Attached Link: http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0671721631.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Great tips on the lighting aspects hauks! Gorodin, I'll add something to your question about "would you buy it"...cover art doesn't sell books, blurbs do. Genre cover art gives fast identification when browsing (i.e. most stores mix the fantasy and sf so what's on the cover helps let you know what it is) and may entice someone to pick up the book and read the blurb. While many people (like me) appreciate the artistry on the cover for its own sake, it has never once convinced me to buy any particular book. I've got books with absolute crap covers that I think are brilliant novels, and others with astounding covers that are a waste of paper. For a series, the cover should instantly identify the book for fans. Your's does this, but mostly because of the "badged" titling used for this series (which is perfectly OK as this is very common for SFF series). Hauks, this was the first book in David Weber's Honor Harrington series (9 or 10 books now). Unless they are doing another reissue or something, I believe Gorodin is doing this for his own practice. That doesn't negate anything you said of course, and I agree it looks very professional :) FYI: The link is to the original Baen cover on Amazon (and is typical Amazon crappy quality). I think Gorodin's is way better!