Aug 05
Nathan Comments: Timothy Zahn has a winner with the giant spider bouncy ball, peasant Tasha Yar, and a gopher mercenary? Oh and eye straining font!
Published 2006
Could this be a first? Man-gerbil?
Many thanks to Nathan!
Nathan Comments: Timothy Zahn has a winner with the giant spider bouncy ball, peasant Tasha Yar, and a gopher mercenary? Oh and eye straining font!
Published 2006
Could this be a first? Man-gerbil?
Many thanks to Nathan!
August 5th, 2010 at 9:52 am
This one reeks of standard Sci-fi nonsense
August 5th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Looks like the dude has some good bum fluff on his top lip. Then again it could be shadow. I like to think he’s a teenager.
August 5th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Scuse me…is this the right train to Nigel?
August 5th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
The woman is trying to sneak in a bit of Robin Hood costume at the back there. I bet that leather strap attaches to a quiver.
August 5th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
I’m always leery about book endorsements that include the rather odd adjective “readable.” Surely there must be something one could say that is a little stronger and more descriptive than, “well you can read it.” For some reason reminds me of a line from Crocodile Dundee, “Well you can live on it, but it tastes like sh*t”
August 5th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
For what it’s worth, this is a really fun book.
August 5th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
@Brian: it says “highly readable.” Does that mean you’d have to be high to read it?
August 5th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Wyatt Allen> It has a man-gerbil in it! How can this book not be fun! 🙂
Brian NGpm> I am pretty sure highly readable means it’s written in glow in the dark yellow ink.
August 5th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
@NGpm–you must be so high to ride the Night Train! With Edward James Olmos, no less.
August 6th, 2010 at 3:53 am
Excuse me miss, I can see your beaver.
August 6th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
By odd coincidence, I just read this. The cover pretty much tells you what you’re going to get: metal spiders, stand-offish women and alien squirrel-people.
August 9th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
I do believe that’s a Jim Burns artwork.
December 15th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
That guy needs to loosen up. He’s rigid as a board. Back pains, maybe?
December 19th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Blurb:
“He was trapped between the author’s name and the title — and he had to get out!”
January 13th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
This cover is actually entirely accurate–except, IIRC, for the woman’s hair.
The book is, however, very fun.
January 15th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
Off-topic; Esser-Z…you post on Allspark, don’t you?
August 1st, 2014 at 3:35 pm
@A.R. Yngve – he is very loosened up. There is actually a second man-gerbil in this scene. What do you suppose the others are looking at?
August 2nd, 2014 at 7:36 pm
@Rev: Richard Gere?
(yes, I know, it’s merely an urban legend…)
October 6th, 2015 at 12:57 pm
Notably missing from the cover illustration: A TRAIN.
Artist: “Trains are hard to draw. I’ll just do some white lines and do a space gerbil dressed like a man. Hopefully it will distract the viewer.”
October 6th, 2015 at 7:40 pm
The title might refer to this Night Train:
http://www.bumwinebob.com/p/night-train-express.html
They are obviously a bunch of alcoholics. Especially that little ratboy.
October 6th, 2015 at 9:22 pm
@Tom: the train is at the bottom of the cover. Where it’s black. Because IT’S NIGHTTIME. AND YOU CAN’T SEE A BLOODY THING. 🙂
October 8th, 2015 at 10:07 am
“Light Training Rote” by Zany Hitmoth
“Beginners’ easy drill. Part high-pace, part sedate. All real. Grab it.” — Hapi O’Rook
October 9th, 2015 at 1:05 am
Gerbils!
January 12th, 2016 at 11:27 pm
Well I’m a west coast struttin’ one bad mother
Got a rattlesnake suitcase, under my arm
Said I’m a mean machine been drinkin’ gasoline
And honey you can make my motor hum
Well I got one chance left in a nine live cat
I got a dog eat dog sly smile
I got a Molotov cocktail with a match to go
I smoke my cigarette with style
An I can tell you honey
You can make my money tonight
Wake up late honey put on your clothes
And take your credit card to the liquor store
That’s one for you and two for me by tonight
I’ll be loaded like a freight train
Flyin’ like an aeroplane
Feelin’ like a space brain
One more time tonight
I’m on the nightrain, bottoms up
I’m on the nightrain, fill my cup
I’m on the nightrain
Ready to crash and burn, I never learn
I’m on the nightrain, I love that stuff
I’m on the nightrain, I can never get enough
I’m on the nightrain, never to return, no
— Guns ‘N Roses – Night train
The amazing sequel to Drunk & Disorderly at Deneb.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:56 pm
He’s leaving (leaving)
On the oh, Night Train to Rigel
He’s goin’ back to find (goin’ back to find)
The gerbil folk he left behind…
(woo-woo)
January 29th, 2018 at 10:31 pm
This was my Random Terrible Cover just now. Came back to make sure I’d done the song.
Am sad there aren’t more gerbil people to use the tag on. OTOH, if this is the same universe as “Night on the Galactic Railroad”, they may have all been eaten by the giant cat people.
January 30th, 2018 at 1:40 am
This cover has resting-bitch-face x 3. And on a hamster, no less.
June 3rd, 2018 at 9:05 pm
This popped up as my random terrible cover and my first thought was to ask the husband if he remembered seeing anything like this while on the Nighttrain. But upon reflection I decided he probably didn’t remember anything but the hangover the next day. Although it might explain why he and the boys switched to Thunderbird. A vision like this cover would make anyone think twice about what they were drinking.
June 5th, 2018 at 6:52 am
I’d rather live in his world
With gerbils, than spiders in mine
woo-hoo
leavin’ (leavin’) on that ol’ night train to Rigel…
Couple more years and I may have the whole song!
September 19th, 2020 at 3:44 am
Spider-ball, spider-ball
Simply amazing spider-ball…