Aug 20
Click for larger imageMosquito Wenzi Comments: Perfect! Everyone on this cover looks joyful and frabjous!
Published 1999
(Average: 7.40 out of 10)
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Mosquito Wenzi Comments: Perfect! Everyone on this cover looks joyful and frabjous!
Published 1999
(Average: 7.40 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)
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August 20th, 2018 at 9:44 am
A Shakespearean romance….Titus Andronicus?
August 20th, 2018 at 10:45 am
THIS is what Baen thinks of your so-called “romance”!
August 20th, 2018 at 12:31 pm
Yeah, this is one of those titles that is meant to tell you, “This is not the first book in the series, if you don’t already know what a Cetagandan is, you probably shouldn’t read this.”
August 20th, 2018 at 12:40 pm
Getsumganja – A Herewegoagain Adventure
August 20th, 2018 at 1:05 pm
“WTF am I doing on this ridiculous cover” – David Bowie
August 20th, 2018 at 2:01 pm
Having never read any of the Vorkosigan books, but occasionally having been tempted to, I skimmed the Goodreads reviews of this. They are much more nearly unanimous than Goodreads usually is–the lowest star rating on the front page is a 2, and there are several 5-star ratings. But oh dear Baen!. I assume you’ve done a 3-way split of the readers and potential readers–those who will buy anything with “Vorkosigan” on the cover no matter how awful it is; those who will never buy it no matter what; and those who might if the cover were attractive enough–and then you’ve decided to concentrate on the first group and dump the third. Which includes me and who knows how many others. If the first purpose of the cover is to sell the book, this one fails miserably, at least as far as I’m concerned.
As far as I’m concerned, actually, almost the least attractive bit is the pull-quote at the top. Puts me in mind of “Jabberwocky”, and starts me wondering which of the 4 figures on the cover is the beamish boy, which is the person to whose arms the beamish boy comes, and which is the Jabberwock–which leaves one over.
August 20th, 2018 at 2:31 pm
“Put that famous optical illusion on the cover.”
August 20th, 2018 at 5:08 pm
Are Vorkosigans known for their comb overs?
August 20th, 2018 at 6:00 pm
@fred: Honestly, it could be… were it a restaging in the future. Because I just had to read that play!
I don’t know what’s going on with the staredown between colourful guy and normal-looking guy, but maybe it has something to do with that woman.
August 20th, 2018 at 6:06 pm
I heard that the Japanese whaling industry dismissed the controversial documentary “The Cove” as a piece of cetaganda.
August 20th, 2018 at 6:45 pm
Wasn’t Herbie a Vorkosigan that could drive around by itself?
August 20th, 2018 at 7:20 pm
If it’s not about giant amphibians native to New Zealand I’ll be disappointed. And a bit confused.
Especially with the bloke on the left of the cover doing the least convincing Maori since Hugh Grant in ‘Cloud Atlas’.
August 21st, 2018 at 1:40 am
Wait. Hugh Grant played a Maori in ‘Cloud Atlas’? How the hell did I miss that?
August 21st, 2018 at 10:19 pm
@JuanPaul: Here he is https://multiglom.com/2016/02/29/hugh-grant-the-art-of-effortlessness/cloudatlas/
I can understand you missing it: it was about three hours in and most people bailed (or lost the will to live) after Tom Hanks did his James Nesbit impression. It’s easier to spot him when he talks.
Still less wanky than the book, though.
August 21st, 2018 at 11:01 pm
The person on the right of the cover seems all “What the fuck are you supposed to be?”
Is the lady in white supposed to be sitting on that chair? Leaning on it? Can’t quite tell what her legs are doing. Why is she so glowy? Is she meant to be a hologram? And is that green muck in the background supposed to be a planet and they’re in space? Or are they in a green fog? Are they floating in a sky with green clouds? If so, what’s the guy kneeling on? Or is the background unrelated to the figures in the middle distance, the same way the two faces in the foreground appear to be?
August 22nd, 2018 at 9:18 pm
Guy on left: “I win, you blinked!”
August 23rd, 2018 at 7:24 am
This was when Lois only had 2 or 3 Hugos, which isn’t enough for BAEN!whaaaa? to let a mere author advise them on cover art.
They finally stopped putting people on the covers entirely about 10 years later, and the older ebooks now have very stylized covers with lovely primary colors and minimalism that STILL illustrates what’s in them better.
Is it a coincidence that the older ebooks are now listed as being published by Lois’ literary agency? I think not. Hopefully this trend will continue.
August 24th, 2018 at 6:06 am
It’s a tribute to how brilliant the Vorkosigan books are that they overcame having consistently terrible covers.
Bruce Munro: the lady in white is actually in a floating chair inside a projected opaque white shield. This is a moment when she lets the shield down, so yes it is still kind of there and yes she does have a glow about her.
September 25th, 2019 at 4:45 pm
The cover suggests this is like Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali, only instead of boxing the fate of the Earth is determined by a staring contest…
Right?
Or, is it just a heartwarming spaceromance between two consenting adults… plus a perverse relationship between a grown woman and a child.