Inspired by C. M. Kornbluth’s dark/satirical tales in The Explorer (1954) that uncover the underbelly of the normally glamorous 50s portrayals of space travel and alien contact, I seek to expose (well, re-expose) the darker side of science fiction cover art.  I’ll try to post every monday, one bad science fiction cover — if possible, I’ll pair it with a much better cover of the same book from another edition if one exists.

My reasons:

1). The hilarious website ‘Good Day Sir’ doesn’t post the images I come across fast enough despite getting routine ratings from 7.5-9.5…    This is probably due to the fact that I don’t own the books and don’t follow the submission rules — i.e. posting an image of me physically holding a book in hand — alas, too bad.

2).  If a reader came across certain editions (posted below) the true nature of a book would be hopelessly confused (a great cover on a terrible book does the same thing) — Yes, there really are cat-like aliens in this book.  But, the  work’s overarching theme is much more mature (societal reaction to natural disaster, etc). Continue reading →