For those fortunate enough to have never read this book, it takes place in a world where nudity is the norm and wearing clothes is considered sensual. Imagine that, from the mind of Piers Anthony.
I know this seems like a sexist and objectifying cover, but going by the societal standards of the book’s world, it’s the guy that’s being exploited! Piers Anthony. What a genius.
So I put on my anaglyph 3D glasses since that’s what the cover seems to be calling for and what do you know? D’Artagnan becomes naked, the naked damsel turns into the Unicorns!, the Unicorns! turns into the sexbot and the sexbot is wearing a puffy shirt and a big hat and is abusing itself! And it’s still a really really bad cover! Double exposure, double the fun, double the WTF!
The horse seems to be wearing stilts on his hind legs and is disguising this with those 80s socks with knitted individual toes. They ought to have gone on the front feet, as MakkaPakka suggested.
@B. Chiclitz: Unicorns do, in fact, turn into naked damsels in this book.
The font looks more “Late 70s groovy-lite” rather than “1980s punk” mode. Not sure how appropriate for 1983, but works with Anthony’s interspecies swinger sexuality.
I don’t think the metal being is the sexbot. I think the woman-form is its sexbot. Weird back wrinkles and hair partings, oddly-placed sideboob, Barbie feet, etc.
Judging by the expression on his face, dudebro on the toesocks-wearing kangaroonicorn isn’t sure either. Must be tough keeping his seat on that thing with no saddle or stirrups.
Don’t blame Rowena for this one; it’s by Victoria Poyser. Who, as we’ve seen before, is the perfect cover artist for Piers Anthony. Moderately disturbing porny stuff? Right up her alley. At least her style fits his stuff better than some other books she did covers for.
@L_L: Poyser does come off like a Rowena ripoff, right down to the style of her signature. But with that extra added soupcon of interspecies perv.
I get the idea behind the stripes, which I’m sure was done by some bright spark in the art department after the painting came in, and I suppose it’s right for the book, but damn if it doesn’t cause eyestrain. But SFBC never fails to fail.
Is the thing over on the right one of those giant TV/VCR all in one combos they used to make? So they can load up jumbo cassettes of life-size pron?
I never read the book, but I could venture a hypotesis… the stripes actually exist, and may act as prison bars, separating the unicorn rider from the metallic environment in the foreground. You can see the reflection of said bars on the floor, at the bottom (ahem) of the image. It may therefore be possible that our bravely plumed rider is kept in an artificial environment, separated from the rest of society. After all, look at him, he’s cantering around completely, lubriciously dressed! And in that future society, that’s a no-no, I understand. Keep that dangerous maniac well away from decently nude people, it’s the only way.
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June 10th, 2019 at 11:38 am
It appears the unicorn was born with front legs too short and has learnt to walk on its hind legs.
June 10th, 2019 at 12:22 pm
Sexbot has given her a bad case of the back creases.
June 10th, 2019 at 12:37 pm
Stile shouldn’t be normal sized but jockey sized. Fail.
June 10th, 2019 at 2:15 pm
I always had my doubts about H.E.R.B.I.E. from the Fantastic Four.
June 10th, 2019 at 3:48 pm
For those fortunate enough to have never read this book, it takes place in a world where nudity is the norm and wearing clothes is considered sensual. Imagine that, from the mind of Piers Anthony.
June 10th, 2019 at 4:03 pm
This is an omnibus of three Apprentice Adept novels. So shouldn’t they have called it “Triple Exposure”. Or better yet “Indecent Exposure”?
June 10th, 2019 at 4:17 pm
Bot has a bad case of hover-hand over the bot.
June 10th, 2019 at 4:23 pm
Welcome to Objectifying Covers Inc., where our women rank almost as highly as our robots!
(The naked woman might actually be a robot herself)
There’s something about that hat/belt sash combo that just says “Dudebro” to me.
@MakkaPakka: maybe it’s one of those kangarooicorns and it gets around by hopping.
June 10th, 2019 at 4:29 pm
I know this seems like a sexist and objectifying cover, but going by the societal standards of the book’s world, it’s the guy that’s being exploited! Piers Anthony. What a genius.
