The good thing is, at least there are no more movie poster covers (somehow, being in a bookstore these days feels like as if I’m somewhere in DVD/CD rental store. The fact that they still use this theme is nothing but for ‘business’ purpose only, a marketing strategy and it’s kinda irritating to some people. Regarding these new book covers of LoTR, overall, it’s refreshing and I like the idea of using an art picture cover (how I love Tolkien art pictures!), though it’s based on movie reference. Near the time when The Hobbit movie was released, Gramedia republished Hobbit novel, but using movie still imagery like this: But what I like about these illustrations is the “classic” image look, which befits a fantasy fiction story, and they’re definitely better than the LOTR books that used movie stills, which were republished several years later. I think it’s still plausible to buy illustrations from another Tolkien-related artists, although this is obviously not my decision to make (and I have no idea how the publisher acquire illustrations for covers, so it’s definitely just a personal opinion). The covers use illustrations by John Howe, an artist who has illustrated numerous Tolkien books and calendars, including the translated versions. These are the first Indonesian editions of Lord of the Rings, published in 2002. Examples are my versions of Indonesian edition: Things I don’t like: I think new covers could have been an opportunity to display artworks by popular Tolkien illustrators. Things I like: they are bright, colorful without being tacky, fresh-looking, have “contemporary” visuals, and will definitely catch the eyes of younger readers when they walk into the bookstores. There are things that I like and don’t like about the new covers.

Others were not so pleased with the fact that they are movie-based (I have to say, these new covers are much more pleasant than the ones with actual movie stills as covers, republished several years earlier). I even saw someone commented about how The Return of the King cover reminded him of a samurai-themed historical novel.

Some were pleased with the new covers, with their clean, fresh, and eye-catching designs. The new cover announcement had received mixed comments. The covers clearly cater to movie fans, using movie imagery as the base of the illustrations.

The silmarillion covers