Apr 06
I love the realism, so we’ll definitely have to get that on there. In fact I think we should tone it down a little. We’ll keep it simple so it’s not too bad (and almost like it’s creeping up on its prey) then WHAM! We’ll hit them with a gold black red title banner!
April 6th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Nothing disturbs me more than the curtains on the head of that person in the chair.
I had a bad experience once…
April 6th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Nothing says focal point like someone WITH THEIR BACK TO THE VIEWER. Yeah! If we stick in some creepy people facing the front it’ll make up for it… Is it lunchtime yet?
April 6th, 2010 at 11:17 am
Love the expressions of the two crew members in the foreground: “Let’s have a vote of no confidence for the commanding officer…oh wtf, MUTINY!!!”
April 6th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
It kind looks like he’s playing some sort of scifi drum kit.
Also, the dude in the bottom middle has a huge fist…
but most of all i agree with e.lee, the expression on the 2 crew at the front is priceless.
April 6th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
I took it as ‘How the hell are we meant to take this guy seriously if he can’t even turn round and face the artist…?’
April 6th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
That’s actually relatively accurate: i.e., complete sodding chaos.
I don’t know who that conductor is meant to be; plainly it isn’t Miles, because he looks to be the same height as everyone else. (It’s notable how few of the admittedly awful Vorkosigan covers feature the four-foot-nine hunchback who’s the actual protagonist.)
I’m not sure who the scary uncle is, either. The only major character in TVG who’s that age is Tung, and Tung is Brazilian-Chinese. Is that guy Brazilian-Chinese? I don’t think so.
April 6th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
The realism of the “art” doesn’t make up for its idiotic clutter. Whoever designs these covers was probably a Soviet car designer in a previous life. The layout makes less sense than a Dadaist poem. I propose a Razzies-styled anti-award for sci fi and fantasy cover art. The industrialized world of pornography treats their subjects (and their consumers) with less contempt.
April 7th, 2010 at 3:40 am
I don’t think that’s the guys fist, I think someones punching him, or trying to grab his ear.
Did that guy on the big chair with-no-controls just stamp “Hugo Award Winner” on the view screen?
What’s missing here, hmmm. Oh yes, an adoring female! Just paint one in there, on the right at the edge so as to not block too much of the indecipherable action on the screen that we’re going to cover up with the font. The good news is that those two faces down front are so distracting we can pretty much do anything with the title-font we want and no one will care!
April 30th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
I’m a bit late to the party, but thought I’d mention that the guy in the left corner appears to be an aged version of the guy in the left corner of Norman Rockwell’s famous Thanksgiving illustration (or “Freedom From Want” if you prefer).
June 29th, 2010 at 5:51 am
Baen was notorious for bad Bujold covers.
December 16th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
LAN parties of the fuutuure…
August 22nd, 2015 at 11:31 pm
Bottom left… Tanita Tikaram?
August 23rd, 2015 at 3:12 am
This cover looks like a novelty scratch-game ticket, where you scratch off The Vor Game with a penny and find out what you’ve won.
Based on the rest of the cover, tho, it seems we’ve won a fuel-air explosive decompression.