The Friday Face-Off was created by Books by Proxy, where each week bloggers can showcase books with covers centered around a weekly theme. You can visit Lynn’s Books for a list of upcoming themes. Join in the fun each Friday by finding a book whose cover is based on the theme!
This week’s theme: “Those darling bygone times…with their delicious fortresses, and their dear old dungeons, and their delightful palaces of torture.” – a cover that is positively medieval.
I was a little worried about this week’s theme and almost skipped it, but then I remembered a book I read years ago that will work just fine. Timeline by Michael Crichton was a fantastic, bloody time travel story about a group of people who travel from the present day back to medieval times. I have to say most of these covers are pretty boring, but hey! It fits the theme so let’s go with it. Here is a small sampling of a bunch of covers:
1999 U.S. Knopf edition | 2000 Italian edition
2012 Russian edition | 2006 Italian edition
2003 Movie Tie-In edition | 2006 German edition
And the winner is…
I really love the ambiance in this cover, and the arrow that looks like it’s going through a portal to another time. My second favorite it the German cover, but I’m not crazy about any of the others.
I loved this book and I liked the movie too. Favorite covers are the Russian one and the 2000 Italian.
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I don’t think I ever saw the movie. I was worried it would be too graphic for me, I think:-)
For some reason I like the Italian cover. It’s kind of cheesy but hey, sometimes it works. I’ve never even heard of this book!
Barb (boxermommyreads) recently posted…You Think You’ve Got Problems – The Darkness Within Review
Oh you would like this, Barb! If you’ve read Jurassic Park then you know how much fun Crichton’s books are, and this is just as good, but in a different way.
I agree with your choice! Tho I do like the bottom half of the movie tie in cover. The colors and the flaming arrows look really cool, but the faces on the top look ridiculous.
Brittany recently posted…Friday Face-Off: Medieval
I love the bright colors of the movie tie in edition too, but I think I just have a problem with “movie tie ins” in general:-)
I know a lot of people don’t like movie tie in covers! I don’t mind them but they are rarely my favorite covers
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I do like the Italian cover – not sure why but it just really grabs me. Great choice of title.
Lynn 😀
You’re not the only one who likes that cover:-)
I keep going back and forth trying to decide if I really like the 2000 Italian edition or not. It catches my eye either way, so I might lean towards that one, though I do really like the one you picked
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Friday Face Off – A cover that is positively medieval
I like the Italian one too, although overall I’m not super crazy about any of these, lol.
A suit of medieval armour was NOT what I was expecting for a book called “Timeline,” but then I read your synopsis. This sounds really cool! And the Russian edition is also my pick. 🙂
This book was all kinds of crazy. It’s been a while since I read it but I do remember having a lot of fun (although the violence is VERY graphic).
This is a good choice, Tammy! I found this one quite tricky. My favourite here is Timeline 4 – that knight in armour with the glowing blue light reflecting off his armour is really appealing.
I love that we all have different favorites, which is the point of this post!
I love Timeline! My own copy wasn’t featured here which is no surprise it didn’t make the cut because it was one of those super boring ones. I kinda like the first one there, with the close up of the knight’s helm!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Friday Face-Off: Medieval
Overall I wasn’t too impressed with these covers. But honestly, book cover designs have grown by leaps and bounds since this book was published, so I guess it’s not too surprising.
I think I like the Russian one best as well, and I also like the German one and even the movie tie- in one (which is unusual for me). I’m not fond of the suit of armor ones for some reason.
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I guess this movie tie-in isn’t too bad, I think I mostly cringe whenever I see the words “movie tie in” because the publisher feels the need to focus on the movie instead of the book. But I guess that’s the point!
I’m not sure I would even know what qualifies as medieval, so I’d have a hard time with this! I agree with your fave though 🙂
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Book Review: Argonauts by Kevin Kneupper
I don’t read much epic fantasy, which I think is where a lot of medieval stories come in. Luckily I remember this book:-)
This is one of my favorites ever! That Russian cover is fantastic, it 100% wins. 🙂
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