(Ludovico De Luigi’s “Thomas Mann,” 2007)
When you think of Italian SF art, the name that immediately springs to mind is the brilliant Dutch painter Karel Thole (1914-2000), who seemed to illustrate half of the Italian SF publications in the 60s/70s…. However, a whole series of fascinating artists were brought in for short spats of covers. Continue reading
Today’s installment of Monday Maps and Diagrams returns to a recent acquisition of mine—a signed copy of Greg Bear’s first published novel Hegira (1979), which seems to be a Riverworld and Ringworld inspired read involving the discovery of the nature of an unusual world…
I’m impressed with the simple effectiveness of Greg Bear’s map—created by his own hand (citation bottom right corner). The ocean is nicely indicated as are the rivers and regions (and of course, the unusual wall in the far north–one of the story’s many mysteries).
Enjoy! And, as always, comments are welcome and appreciated!
For my recent acquisition post which included novel’s plot blurb and discussion in comment section about the Greg Bear’s early works, click here.
Citation: Greg Bear’s own map for the Dell 1st edition of Hegira (1979), Greg Bear. Continue reading
The book-buying bug has hit particularly hard as of late. I suspect the promise of the end of the semester is part of my mental metric.
In this haul….
An early graphic novel written by Samuel R. Delany and illustrated by Howard V. Chaykin!
A collection of parallel worlds short stories by a whole range of authors I’ve never encountered (Lucy Cores, Robert Coulson, Rob Chilson, Dimitri V. Gat, H. R. Percy, Michael Orgill, Olga Ley, etc.) and a few I want to return to (Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Gordon Eklund, George Zebrowski, etc.).
And two lesser known novels by lesser known authors…. Robert G. Griffin and Stuart Gordon.
As always, I love hearing your thoughts on the volumes and authors and covers.
I look forward to your comments!
~
1. Empire, Samuel R. Delany and Howard V. Chaykin (1978)
(Howard V. Chaykin’s cover for the 1st edition) Continue reading
(Detail from Alan Daniels’ cover for the 1980 German edition of Open Prison (1964), James White)
The crashed spaceship — a wrecked hulk spinning in the emptiness of space, shattered metal struts strewn across an alien landscape…. I find few SF scenarios more nostalgic than this one as a younger me was obsessed with books about the societies formed from the survivors of such cataclysms (Anne McCaffrey’s Acorna Universe sequence, of dubious quality now, was a cornerstone of my youth).
I have selected a range of fascinating covers which add to a series I made in 2012 (Part I) and 2013 (Part II). My favorite of the bunch is Tibor Csernus’ cover for the 1973 French edition of Clifford D. Simak’s Time and Again (1951) due to the verdant and wet landscape the spaceship finds itself in. My second favorite is Dean Ellis’ “descriptive” cover for the 1974 edition of Alan Dean Foster Icerigger (1974). It doesn’t try to be surreal but rather depicts a scene straight from novel. I usually prefer when the artist takes a more unusual approach but in this case Ellis narrows in on the wonder of the premise. Continue reading
(Yves Tanguy’s cover for the 1963 edition of Mission of Gravity (1954), Hal Clement)
On the birthday of French-American surrealist Yves Tanguy (1900-1955) (January 5th), I always take a minute to browse his art online. I faintly recalled seeing his art on various 1960s Penguin edition covers…. And lo and behold, J. G. Ballard’s New Wave masterpiece The Drowned World (1962) and Hal Clement’s pioneering work of hard SF, Mission of Gravity (1954) were both graced with Tanguy’s canvases. Penguin regularly used the work of famous mainstream artists–for example, Max Ernst (I identified ten covers). China Miéville’s novella “The Last Days of New Paris” (2018) also uses a Tanguy/Lamba/Breton exquisite corpse collage (I’m focusing primarily on earlier covers in this post). Continue reading
(Fiction 114, May 1963)
Whenever it is Philippe Curval’s birthday I am pulled back into the fascinating world of French SF cover art–in particular the magazine Fiction, which, during its early years, had an utterly different aesthetic than anything found on American magazines. As I desperately want to read his novels (the vast majority remain untranslated), I can only enjoy the magazine covers he created in the 50s (Part I and Part I of my series on his photocollages).
This is all to say, I have chosen another lesser known artist for Fiction to showcase, Michel Jakubowski. This post which continues a loose series I’ve cobbled together on Adventures in French Science Fiction Cover Art (list below). I cannot find any information on him online. Perhaps he’s related to the more famous French SF author and editor Maxim Continue reading
Monday Maps and Diagrams 12/24/18
Sometimes a map tells a story…. Sometimes a series of maps reveal the evolution of a story. C. J. Cherryh’s sequence of six maps of the same location in Forty Thousand in Gehenna (1983) tracks the evolving relationship between settlers, azi clones, and native caliban lizard creatures.
A careful eye might be able to discern the general trajectory of the novel’s plot — if you haven’t read it yet, than perhaps (if you can tear your eyes off of MAPS) proceed no further….
Enjoy!
The Maps:
Monday Maps and Diagrams 12/17/18
A map from one of the better known dystopias by one of my favorite authors… Russell Hoban’s Riddley Walker (1980). I have not read it, yet. I know, I know, I should. I have opened its pages and savored a passage or two–“Eusa sed, This is a dream. He opent up his iys but that ben open aul redde (34).”
The Map:
Citation: Map from the 1998 Indiana University Press Expanded edition of Russell Hoban’s Riddley Walker (1980). [click to enlarge] Continue reading
Monday Maps and Diagrams 12/10/18
A map from one of my absolute favorite SF novels… Suzy McKee Charnas’ Walk to the End of the World (1974).
The Map:
Citation: Map from the Ballantine Books 1st edition of Suzy McKee Charnas’ Walk to the End of the World (1974)
Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 