I think we have achieved Peak Generic Fantasy Cover.
If that be-sandalled foot belongs to the young lady, I think I know what Fats Waller would say to her.
Some weird perspective issues here: is she very large and riding side-saddle or levitating three feet away from a horse? Is the tree in the bottom right growing horizontally? Is the horse scratching its arse on the painted backdrop of a river and an incomplete rainbow?
M’lady Cher wants nowt to do with that pickle, which reflects real life, I think. Possibly gazing upon m’lud Sonny’s waistcoat, she wonders where else yon pickle has been.
@L_L: Needs a dragon to be peak fantasy cover, and maybe some Ting!
@B’mancer: I guess it’s the Last Rainbow because rainbows have been deteriorating over the years, and if it loses one more color, it’s not by any stretch of the imagination going to be a rainbow any more. It’s disappearing with the shorter wavelengths first, and when the green goes, that’s it.
@Tor: I think the stream is explained by it being The Last Rainbow Water Park, Midway, and Gift Shoppe’s lazy river ride. There’s circulating pumps t’other side of the hill.
@Tat: Another vote for “perspective problems”. It looks to me like Cher is in front of the horse, and levitating. Is the horse even real, or is it a prize won at the water park? Is Cher, in fact, the helium-filled balloon, instead of the horse and rainbow?
I note we’re all so boggled by the art we didn’t even comment on the font problems — both ugly and jammed awkwardly into one corner.
@TW: Apparently she gave him her lucky charms for free, wink wink nudge nudge.
I only now noticed that the horse appears to have an artificial hoof. If it’s a real horse, that is. The anatomy fail is explained if it’s a water park prize.
@GSS ex-noob: The more I look at the stream, the weirder it gets. Note the water just behind m’lady’s hand. The surface of the water is following the curve of the hill! Water doesn’t do that. Its surface should be level. And it should flow right over that bank and down the hill.
I don’t know if this book is supposed to be high fantasy or merely historical fantasy. Even if there’s magic at work, you shouldn’t disregard the laws of physics just for a design effect.
@Tor: That’s why I’m thinking water park. Concrete channel and high-powered pumps to move it along so it doesn’t obey gravity and run downhill at the spot you mentioned, dampening tree, horse, St. Pat, and m’lady. It cannot be a natural watercourse. There’s got to be a flume ride, a wave pool, and such on the other side of the hill.
Either that or it’s one of Pat’s miracles we don’t hear much about, where he rerouted a stream so as not to ruin his afternoon with m’lady and her fake horse.
Or the artists missed “Depicting Natural Features Day” at UAI.
September 5th, 2018 at 10:29 am
What’s on the end of the stick, Vic?
September 5th, 2018 at 10:46 am
I think we have achieved Peak Generic Fantasy Cover.
If that be-sandalled foot belongs to the young lady, I think I know what Fats Waller would say to her.
September 5th, 2018 at 11:13 am
Does he dye his hair to match the color of his clothing or vice versa?
Ditch the people, horse, rainbow, water, grass and sky, I want more leaves.
September 5th, 2018 at 12:01 pm
She certainly seems very interested in his, er, stick.
“The walking stick. It’s a repurposed broom handle I got from a witch. Why do you ask, m’lady.”
September 5th, 2018 at 12:32 pm
M’lady, thine inflatable steed needeth more aire. Shall I pumpeth thou upeth?
September 5th, 2018 at 1:34 pm
He may be proud of his stick, but he’s mere seconds away from a wicked crotch kick.
@JP— 😉
September 5th, 2018 at 1:49 pm
That rainbow is short a few colors. Is it the Last Rainbow because they ran out of paint?
September 5th, 2018 at 1:53 pm
“Hit me with your rhythm stick, kind sir.”
September 5th, 2018 at 1:54 pm
It being the last rainbow, you’d think at least one of them might be slightly more interested in it.
Then again it couldn’t be bothered to even bring a full spectrum to the game, so perhaps who can blame them.
September 5th, 2018 at 5:11 pm
Note the stream in the background. It’s one of those funhouse illusions where water seems to flow uphill.
September 5th, 2018 at 5:29 pm
This cover would be even better if that were an inflatable Unicorns!
September 5th, 2018 at 7:18 pm
Some weird perspective issues here: is she very large and riding side-saddle or levitating three feet away from a horse? Is the tree in the bottom right growing horizontally? Is the horse scratching its arse on the painted backdrop of a river and an incomplete rainbow?
September 5th, 2018 at 7:36 pm
@Tat W—I think it’s all set up to make the perfect angle for those crotch kicks, one from the front, one from the rear.
I also think the rainbow may be inflatable and underinflated, hence the missing colors.
September 6th, 2018 at 2:31 am
M’lady Cher wants nowt to do with that pickle, which reflects real life, I think. Possibly gazing upon m’lud Sonny’s waistcoat, she wonders where else yon pickle has been.
@L_L: Needs a dragon to be peak fantasy cover, and maybe some Ting!
@B’mancer: I guess it’s the Last Rainbow because rainbows have been deteriorating over the years, and if it loses one more color, it’s not by any stretch of the imagination going to be a rainbow any more. It’s disappearing with the shorter wavelengths first, and when the green goes, that’s it.
@Tor: I think the stream is explained by it being The Last Rainbow Water Park, Midway, and Gift Shoppe’s lazy river ride. There’s circulating pumps t’other side of the hill.
@Tat: Another vote for “perspective problems”. It looks to me like Cher is in front of the horse, and levitating. Is the horse even real, or is it a prize won at the water park? Is Cher, in fact, the helium-filled balloon, instead of the horse and rainbow?
I note we’re all so boggled by the art we didn’t even comment on the font problems — both ugly and jammed awkwardly into one corner.
September 6th, 2018 at 2:36 am
Egads. A quick Google reveals it’s worse than we thought.
The dude is St. Patrick.
I wish I was making this up.
September 6th, 2018 at 4:08 am
@GsSxN – St Patrick? Rainbows? He’ll soon be stealing her Lucky Charms!
September 6th, 2018 at 4:29 am
@TW: Apparently she gave him her lucky charms for free, wink wink nudge nudge.
I only now noticed that the horse appears to have an artificial hoof. If it’s a real horse, that is. The anatomy fail is explained if it’s a water park prize.
September 7th, 2018 at 12:58 am
@GSS ex-noob: The more I look at the stream, the weirder it gets. Note the water just behind m’lady’s hand. The surface of the water is following the curve of the hill! Water doesn’t do that. Its surface should be level. And it should flow right over that bank and down the hill.
I don’t know if this book is supposed to be high fantasy or merely historical fantasy. Even if there’s magic at work, you shouldn’t disregard the laws of physics just for a design effect.
September 7th, 2018 at 3:38 am
@Tor: That’s why I’m thinking water park. Concrete channel and high-powered pumps to move it along so it doesn’t obey gravity and run downhill at the spot you mentioned, dampening tree, horse, St. Pat, and m’lady. It cannot be a natural watercourse. There’s got to be a flume ride, a wave pool, and such on the other side of the hill.
Either that or it’s one of Pat’s miracles we don’t hear much about, where he rerouted a stream so as not to ruin his afternoon with m’lady and her fake horse.
Or the artists missed “Depicting Natural Features Day” at UAI.
September 28th, 2020 at 9:14 am
“Sir, did you eat the other horse?”
“Aye, M’Lady… it was most disagreeable! One of its legs did not properly digest, and alas! now I am in agony!”