The Friday Face-Off is a meme originally created by Books by Proxy and now hosted over at Lynn’s Books. The idea is to compare the different covers of a book with each week being a certain theme.

This week’s Friday Face-Off theme is a little open-ended. With March being named for the Roman god of war, Mars, the theme is a cover that is Roman in style, depicting war, or depicting a god or gods: “If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he’d be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting ‘All gods are bastards!” For this theme I have picked Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow.

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And the winner is… COVER I!

The instantly recognisable depiction of a Roman soldier in full battle armour immediately caught my eye. The flames in the background add to the intrigue.

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’s theme allows for me to pick anything I fancy. As my first novel nears completion, I’ve decided to make my theme Steampunk to fit the genre of my upcoming book! “Steampunk is…a joyous fantasy of the past, allowing us to revel in a nostalgia for what never was. It is a literary playground for adventure, spectacle, drama, escapism and exploration. But most of all it is fun!”