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Sep 16

Emboss me to deathClick for larger image

Raoul Comments: “Evil children”. Amirite?

Published 1982

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: 7.77 out of 10)
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21 Responses to “The Playground”

  1. Bruce A Munro Says:

    The Accursed Playground! Featuring the Man-Eating Slide, the Seesaw of Sudden Near Orbital Insertion, the Tube Maze of Homicidal Hobos, and the Swing of Really Uncomfortable Hugs.

  2. THX 1139 Says:

    But they’re no match for the gang of surly teenagers drinking cider.

  3. THX 1139 Says:

    Incidentally, this looks to be a case of the cut out cover, two covers for the price of one – does anyone have a pic of the inside?

  4. The Blue Are Coming Says:

    I found a video review !

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9kx6mbEQ6Ak

    The reviewer shows off the covers from 0:45 to 0:55. He should be on GSS.

    The inside looks like a rejected front cover. That creepy guy really has an eye for the boy.

  5. fred Says:

    The lack of a safety bar on the swing accounts for some of the deaths. Splinters probably did in a few more.

  6. The Blue Are Coming Says:

    The breaking rope on the right claimed the last victim.

  7. Francis Boyle Says:

    Worst cyborg ever. (Until you see what the other kids got for bodies.)

  8. B. Chiclitz Says:

    @The Blue AC—The fake bookshelf vinyl backdrop behind that video book reviewer is cheesier than the cutout cover. Thanks for posting.

  9. THX 1139 Says:

    @The Blue: Oh dear, I shouldn’t have asked! I suppose if they’d made it a pop up cover it would have been an improvement.

    T.M. Wright was a darn good writer, A Manhattan Ghost Story is an excellent book (and has a sensible cover).

  10. Tracy Says:

    This is just. so. excessive. The cut-out cover, the florid metallic script, the swing hanging from the script, the broken rope on the swing, and then the St. Elmos Fire or ectoplasm or whatever that is.

  11. A. R. Yngve Says:

    For a moment there I thought someone had glued a photo of a kid onto the cover.

  12. Tor Mented Says:

    I nominate this kid’s face to be the new censor-sheep.
    Imagine that grinning face on top of the naughty bits.

  13. The Blue Are Coming Says:

    I’ve been lurking here for years. Only today did I learn why it’s a sheep.

    Thanks for explaining the pun, Tor 🙂

  14. GSS ex-noob Says:

    I’m not sure how the kid has a normal head, but only 1.5 ghostly hands and a few other ecto-bits.

    The font, font color, and embossing truly combine to be evil.

    @The Blue: I was going to rate this an 8, but now that I’ve seen the inside cover, it’s up to 9. Had it been the outside wrap around, we might have seen a new entry into the top 10.

    @Bruce: The Metal Slide in the Summer Sun was always accursed enough for me.

    That swing doesn’t look like any I’ve ever seen on a playground. Way too cutesy and not industrial enough. Part of the curse?

    @Tor: I thought he was a new replacement for Space Sheep and CS Lewis Head at first glance too!

  15. JuanPaul Says:

    Looks like dad isn’t so handy at building safe swings. I admired his persistence to keep trying despite all the children that died.

  16. The Blue Are Coming Says:

    And JuanPaul takes it !

    Good show, sir 😎

  17. GSS ex-noob Says:

    Does anyone else think the blurb started out to be a poem, but gave up partway through when it was about to run into the giant embossed title?

  18. Bruce A Munro Says:

    @GSS ex-noob:
    “If you hear their swing giggle,
    tell yourself it’s all in your head.”

  19. GSS ex-noob Says:

    @Bruce: Something like that. It definitely begins like a sing-song Evil Children rhyme, but flumphs out.

    “But their games are just starting
    So don’t lose your head”

    (like the cover kid did)

    I mean, it’s not that hard if you don’t have that other crap taking up so much of the cover.

  20. B. Chiclitz Says:

    @Tor M—Great idea! Then after admin removes the kid’s head to use as the new modesty sheep, they could reuse the cover by putting new heads on top of the swing, like Jim Baen’s head, or Harlan Ellison’s.

  21. Monty Says:

    The world’s first bad photoshop, circa 1982.

    That CAN’T be what the cutout was meant for, can it?

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