Nov 22
Click for full imageJaouad Comments: Don’t really know what’s going on here, but I’m immoderately fascinated by the robot in the background, which appears to be gift-wrapping some other robot, lying on a table. ‘Tis the season?
Published 1985
(Average: 7.39 out of 10)
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November 22nd, 2012 at 11:35 am
“You’ll never guess where I was keeping this!”
Sequels: The Jane of Light, The Freddy of Light.
November 22nd, 2012 at 11:51 am
The rod of light has a face, and it doesn’t look too pleased at the idea that it is about to be grabbed by ol’ red eyes.
The robot in the far background is, I think, a robo-undertaker measuring up a robo-corpse for a robo-coffin. Perhaps the robo-deceased made a foolish grab for the rod of light and consequently fused his positronic robo-brain.
November 22nd, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Today’s Thanksgiving in the US, isn’t it? Thanks for this enormous helping of turkey! 🙂
November 22nd, 2012 at 12:50 pm
@THX: someone has Bungled.
@Phil: you’re right, and that’s the plot of the book. Jasperodus, anti-hero of ‘The Soul of the Robot’, in in search of the modulated waveband that gave him, uniquely among robots, self-awareness and free will. Then it gets into Zoroastrian football matches and then it gets a bit confusing.
Bayley was brilliant but suffered from horrible covers. This is one of the best. http://www.oivas.com/bjb/robot.html (The first cover is the one from the copy I got for 40p in Co-op that kept me together during my O-Levels)
November 22nd, 2012 at 3:43 pm
I beg your pardon. Self aware robots engaged in Zoroastrian football matches? Ssounds like the Spurs. More interesting probably.
November 22nd, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Glowing eye dude must spend a fortune on body polish. Gift-wrap or robot dental floss?
November 22nd, 2012 at 5:01 pm
Not as good as the sequel, THE ROD OF HULL. Had an emu on the front cover, if I recall.
November 22nd, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Above is the Before. We’ve already seen the After.
November 22nd, 2012 at 7:43 pm
“Jasperodus, you just gotta have the Rod of Light — it’s a scream!”
BADA-BUM! Thank you, thank you!
November 22nd, 2012 at 11:35 pm
This one gave me a double-take – Ace Books used the same artwork in the US a year later for a Jack Vance short-story collection, The Augmented Agent! (Which I think is still on my bookshelf.)
November 23rd, 2012 at 9:00 am
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN BOOBS
November 23rd, 2012 at 2:47 pm
I’m in agreement with the frowny-face robot on the right.
November 23rd, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Don Hilliard is absolutely right – here’s the Jack Vance version of this cover:
http://vance.jack.free.fr/covers/augmented.jpg
November 24th, 2012 at 11:17 am
#10, #13: Wow, thanks. I love it when that happens! 😉
November 26th, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Hey, even your light-sabre can see the folly in trying to grab it from the other end!
February 5th, 2013 at 7:25 pm
The 2 robots in the background have rod envy.
June 16th, 2015 at 7:09 pm
Given the high level of phallic imagery on this cover, I’m glad the publisher went the distance and topped it off with a quote from Michael Moorcock.
June 17th, 2015 at 8:02 am
“Edvard Munch’s Scream was trapped in the Phantom Zone — and only Goldenpecs could save it”
May 24th, 2016 at 12:21 am
Now here is a man who shines like a golden column when all around is dark!