Fantastic Figures of Fantasy Book Covers – May 2011

May isn’t quite a distant memory, which means it’s time to look back with fondness at all the pretty covers that appeared at bookstores over the course of last month!  Damon and I pick our favorite cover models out of the line up and tell you why they’re the characters we’d most want to meet in a dark alley sometime!

MEN

This was an easy month for the dudes, because there was one clear winner:  the gentleman on the cover of S.M. Stirling’s Council of Shadows.

This guy is like the urban fantasy version of Neil Caffery on White Collar AKA the only reason I watch the show–slick and casually well-dressed and pretty-handsome in the best possibly ways.  If this were a movie poster I’d go see it just to watch him in it.

After that it gets a bit harder to pick…lots of goods, but no other greats for me.  But I decided my second-favorite this month is the presumably titular Rogue on Trudi Canavan’s latest.

I had to ask Damon to be sure this was a guy, because sometimes I get confused, but he assured me it was.  I like him in part because he’s wearing red (it’s a great color for me), and because he looks magical and mysterious. He also looks a tad young for me, but I’ve been told that can be fun….

Third place goes to the new Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne installment, Hounded.

He’d probably have been second place if it weren’t for the chin scruff. I do NOT endorse the soul patch! But he’s great otherwise, almost with a Dread Pirate Westley look to him.

Lynsay Sands sneaks in a paranormal romance with the first runner up, The Reluctant Vampire.

He has a nice face, and from the title I know he’s one of those self-denying brooding vampires so therefore not likely to eat me for breakfast.  Plus his eyes say Damon The-Hot-Brother Salvatore to me, and we all know how much I love me some Pretty Ian Somerhalder with His Cajun Voodoo Eyes….

Continuing my “if you look like you can survive the apocalypse I will pick you” theme, we have Timecaster by Joe Kimball.

See?  This dude is ready.  He looks like he might even be psyched about the mayhem.  My picking him is like evolutionary biology in action:  “If I mate with you I ensure my genes survive where 90% of the world’s do not, bwahahahaha!”  My ovaries and I vote yes.

Finally we get to The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi.

I have to admit that I was a little bit seduced by the technology the guy in this duo has at his disposal, and the title–how does one steal quantum-level things?  Can’t be a total moron since in order to steal it he must first understand what it is…but he also has nice bone structure.  See, I can objectify even smart men.

WOMEN

Top pick of the month for me is the girl on Hard Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires) by Chloe Neill.

This is another one though where the face isn’t really seen, but you can still figure it is going to be nice.  The clothing is much better than some outfits we see on these covers, and everything screams sexy hunter.  The belt and armband really bring out the sexiness of the outfit.  Plus a slender sword, to not make anyone feel bad.

Zombies Sold Separately by Cheyenne McCray is up next.

Again, we don’t get to see the whole face, and in contrast to the sharp style of the first girl, the clothes here remind me of a bargain burglar.  But everything else falls into place – ahem.

From the latest book by Ilona Andrews, Magic Slays, we have Kate Daniels.

She has that innocent cute look going, plus you gotta love a girl that doesn’t care about fashion trends in clothing.  The magical smoking dagger doesn’t hurt anything, either.

We get a nice medieval look next with The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey.

Her look says she rules kingdoms and can rule you also, so watch out.  That classy sort of sexy.  Also, that’s a great rip-off type of dress, and we all know she is naked under there.  Hot.

Finally we have Naamah’s Curse by Jacqueline Carey.

Sometimes you want a bit of culture in your woman, plus she’s seems like she’s really beautiful.  Wish we could see the whole face, though.

So there it is, our round-up of the best cover models in last month’s SFF new releases.  Did we get it right, or did we misrank them or miss your favorite somehow?  Tell us in the comments!