June 10th, 2019 at 4:48 pm
@JuanPaul
There’s something I imagined from the mind Piers Anthony sometime ago and frankly I wish I knew how to stop it.
June 10th, 2019 at 5:00 pm
I shall sally forth to the Pride Parade!
June 10th, 2019 at 5:07 pm
So I put on my anaglyph 3D glasses since that’s what the cover seems to be calling for and what do you know? D’Artagnan becomes naked, the naked damsel turns into the Unicorns!, the Unicorns! turns into the sexbot and the sexbot is wearing a puffy shirt and a big hat and is abusing itself! And it’s still a really really bad cover! Double exposure, double the fun, double the WTF!
June 10th, 2019 at 6:05 pm
This book has the right title. Those alternating stripes are the book cover art equivalent of strobe lighting.
June 10th, 2019 at 6:29 pm
Took me this long to work out that the cover really is striped—not just faded from sitting before a window or something!
Rowena can just about draw feet, but there’s something a little odd about the Unicorns!’s hind hooves—looks like it has toes.
June 10th, 2019 at 6:56 pm
@Longtime Lurker: she can do feet but not knees.
The horse seems to be wearing stilts on his hind legs and is disguising this with those 80s socks with knitted individual toes. They ought to have gone on the front feet, as MakkaPakka suggested.
June 10th, 2019 at 7:09 pm
I might also mention that with the 3D glasses the title becomes
Bloudee Pox Euros, a Brexit slogan, I believe.
June 10th, 2019 at 7:34 pm
http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=2436
Unicorns! and Stile to the proper scale.
June 11th, 2019 at 3:53 am
@B. Chiclitz: Unicorns do, in fact, turn into naked damsels in this book.
The font looks more “Late 70s groovy-lite” rather than “1980s punk” mode. Not sure how appropriate for 1983, but works with Anthony’s interspecies swinger sexuality.
June 11th, 2019 at 7:27 am
I don’t think the metal being is the sexbot. I think the woman-form is its sexbot. Weird back wrinkles and hair partings, oddly-placed sideboob, Barbie feet, etc.
Judging by the expression on his face, dudebro on the toesocks-wearing kangaroonicorn isn’t sure either. Must be tough keeping his seat on that thing with no saddle or stirrups.
Don’t blame Rowena for this one; it’s by Victoria Poyser. Who, as we’ve seen before, is the perfect cover artist for Piers Anthony. Moderately disturbing porny stuff? Right up her alley. At least her style fits his stuff better than some other books she did covers for.
June 11th, 2019 at 11:42 am
GSSxn @ 19: Whoops! humble apologies to Rowena Morrill from me and my brain-fart.
June 12th, 2019 at 1:37 am
@L_L: Poyser does come off like a Rowena ripoff, right down to the style of her signature. But with that extra added soupcon of interspecies perv.
I get the idea behind the stripes, which I’m sure was done by some bright spark in the art department after the painting came in, and I suppose it’s right for the book, but damn if it doesn’t cause eyestrain. But SFBC never fails to fail.
Is the thing over on the right one of those giant TV/VCR all in one combos they used to make? So they can load up jumbo cassettes of life-size pron?
June 12th, 2019 at 1:57 am
@GSS ex-noob – the machines probably were made by the same company that produced this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqa2STJXvXE
June 12th, 2019 at 8:10 am
Darn it! Who left the book out in the sun, next to the fence?
June 14th, 2019 at 4:52 am
@Bruce: Probably. But they only had mono sound, so the cover characters had to buy two of them and stand between them.
June 14th, 2019 at 6:24 pm
I never read the book, but I could venture a hypotesis… the stripes actually exist, and may act as prison bars, separating the unicorn rider from the metallic environment in the foreground. You can see the reflection of said bars on the floor, at the bottom (ahem) of the image. It may therefore be possible that our bravely plumed rider is kept in an artificial environment, separated from the rest of society. After all, look at him, he’s cantering around completely, lubriciously dressed! And in that future society, that’s a no-no, I understand. Keep that dangerous maniac well away from decently nude people, it’s the only way.