Friday Face-Off: Knife

This week’s cover comparison theme is knives, and i decided to go for some clear knife-themed covers by choosing The Knife of Never Letting Go. I haven’t actually read this book yet, and the cover i own does not feature a knife. But those facts aren’t going to stop me.

Here are the covers, which all link back to their respective goodreads pages.

       

The first two are both English language editions, and i like them well enough–simple artwork, negative space, interesting font. They’re the simple easy choice; there’s nothing i dislike about them, but they don’t grab my attention, either.

The third one is a Turkish cover. I like the shape, with the knife and the kid and the dog, and i like the negative space. But i don’t like the colours or the patterns. What could have been quite striking is, i think, lost in those too-bold colours and strange patterns.

The fourth one is an Italian cover… and it really suits that, i think. I like the black/white/touch-of-red colour scheme here, and the negative space that creates. It’s simply and bold without being too much or too little.

The fifth is a French cover, and i like a lot about this. The shadow as the blade of the knife, the blocking, shady font, and the negative space that fills most of the cover. I love it all, except the colour. Which is a shame, as it’s the main thing about this one!

The sixth one is a Romanian cover. This one took a little while for me to process, as it’s a bit busy. But i like the lines and broken patterns. The colours are an odd choice, but after the garish reds in other covers, it’s a welcome difference. The white font is also a notable difference, standing out nicely against the pink.

The seventh is a Swedish cover. I like the font, but otherwise almost nothing appeals to me here. It seems like a silhouette photo of the knife, with an vague out-of-focus background. The black and brown colour choices are a bit dreary here too.

The eigth cover is Chinese, and again, i don’t favour the abundance of red personally. I don’t hate the knife and the face within it, but it isn’t what i am usually drawn to.

Of the covers here, I have to say the pink and blue Romanian one is my surprise favourite. It’s striking and different and interesting. I quite love it. However, i’m going to throw a little spanner in the works, and add a bonus cover. It didn’t make the cut above because it doesn’t have a knife on the cover, but for my tastes it is a perfect cover. It’s a Russian cover, and the artwork, the font, the colours, the negative space are all spot on… this cover is amazing.

What do you think? Which cover do you prefer and why? It’s okay if you love all the red–someone has to.