger than a normal bird, and magical making it even larger.
And looking at the other two in this trilogy, he's supposed to be in the background and not to scale with the humans.
But yeah, they're horrible covers. Lackey is cursed with them. What I want to know is why the characters look younger as the trilogies progress (Last Herald Mage is the worst offender).
I don't think the owl is sitting on his arm. It's flying, and it's a separate composite element from the dude in the foreground. It is a bit confusingly placed, but it's not a giant owl.
Omigosh, I laughed out loud at this post! Thanks for the cheer up - I needed it!
ReplyDeleteHow does it fly? That was the first thing that caught me: proportionally, its wings are too short and stubby for the body and ridiculously huge head! Maybe it's just badly-done perspective, but it looks like the artist used a hummingbird as a body model.
ReplyDeleteAnd what is Henry VIII doing chatting in the background?
ReplyDeleteLooks like to me ol' 'Enery the 8th is holding a toddler. Maybe him and the widow next door finally made an 'Enery the 9th.
ReplyDeleteEither that or he's going to feed the kid to the owl as part of some sacrifice.
Some kings feed virgins to dragons. This one feeds three year olds to mutant owls.
Bwa ha ha! I will unleash the fury of my giant mutant owl on you!
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http://coverjunkie.blogspot.com/
Owl Sight? As in, "Anybody seen an owl around here anywheres? I coulda sworn there was an owl here a minute ago."
ReplyDeleteIt's possible the owl is regular sized, and the people are really, really small. Like The Borrowers small.
Wow. I thought the giant owl was supposed to be in the background. I didn't actually realize it was perching on the character's arm.
ReplyDeleteWell, if the people are Borrowers-tiny, it does answer the question of what the owl eats...
ReplyDeleteFrom what I remember of those books, the owls and eagles and other birds ARE bred/magically enhanced to be bigger and more intelligent than regular birds. Doesn't explain how that guy's arm isn't dangling uselessly after being pulled out of the socket, but the bird, at least, is "correct." We'll have to handwave it away as "MAGIC!"
ReplyDeleteIt is possible that the owl is regular sized and the guy is tiny.
ReplyDeleteIf the owl is supposed to be perching on the guy's arm, it's very badly done--for one thing, it has no feet. And if these are the same Giant Magic Birds as in some of her other books, they aren't supposed to be *that* big. They're bigger than normal for their species, but not human-sized. But this particular book came out after I'd outgrown the author, so I can't swear they aren't a different kind of giant magic bird.
ReplyDeleteMore likely, though, it's just a standard Mercedes Lackey Horrible Cover. She definitely exemplifies the fantasy-with-pink-and-purple-covers marketing category.
And, um. Hedwig.
ReplyDeleteThe owl is actually supposed to be an eagle owl, so larger than a normal bird, and magical making it even larger.
ReplyDeleteAnd looking at the other two in this trilogy, he's supposed to be in the background and not to scale with the humans.
But yeah, they're horrible covers. Lackey is cursed with them. What I want to know is why the characters look younger as the trilogies progress (Last Herald Mage is the worst offender).
Yeah...Vanyel is supposed to be really old in that one, come to think of it.
ReplyDeleteI always assumed that Lackey was friends with Jody Lee (the artist) and that was why Lee does all her covers. Does anyone know?
Good old Mercedes Lackey. You can always count on her to have awful, awful covers.
ReplyDeleteAnd it seems to be a 50-50 chance as to whether or not they match the contents of the book.
Oh, I have to echo jacketwhys here and say that cover just made me laugh out loud. Thanks for putting it on the site!
ReplyDeleteI don't think the owl is sitting on his arm. It's flying, and it's a separate composite element from the dude in the foreground. It is a bit confusingly placed, but it's not a giant owl.
ReplyDelete