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Jun 15

Retief to the Rescue

17 Comments »

I smell something fishy....Click for full image

Don’s Art Direction: This is a humorous novel about an interstellar diplomat. He’s suave, he’s debonair, and everything in the book’s played for laughs. So we want a horrific tentacle-headed, four-eyed, jelly-legged alien leaping at him with a spear. And we can’t afford the tux rental, so just use whatever your model’s wearing when he comes over from his rehearsal of A CHORUS LINE. But add some muscles! Retief is a two-fisted guy, no doubt with mighty thews! We don’t know what “thews” are, actually, but we’ll know ’em when we see ’em and by God he better have ’em! THEWS!
Published 1983

So it’s comedy. But it’s not a joke on the genre. That’s ok right?
Awesome! Thanks the Don!

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 6.70 out of 10)
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Jun 11

The Secret People

12 Comments »

And here is your blind date, Shelgrangormoth the Third.Click for full image

Shira Comments: My partner discovered this book at the Friends of the Library Book Sale in Ithaca, NY. With my love of mushrooms and her love of cheesy sci-fi, we had to have it, of course!
Published 1973

A brilliant picture out in the wild!
Many thanks to Shira!

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 8.58 out of 10)
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Jun 04

Plunder

21 Comments »

I come from planet Ron. A dirty area right under his nostril.Click for full image

Sarah’s Art Direction: Look, I know it’s 4:30 on a Friday, but surely you can come up with something.

Tag Wizard: The whole GSS staff is away on a team-building seminar this week. Trust falls and all that. Enjoy a GSS Retrospective until we return!

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 6.92 out of 10)
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May 28

Honourable Mentions 5

37 Comments »

Ah May! How I love you with two bank holidays in one month and the final one falling on, my birthday. That’s right exciting stuff! So here to celebrate is a strange random collection of honourable mentions. And they are a random collection I assure you.

These covers break our well kept and hard hitting rules. There are some who even complain they are almost too hard. But these covers are generally excluded because they are part of a franchise or comedy.

Again thanks to everyone who visits the site and those who are submitting covers. Some of them are simply amazing, we’ll get to them eventually. Enjoy these great covers and to those who gain from it, have an amazing extended weekend!

As a bonus check out a vague picture of CSA (known in certain circles as ‘The Troll’)
Trolling through books to help me find covers at Christmas

Everything is in proportion. EVERYTHING!Click for full image

Dealing with the hard topic of zombies before the craze of 2009.Click for full image

Does that princess have the hots for that dragon? ewww.Click for full image

Shatner is comedy, right?Click for full image

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 7.90 out of 10)
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May 26

Starman Jones

20 Comments »

It's too early. My mind can't make sense of anything on this thing.Click for full image

David Comments: I haven’t read this, so for all I know, centaurs and one-eyed jellyfish are essential to the plot. The S in JONES was cut off by the printer, not by me – it wraps round the edge of the cover (this is a hardback). The scan makes the colours look a bit more lurid than they really are. Published by Victor Gollancz, 1970

Another Heinlien! I’m flooded with them.
Thanks very much to David!

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 7.54 out of 10)
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May 21

Dagger’s Point

42 Comments »

SENTAUR KAT IZ WATCHIN U MASTURBATE.Click for full image

Jessie Comments: This cover is so atrocious that every time I go to read it, I just can’t. It’s definitely among the top three worst covers I’ve ever seen.
Published 1995

That is epic. Simply epic! Thanks to Jessie!

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 6.90 out of 10)
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May 18

The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World

77 Comments »

My cat is purple and I put my underwear on the outside. Dude, I'm wasted.Click for full image

Phils Art Direction: It contains Ellison’s famous story, “A Boy and his Dog.” So let’s have a boy with his dog, but don’t make the boy too boyish and keep the dog cat-like.

Purple cat on lead! Thanks to Phil!

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 8.42 out of 10)
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May 14

The Wayfarer Bilbabalbabul

59 Comments »

Bilbabalbaul? I've got a cream for that. Click for full image

Stevyn Comments: I’m ashamed to say that I was the artist in this case. A terrible cover for what is possibly the worst fantasy book ever written.

And with such great lines in this book such as, ‘The effeminate albino pursed his thick lips in that certain way to suggest he was male, but homosexual.’

Read more about this on Stevyn’s website here: http://stevyncolgan.blogspot.com/2008/07/you-really-must-take-vista-be-vigil.html

Good Show Sir! Thank you for sending this in.

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 8.65 out of 10)
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May 12

Taltos

33 Comments »

With a mustache like this and abs like these, who wouldn't show them off?Click for full image

Giles Comments: I love the Taltos novels, but these covers actually stopped me buying the books several times – they’re so cheesy. True, the artist gets some credit for getting the jhereg (the winged reptile) approximately right, but that doesn’t really offset the general awfulness.

Tache-tastic! Thanks to Giles!

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 8.16 out of 10)
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May 11

The Time of Madness

16 Comments »

GAH, there's hardly enough room in this border for an evil ork to swing his arms!Click for full image

Eron comments: This cover isn’t really funny. The art isn’t even particularly bad. But a warning to anyone who has ever even had the passing notion to take a graphic design class: do not look at this cover, you will get a rage-migrane for days. The layout is so shockingly poor and amateur that the thought that someone got paid for this, not beaten in a alley, just plain makes me want to drink whiskey and punch random objects!

My eyes…my eyes! Thanks to Eron!

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 4.83 out of 10)
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