Mar 24
Miggity’s Art Direction: Shirtless black dude in tighty whities with a space helmet and a pneumatic fishing spear gun, flanked by two white Amazonian women in see through tops giving the whole thing a weird sex vibe, with a spacecraft carrier, space figthers, four planets and sweet moon base in the foreground… PERFECT!
Published 1981
Many thanks to Miggity!
March 24th, 2011 at 8:46 am
I like that one. Classy. Very 1970s.
March 24th, 2011 at 8:51 am
That’s an AWESOME book cover!
If publishers are really serious about selling SF books, this ought to be the industry standard.
The only thing I’d want to change is remove the unnecessary “By” before the author’s name.
March 24th, 2011 at 9:19 am
I agree. This is a great cover! It’s so busy and just think of the nods of respect you’d get for reading this on the bus!
I love that the space ship kinda looks a bit like a hand vacuum.
March 24th, 2011 at 10:51 am
“Let’s see: gun, helmet, underpants…. have I forgotten anything? Nope, don’t think so, to space we go!”
March 24th, 2011 at 11:18 am
That is just awesome. I would have bought this in a second back in the 70s.
WooHoo free ebook download, with cover. here
March 24th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
“It’s so busy and just think of the nods of respect you’d get for reading this on the bus!”
lol
Best comment ever.
March 24th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
A.R.Y.: “That’s an AWESOME book cover!”
Agreed.
“The only thing I’d want to change is remove the unnecessary “By†before the author’s name”
I assume it’s a typo for ‘Bi’. When a cover sports such irresistible males and females, who wouldn’t swing both ways?
March 24th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Argh! Underpants is not the word for what he’s sportin’, the cutouts make me want to *not* wonder what they uncover.
I need to give this guy a sci-fi name. I was thinking about Kevin … I’ll just spell it Kevven. That’s a name that would do the famous Dutch author Charles Dikkens (author of Barnaby Rudge) proud.
March 24th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Is anyone else seriously digging that space ship? Because I am.
March 24th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Tom: makes me think of Lords Cricket ground. Just a little.
March 25th, 2011 at 12:08 am
I saw this amazing cover out of the corner of my eye while walking past a “3 for $1.00” book bin in front of a used book store. I did I double take as I couldn’t believe how awesome it was. I ran in and bought it immediately!
March 27th, 2011 at 4:04 am
If only this is what 007’s Moonraker was like.
August 11th, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Here it is, 2011, and we still don’t have underwear with streamlined air holes.
August 12th, 2011 at 1:13 am
@Tom: Speak for yoursel…er, never mind.
March 25th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Thanks for the Sunday morning chuckles — the comments are amusing. While I remember my heart sinking somewhat when I got the first cover proof, I remember a bookseller I showed it to saying, with great sincerity, “I can sell every copy of this they’ll send me, no kidding.” I’ve always thought of this cover as being a pitch for SHAFT IN SPACE….
March 26th, 2012 at 11:15 am
It’s terrific when one of the authors of these books drops by, especially when they’re such good sports about the way their work has been packaged.
March 26th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
It’s like a John D. MacDonald cover that’s gone through a klein bottle.
And yes, it is nice when an author shows up. I really feel for them when they get covers like these.
March 16th, 2013 at 2:54 am
The Love Boat, taking you places exciting and new
March 16th, 2013 at 6:01 pm
Speaking of packages, hers is clearly *bigger* than his. She’s definitely the alpha male. He’s just trying to compensate with those cutouts and all.
May 19th, 2014 at 6:40 pm
“You gotta help me doc! My Janus hurts all the time!”
“Well it sounds like you have a case of the Janus Syndrome.”
May 19th, 2014 at 6:53 pm
TODAY ONLY: meet Kevven (or is that “Kewen”) Tomari!
Remember, meet Tomari today!!
At the Outrageous Book Cover Book Store and Lingerie Emporium, Deck 4, Space Ship 1205.
I guess that’s what happens when you come down with Janus Syndrome. You can’t tell if it’s today or Tomari (or yesterday, for that matter).
October 2nd, 2015 at 8:52 pm
I bet that guy (link) is still diggin’ on James Brown.
January 12th, 2017 at 4:18 am
I would like to commend the author for not only showing up here, but for making this available as a free download. I am absolutely going to read this.
February 10th, 2017 at 2:05 pm
I want Kevven in Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
February 10th, 2017 at 5:23 pm
If that’s Kevin, I can only imagine what the illustrator did with Roland Rat.
February 10th, 2017 at 6:42 pm
I just noticed we had an AUTHOR IN THE COMMENTS. Thank you sir for joining us and being such a good sport.
As to the book, a reviewer describes it as “Shaft becomes a Jedi”!
February 10th, 2017 at 8:32 pm
‘Shaft becomes a Jedi’? They tried that in the prequels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAbFeWXh2S0
February 10th, 2017 at 10:52 pm
This is, by God, a sci-fi adventure thriller.
8.92 seems a little harsh, frankly. No egregious anatomy mistakes or font problems. In 1981, I absolutely would have read this in public. I might today.
I would also have watched “Shaft in Space”.
February 11th, 2017 at 2:19 pm
Question: is it enlightened for us to make opportunities for our brothers and sisters of African or Asian or Aboriginal origin–groups traditionally under-represented–on the worst sci-fi/fantasy covers of all time?
February 11th, 2017 at 5:30 pm
I’ve never understood the hand-forward, palm-down, fingers-spread pose. Does anyone use this gesture in everyday life? If danger is near, doesn’t it make more sense to have both hands on the laser rifle?
February 11th, 2017 at 9:40 pm
@DSWBT—what you mean “us,” white man?
February 12th, 2017 at 1:44 am
DSWBT: I think so. True equality comes when we can all look dumb on sci-fi books equally. No longer will these opportunities be strictly for the SWM.
The black man on this cover isn’t wearing any stereotypical or racist black/African garb. He’s clearly the hero, not the sidekick or the rescuee.
December 20th, 2021 at 2:42 pm
I must have missed that Bond movie. Roger Moore has had quite a makeover.
December 21st, 2021 at 1:19 am
I did end up reading this, and it was really pretty good! Fast-paced and nothing super-cringe in it. Great beach reading, or to read indoors on a blustery day. It would have made a swell movie.