Jun 26
Click for larger imageBibliomancer Comments: Philosophical question: Three people. Two bullets. Who does the Fool shoot?
Answer: He shoots the clown twice.
Published 1988
(Average: 7.89 out of 10)
Loading...
Bibliomancer Comments: Philosophical question: Three people. Two bullets. Who does the Fool shoot?
Answer: He shoots the clown twice.
Published 1988
(Average: 7.89 out of 10)Loading...
(9.25 out of 10) (9.18 out of 10) (9.01 out of 10) (8.97 out of 10) (8.93 out of 10) (8.93 out of 10) (8.93 out of 10) (8.92 out of 10) (8.88 out of 10) (8.88 out of 10)
Lastest Tweet
June 26th, 2018 at 10:25 am
“Ay, take my wife – please! Don’t forget to tip yer waitress! Hey buddy – everyone’s a critic!”
June 26th, 2018 at 1:07 pm
I’ve only ever read one John Brunner. And relentlessly depressing it was. So I suppose the candy colours and general foolery on display here might come in handy. On the other hand this cover is depressing enough in itself so maybe not.
June 26th, 2018 at 1:35 pm
So to extend the useless shoulder rest on his machine pistol he has to take a really big screwdriver, loosen the big screw, extend the rest and then retighten the screw. But if the rest is extendable it leaves no room for internal mechanisms in the pistol. What clown designed this?
June 26th, 2018 at 1:41 pm
“Sir? Excuse me, sir? I know you’re lost in a reverie right now, but there are children waiting to come down the bouncy slide, so could you please step aside? Thank you sir.”
June 26th, 2018 at 2:04 pm
The Punch and Judy show took an ugly turn when Punch found out Judy was two-timin’ him.
June 26th, 2018 at 2:36 pm
@fred—Good technical observations, though it probably doesn’t require much internal mechanism for the little flag with the word “Bang” on it to come shooting out of the barrel.
June 26th, 2018 at 3:03 pm
La commedia è finita!
June 26th, 2018 at 3:37 pm
Assuming this fool-and-clown scene is actually in the book, I expect Barclay Shaw to be commenting shortly to tell us we’re doing this site all wrong.
June 26th, 2018 at 3:53 pm
Three people, two bullets: logically you can only shoot yourself in the head once but this is a John Brunner story so maybe the bra on the assassin’s head is a neural over-ride permitting literal overkill as an allegorical expression of mauvais foi..
June 26th, 2018 at 4:11 pm
The jury refused to convict the fool when they found out the victim was a clown doing mime in an improv comedy club.
June 26th, 2018 at 4:29 pm
🎶🎵🎶
Be a clown, be a clown
Get yourself on the cover
Of a book by Brunner
Don’t be down, be a clown
Though GSS may mock
The babes to you will flock
Wear the painted face
And the covers you will grace
A college education I could never propose
As long as you can sport that big red nose
So be a clown, be a clown
All the world loves a clown
At least we love to shoot them down
So be a clown!
🎵🎵🎵
(apologies to Cole Porter)
June 26th, 2018 at 4:53 pm
@fred
What you mean that circular thing on the side isn’t the control that allows you to, wait for it, “SET PHASERS TO FUN”. (I’m sure I didn’t just make that up.) Hey, maybe it’s a gun that “TURNS PEOPLE INTO CLOWNS”. (I think, I probably shouldn’t look at this cover again.
June 26th, 2018 at 5:42 pm
To answer the question: the Fool should shoot the creepy-looking clown. Twice.
June 26th, 2018 at 5:57 pm
@Anna T. – Great minds think alike. It seems Bibliomancer has already answered this ancient philosophical question.
June 26th, 2018 at 9:13 pm
If the clown in the back is singing Pagliacci while simultaneously balancing that marble on his nose I am impressed.
June 26th, 2018 at 9:21 pm
This circus has gotten tents!
June 26th, 2018 at 11:28 pm
The clown-jester war never ends.
June 26th, 2018 at 11:51 pm
Did anyone else notice the jester is wearing a sash that says POLICE? And holding a now-very-antiquated walkie talkie? What subtle or not-so-subtle comment is the artist making?
And, the singing clown seems not to be wearing any pants!
June 27th, 2018 at 12:09 am
@Tracy – In the future, mall security guards will still be police academy rejects.
June 27th, 2018 at 12:12 am
The shrugging clown makes me think this title needs a question mark:
“The Best of John Brunner?” or “The Best? of John Brunner”.
Or possibly an emoticon:
The Best of John Brunner ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Agreed that this doesn’t fit at all with Brunner’s style. Was this another generic cover pressed into service?
If jester is a good shot, he could take out the clown with one shot (that red gaping maw is a good target) and still have one left for himself. Or possibly one for clown, one for Smirky McSmug in the obligatory jumpsuit.
(Isn’t “jumpsuit” a tag?)
June 27th, 2018 at 12:57 am
Okay, the neon highlights under the author’s name, arching over the clown, almost look like text. Is the artist trying to tell us something?
June 27th, 2018 at 3:04 am
This has got to be the most disturbing mix of the 1950s and 1980s I’ve ever seen. I think I need to go lie down now.
June 27th, 2018 at 3:20 am
JuanPaul@21: to me they look like they spell “THE END”. I wonder was this a case of just grabbing whatever art was available?
June 27th, 2018 at 4:19 am
@L_L—Very interesting observation, and perhaps quite apt, for we then have:
“The Best of John Brunner. The End.”
I think that about says it all.
June 27th, 2018 at 4:41 am
Is that early-90s sitcom star Dave Coulier getting the girl? Hmmmm….
June 27th, 2018 at 4:41 pm
@Tag Wizard: Ha! I hadn’t noticed that @Bibliomancer had already answered it that way. It’s still the right answer, though.
June 27th, 2018 at 6:31 pm
@BC: Yes. As Francis B said right at the start, not many laughs in the average Brunner story.
June 27th, 2018 at 6:36 pm
@L_L—True, although I have always thought “The Sheep Look Up” is one of the (unintentionally) funniest titles ever written, almost as funny as Bibliomancer’s Variation: “The Sheep Hook Up.”
June 27th, 2018 at 8:47 pm
Agreed that the highlights say “THE END”, which is undoubtedly the artist’s statement about how he was quitting art for something with fewer clowns.
@TW: thanks for the tag addition!
June 28th, 2018 at 4:20 pm
Er, yes, thanks TW. I wasn’t sure for a while whether I’d made an embarrassing mistake.
June 28th, 2018 at 4:29 pm
I actually like Brunner, especially his early, funny ones. Once he started getting interviewed on BBC2 he took himself a lot more seriously, with predictable results.
June 28th, 2018 at 4:50 pm
The only Brunner I’ve read is The Sheep Look Up, which I thought was terrific, a harrowing wake up call to the planet about the devastation of the environment.
So, er, that went well. Definitely up there with Godzilla vs the Smog Monster for creating social change.
June 28th, 2018 at 5:45 pm
@THX: but ‘The Shockwave Rider’ went viral…
June 30th, 2018 at 10:01 am
Killer Klowns From Inner Space
June 30th, 2018 at 11:26 pm
@ARY: please accept this internet.