Swiggly,
The LAST thing I intended was any offense, please forgive me. As I mentioned above, there isn't a problem with Mercedes Lackey. She's a fabulous author. As NBGA has correctly stated, niether he nor I have been published, while her publishing record is a fabulous testament to her abilities. That said, the majority of her covers are similar (anything co-written is slightly different as I will get to below.) It's not an insult, its just fact. Many have the same style, but even more evoke the same MOOD. Again, as mentioned above . . . I'm not saying that the style or mood of the covers have anything to do with her writing ability. The problem is that the style and mood of ANY cover will grant a first impression, whether or not that impression is true of the book's style or mood.
Let's examine some of the covers firsthand, so perhaps you can see why I used HER covers as an example and not someone else's. I should also throw in a caveat here--interestingly enough, it is usually the books co-written that diverge from the usual style and mood of her covers (Andre Norton seemed to dominate the cover's of their co-written books, and I have to confess that anything co-written with James Mallory has an AMAZING cover.) I realize that chasing covers can be a bit messy, so the best source I've found has been
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/mercedes-r-lackey/ . . . though I'm sure there are COUNTLESS covers that we'll be missing.
First,
Elvenbane. The Halfblood Chronicles were co-written with Andre Norton, an old favorite of mine . . . you can see her influence heavily in these covers. In fact, were the authors names not on the cover, I would have pegged them as Norton. They resemble the Witchworld books in style . . . MOOD however, is a different story. The second book in the series has a solid scene of action on the cover, which implies more (you guessed it) action. The first and third however . . . have relatively weak looking dragons (the one on the third cover is GRINNING.) They also contain a woman seemingly lacking in any conflict. She doesn't appear brave, strong, pained, sacrificing, courageous, cowering, or even about to DO anything. She's reclining in the first cover, and appears to be telling the dragon in the third cover some hilarious anecdote ( Part of me wants to throw this out to the forum for hilarious inserts . . . what IS she saying? ". . . and then SHE was like . . ."). While these covers may have NOTHING to do with the content of the books themselves, they definately give a first impression. Oh sure, I'd like to read these . . . right after I get through War and Peace. I'm still interested, but the first impression knocks the book down on my list of must-reads.
The Outstretched Shadow has a Fabulous cover, and covers get better with each sequel. The characters may not be involved in action, but there is a hint of conflict: the characters are standing at attention. In addition, there's a unicorn that doesn't appear to be resting, tossing its head, or enamored with a woman; it actually looks ready to fight--I didn't even know those types of unicorns existed! These things set a powerful mood. The style of the covers is very detailed, and a bit grainy. It lends a more realistic feel to the impression . . . pulls the casual glancer into the story with it's dark, but contrasting colors. This series would be the first of Lackey's that I would pick up. It just screams tension, action, and powerful characters caught in action and plot.
500 Kingdoms . . . Do I REALLY have to explain these ones? Airy, ethereal. Light and full of pastels. The style of the covers doesn't scream anything, but whispers saccharinely. The majority of the covers are taken up by Lackey's NAME, followed closely by profiled body shots of women who seem to have everything in hand. No conflict there whatsoever, and I probably wouldn't enjoy the self-assured, dialogue of these characters. Again . . . the content might be completely different . . . but first impressions are everything. I'm lemon lawing these unless I happen to have a young daughter to read them to.
You're right . . . of the books you were looking at, there is QUITE a variance. Bear in mind however, that two of the three were co-written . . . the one that wasn't was distinct (in a way which is off-putting to your average male reader)
Glance over the other covers at that sight. The mood conveyed is pretty consistent, and though the style does differ . . . it doesn't differ much. Lots of horses. Lots of individuals standing at attention looking majestic, or defiant (in a teenage kind of way.) The characters all look the same . . . oh there are different hair colors and outfits, but a powerful story needs more than just superficial cosmetics. A cover isn't any different. Not a lot of conflict or action, nor a sense of setting. They're very passive, light, and the style isn't very unique. One would imagine that with the beginning of a new series the style and mood would change, but it doesn't. Purples, Dark Reds, Light Blues, Golds.
Valdemar, Bedlam, Bardic, Elemental Masters, Dariens Tales, 500 Kingdoms and Dragon Jousters ALL have that mood and have similar styles.
So again Swiggly, please know that my opposition is not to Mercedes Lackey, but to her cover art. I think that it pigeon holes her, and keeps a lot of potential readers away because of their first impressions. I have to agree with you about Brandon's covers (the paperback Mistborn excluded), they have interesting backgrounds and a solid focal point. They have ACTION and Conflict. The Mood and Style are intriguing. There is more emphasis on art (read story) than on title and author (read commercialism.) There is a sense of something unique about each cover. I feel like this Warbreaker cover has some serious potential to interest both male and female readers, and I'd hate for a title to counteract that. I hope I've managed to emend instead of exacerbate any offense I gave. I'm sorry if there was any confusion.