As most of you already know I read a lot of Zombie books. However, all books are not created equal when it comes to cover art. Whether it's cheesy graphics or the same image used on a dozen books nothing turns me off from a book more than a bad cover. In my quest to find the latest and greatest Zombie read I've viewed thousands of covers. Some of these have been awesome and others well they've made their way onto this list. Whether traditionally published or paid for by the Author themselves these are (in my opinion anyway) some really bad Zombie book covers.
The Zombie Apocalypse series by Keith Luethke aren't just cheesy looking but they also give the book a definite amateur feel.
Blue Plague: The Fall by Thomas A. Watson is actually a really good Zombie book. Even though I wasn't in love with the cover I still picked it up because the reviews were really positive and I was assured by several fellow Zombie fans that it was worth it. However, every time I see the cover on my Kindle I wrinkle my nose. I just don't like the painted nature of it. Had the design been live models it would of worked but the way it stands just does nothing for me.
Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter. Don't get me wrong this is a very pretty cover. However, it does not say Zombie book to me. All this cover needed to be great was a pair of Undead hands reaching for her from the blackness beyond. Also look at the bottom of the cover. The way the swirls meet up makes it look like she has a pair of blue balls hanging out beneath her dress.
Chivalry is Undead by M.A. Rogers was under my recommendations since I read Warm Bodies. From the overuse of gray to the couple making swoony eyes at each other this cover just screams cheese. In fact if it wasn't for the title and the poorly placed sign peeking through the wall I'd have never even guessed it was a Zombie book.
Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. This cover......sigh. When I first saw it I didn't mind it. However in the nearly 3 years since this book has been released I've literally seen hundreds of books with this same image. Now I can't look at Rot and Ruin's book cover without feeling a deep sense of contempt. I'm not even sure if Rot and Ruin was the first book to use this image or not but since it is the first book I remember seeing onto the list it goes.
As The World Dies series paperbacks by Rhiannon Frater. I love, love, love this series and the Author as well. The covers I own are some of my favorite Zombie book covers ever. However, when it was announced the series would be getting new paperback covers I was hesitant. Why fix what isn't broke and all that. While these aren't awful per say I'm just not a fan of them in comparison to the ones I own and fell in love with.
Dead City by Joe McKinney is the first book in the Dead World series. I love this Author and these books but this cover redesign left me scratching my head. I love the city and how the font is all grungy but that Zombie female kills the covers effectiveness for me. Rather than being scary she looks like she is in the throws of an orgasm albeit a very bloody one....
Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi might be a Zombie book but you would never guess that from the cover. If I was a first time viewer of this book I'd assume it might be werewolf romance or possibly along the lines of say X-men. Zombies however, nope. Now to be fair this book was originally called Razor Girl and that synopsis told you right away that the girl on the cover has been modified by her father to have these claws. What's funny is the original cover told us she had these razors but didn't portray them on the cover yet when it switched titles and was given a makeover they chose to omit them from the synopsis but instead add them to the cover.
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Out of curiosity, What Zombie covers would you add to the list?
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Oh, wow. Those are some really bad covers.
ReplyDeleteI liked the first cover in the Matt Richter Zombie PI series, but the others weren't so great. And while I agree with your opinion on Dead City, I think McKinney's Flesh Eaters is one of my favorite zombie covers.
Fun post, Kristin ;-)
Oo I love the Flesh Eaters cover. I haven't read the Matt Richter series but I checked out the covers and I actually don't mind book 2 and 3 although I think the font could be a bit different.
DeleteYou know, in all honesty, I REALLY don't care about cover art. Am I the only one? I'm more of a "don't judge a book by it's cover" kinda girl. I would never NOT read a book simply because the cover was not up to social standards.
ReplyDeletePersonally I just have a hard time spending money on a book with a cover I don't like. I've read plenty with bad covers but whether I'll buy them in physical form or stick with it on Kindle is greatly influenced by how much I enjoy the cover.
DeleteThe reason for the cover change for As The World Dies was rather simple. The director over the paperback division made the choice to change the covers in order to appeal to a demographic they felt they hadn't reached with the original more Urban Fantasy looking covers.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I had no say in the decision. I'm just grateful that the change came AFTER all three trade paperbacks had come out and not in mid-trilogy so the books all match in both sets.
When it comes to cover changes a good bet of why it's happening is marketing.
I know and we've talked about the cover changes before a few times. I almost didn't include them because I love the series so much but ultimately felt since I was going to make a list of covers I didn't like If I was going to be honest these needed on it.
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