I firmly believe that the job of a book cover is to give readers a glimpse into the story that the book contains. Thus Uncover was born to allow me to unabashedly judge books by their covers. For judging purposes, I pick covers and note the impressions that I formed based on them. Then I compare them with the stories of their respective book to decide if they match up.
Title: Kyria und Reb – Bis ans Ende der Welt(Translation: Kyria and Reb – To the End of the Earth)
Author: Andrea Schacht
Publisher: Egmont Ink
First Release: 9. February 2012
Language: German
Reading status: Want to read
Shelve on Goodreads
Buy via Amazon | Book Depository
Impressions: Alright, I realize that this is a German book and there isn’t even an English translation of it available. Hence, the translated title won’t help anyone find a copy for themselves. But I like the cover and find it intriguing, so I couldn’t resist talking about it here. I wasn’t able to find a high-resolution cover but I will take photos some time because I was blown away when I saw the book cover and jacket in person.
Anyway, the cover depicts a landscape instead of people. That seems to be quite in line with fantasy and sci-fi books, I think. I have yet to see one like that for contemporary books. The colours make it all seem so mystical, the houses in the distance almost swallowed in mist. The (former) literature student in me would’ve tried to argue that this is an attempt to depict and capture something that is in the distant future, or that is very much out of reach.
Indeed, it is a dystopian book set in the future. Coincidence? I think not. Hah.
Anyway, the cover depicts a landscape instead of people. That seems to be quite in line with fantasy and sci-fi books, I think. I have yet to see one like that for contemporary books. The colours make it all seem so mystical, the houses in the distance almost swallowed in mist. The (former) literature student in me would’ve tried to argue that this is an attempt to depict and capture something that is in the distant future, or that is very much out of reach.
Indeed, it is a dystopian book set in the future. Coincidence? I think not. Hah.
MATCHING UP
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS
Das Vereinigte Europa im Jahr 2125 ist eine Welt der kompletten Überwachung. Das geschieht nur zum Besten der Bürger, sagt Kyrias Mutter, eine hochrangige Politikerin des perfekt gesteuerten Systems New Europe . Doch die 17-jährige Kyria möchte endlich erfahren, wie es ist, sich frei zu fühlen. Als sie in Reb, einem jungen Rebell aus dem Untergrund, einen Verbündeten findet, fliehen die beiden auf abenteuerliche Weise aus New Europe und gelangen in ein fernes Reservat. Dort haben sich die Menschen ein bäuerliches Leben wie in längst vergangenen Zeiten bewahrt. Doch schon bald sind die Verfolger Kyria und Reb auf der Spur. Und das ist nicht die einzige Gefahr, denn alle, die sich der Macht von New Europe entziehen, werden von künstlich ausgelösten Seuchen bedroht. Auch Kyria gerät in den Verdacht, die friedliebenden Menschen des Reservats mit einer Masernepidemie zu vernichten. Zum Glück hat Kyria Freunde an ihrer Seite und einen jungen Rebellen, der ihr Herz berührt…
TRANSLATED SYNOPSIS
The United Europe in the year of 2125 is a wrld that is under complete surveillance. This happens only to the best of the citizens, says Kyria’s mother, a high-ranking politician of the perfectly controlled New European system. But the 17-year-old Kyria wants to finally learn what it is like to feel free. When she finds in Reb, a young rebel from the Underground, an ally, they adventurously flee from New Europe and arrive in a distant reserve. There, people have maintained a rural life for the longest time. Though very soon after, Kyria and Reb have followers on them. And that is not the only danger, because all who withdraw from the power of New Europe are threatened with artificially induced epidemics. Kyria too is suspected of wanting to destroy the peace loving people of the reserve with a measles epidemic. Luckily, Kyria has friends by her side and a young rebel who touches her heart…
VERDICT
Somehow the translation looks a bit awkward. It never occurred to me how different the syntaxes can be. Either way, I tried to stay as true to the German text as possible. Now, matching up. The cover is pretty minimalistic at first sight but looking at the synopsis, the houses in the distance make complete sense. Looks like the cover and the content might just be a good match. It is also one that makes me look forward to reading this all the more.
The post UNcover: “Kyria & Reb – Bis ans Ende der Welt” by Andrea Schacht appeared first on Word Revel.