Friday Face-Off is an idea originally thought up by Books By Proxy which I stole from the fantastic The Tattooed Book Geek. The idea originally was to compare UK and US covers based on an assigned theme each week and choose the winning cover. I will be twisting it slightly: not specifically US and UK covers, just different editions.

This week’s theme is a cover featuring a beach: “Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!”

I have gone with another book I have not read yet, but definitely should, Nevil Shute’s On The Beach.

Cover A:

Cover B:

Cover C:

Cover D:

Cover E:

Cover F:

Cover G:

Cover H:

Cover I:

And the winner is… G!

On The Beach is not a book I have ever read, but most definitely sounds very much up my street. Cover G wins it for me this week – it is very simple, but evocative at the same time, just standing on the beach, staring at the sunset while waiting for the nuclear fallout inevitably heading your way. Cover D is worth a mention, as I thought this was very different with an interesting style.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with my winner, or does one of the others work better for you? Let me know in the comments!

Next week I will be looking for a cover featuring a lion: “If you place your head in a lion’s mouth, then you cannot complain one day if he happens to bite it off.”