Wednesday, August 21, 2019

I Have John Marrs Covered!




It's been a few months since I've had a Cover-Off, and after reading John Marrs' The Passengers, I thought I'd revive my cover comparison series with this thriller, about driverless cars running amok in England. (You'll be able to read my review of the book next week.)

Let's take a look!





The UK Cover

The simple design and color palette of the UK cover makes the skull-and-crossbones dashboard light pop. "Eight intended victims. Who lives, who dies? You decide." is catchy and does make me want to pick up the book and take a look. Since John Marrs is a UK author, the blurbs about him on this cover don't really mean a thing; however, now that I've read the book, they will help me look up his other books. All in all, this is one very understated cover, and I have to admit that it really doesn't speak to me all that much.


The US Cover

On the other hand, the US cover does speak to me. The catchy "Who lives? Who dies? You decide." is right at the top, and there is the de rigueur blurb, this time from the Los Angeles Times, but it's the graphic that catches my eye. A car traveling at speed... with that one hand showing in the window, desperate to get out. The graphic definitely makes me want to pick up the book.


My Choice

As you can tell by what I said about each one, it's the US cover that wins this Cover-Off. How about you? Which do you prefer-- UK? US? Too close to call? Neither one? Inquiring minds would love to know!


 

6 comments:

  1. The US cover of this one is certainly eye-catching, Cathy. And it draws the attention very nicely.

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  2. Another vote in favor of the US version. The car represents what appears to be a significant plot element, and the sense of motion conveys excitement. The central skull on the UK cover made me think of poison; it was only when I went back for a closer look that I realized it's meant to be a dashboard light.

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    1. You went through the same thought processes as I did, Kate. And I'll tell you one thing...I wasn't too keen on driverless cars to begin with, and I'm even less so after reading this book!

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  3. Agree with you on U.S. cover. It shows something is happening here that we are curious about. The British cover doesn't inspire curiosity or even that it's a thriller.

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    1. The only thing that inspired curiosity for me in the UK cover was that skull and crossbones, but I think of that more in terms of either pirates or poison, not necessarily the all-encompassing DANGER sign.

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