I’ve just been reading an interesting post on the Guardian Book Blog about book covers. I don’t agree with everything the bloggers says – I love pulpy covers! – though I agree that for a subtle novel like J.G. Ballard’s crash, this cover may not be appropriate:
Harumph.
The piece made me start to mull about fashions in covers – from active to passive. In other words, instead of rip-roaring action scenes, these days we tend to get kick-ass heroines in jeans being pensive; or wizards in hoods, being pensive. Such covers are often splendid, but I do hanker a little after the old days of bravura SFF art.
I also wondered about what my my own personal favourite cover would be, if someone asked me that question – which, er, they haven’t. But that’s not going to stop me answering!
Brazyl by Ian Mcdonald comes close – I’m thinking of the early cover that looks like like the Rio Carnival in cover form. But I’ve decided my favourite ever cover is this:
This is a work of art, not just a cover – and it’s ACTIVE. The artist is Tim Bradstreet. (For a better and bigger image of it, click here.)
More on covers in a little while…I’m planning to do a wee retrospective of the covers of the great Jim Burns in a few weeks time. In the meantime, a question:
What’s YOUR favourite SFF cover ever?
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