Trying to get off the ground (Cover & Premise questions)

[Comatoast]

A lot of you guys on SH have lots of valuable knowledge so I wanted to ask you about my book premise I'm going to flesh out.

The book is a slightly meta, Horror/Action and Comedy story that tells a pretty generic yet modern tale of overcoming circumstances and wrestling your demons.

The general premise is:

A young dad lives in a world that got hit by a plague. The nail in humanity's coffin however is the giant, Grub-like alien that came before they recovered to eat earth.

The young dad in question is painfully normal, Like stereotypically normal. He has little ambition and is just a 'Nice guy' sorta man.

He enlisted in an army program that is sent inside the creature to blow it up, Doing so I'm hopes that he can raise enough money for his wife's medicine so she can be cured of the plague and for his son's future on earth.

He gets inside the creature with a crew that die off slowly one by one and he stands as the last by the core.
Then he dies too.

Before he died however, He makes a wish for one last chance to save his family and live his life.

That's where the story begins.

The rest of the story without much for spoilers, Revolves around him completing seemingly insurmountable tasks while we find out about his life through the trials he must face to grow stronger in the afterlife so he can finally jump across the gap between the spirit world and the real world. (Yes its a literal ravine because funny.)

Also I'm accepting of all opinions on the cover! I went for something different and a title that may catch people's eyes. (TITLE IS: Clusterfunk: Outrunning Death)

 

[KingofPizza]

I would up the stakes a bit more. For example, maybe the mom and the kid have the plague, and he can't just jump ship and start a new family 'cause he's sterile for some reason. No way out 'cept risk his life or watch his wife and kid die.

Also, I don't see much point in the dying and isekai part, which kills the MC's potential dilemma. Maybe he lives, but he gets thrown onto the core becomes the nasty-ass giant bug thing, so now he is a gross giant bug that everyone wants to kill. In his new powerful form - a form that is suited for ruining planets and not helping people - he has race to find a way to secure the life and health of his family - a family doesn't recognize him and hates him - before a bunch of space marines nuke his ass. That's a real man's premise, right there.

 

[InBetweenRealms]

I don’t have extensive knowledge on the subject as a writer, but I’ve read the book and seen a lot of the covers, so I’ll just share my thoughts. I’m not sure if the cover accurately represents what readers will find inside the book, but at the same time, it doesn’t give much away either. It’s a bit of a gamble—You may find something as obvious as the main characters in a certain position that highlights your type of story.
However, if we focus solely on the cover, there is a significant flaw in the text at the bottom. It's not prominent, it’s unclear, and it feels overly long. As for the story itself, it seems somewhat ordinary at first glance, though that’s not necessarily a flaw in terms of quality. The true nature of the story will become clearer as you explore its details across the chapters. I hope this feedback is helpful.

 

[Rhaps]

Ifeel like you can add more tension with the plague by not doing anything special with it.

The philosophy of the "perfect monster" follow these three rules:
The monster must not look human
The monster must not be good or evil
The monster must not speak

There is nothing more terrifying than something you cannot comprehend, understand, or relate to.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

The anxiety for a horror novel isn't there with such a short blip. It is intriguing in concept. I like the implied labyrinth on the cover. More memorable than other covers in recent memory.

 

[John_Owl]

I don’t have extensive knowledge on the subject as a writer, but I’ve read the book and seen a lot of the covers, so I’ll just share my thoughts. I’m not sure if the cover accurately represents what readers will find inside the book, but at the same time, it doesn’t give much away either. It’s a bit of a gamble—You may find something as obvious as the main characters in a certain position that highlights your type of story.
However, if we focus solely on the cover, there is a significant flaw in the text at the bottom. It's not prominent, it’s unclear, and it feels overly long. As for the story itself, it seems somewhat ordinary at first glance, though that’s not necessarily a flaw in terms of quality. The true nature of the story will become clearer as you explore its details across the chapters. I hope this feedback is helpful.

View attachment 33496

It's always been a pet peeve of mine to have a tagline on the front cover. I've seen them all over books, and the only places I don't personally mind them is the back cover (under the synopsis), and inside the front cover, on the title page.

 

[Comatoast]

Ifeel like you can add more tension with the plague by not doing anything special with it.

The philosophy of the "perfect monster" follow these three rules:
The monster must not look human
The monster must not be good or evil
The monster must not speak

There is nothing more terrifying than something you cannot comprehend, understand, or relate to.

The plague and the monster are two separate creatures, The reasoning of why they came so close together is explained later.

The anxiety for a horror novel isn't there with such a short blip. It is intriguing in concept. I like the implied labyrinth on the cover. More memorable than other covers in recent memory.

The anxiety is built in the protagonist's Limbo, The land between life and death.
The soul leaves the body moments before he dies and the killing blow is essentially played in slow motion.

With every day spent in the spirit world, His body in the physical is approaching it's demise.
This builds a sense of urgency the builds the longer he stays.