Good Show Sir

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Carolyn Comments: You can probably analyze this better than I! I assume the artist just read the jacket blurb.
Published 1977

“Imagine: Gorilla-shaped bismuth junkies who stack their dead ancestors like cordwood in the living room; gentle souls who can touch with a touch or a thought. A throwback fiefdom on a planet where huge poisonous bats rule the night sky, where serpents the size of semi-trailers slither though the rotting jungle. A sarcastic mansized beetle that’s a Talmudic scholar and swears like a longshoreman. And claims to be immortal. All in a life’s work for Otto McGavin: Prime Operator for the TBII, undercover guardian of the rights of aliens and humans under the Confederacion.”

Mmm… uhh… seriously? That snake doesn’t look too happy.
Outstanding! Good Show Carolyn!

(Average: 8.63 out of 10)

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Jessie Comments: This cover is so atrocious that every time I go to read it, I just can’t. It’s definitely among the top three worst covers I’ve ever seen.
Published 1995

That is epic. Simply epic! Thanks to Jessie!

(Average: 6.94 out of 10)

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Phil’s Art Direction: That’s the Bradbury story about an android grandmother, isn’t it? A sweet, family tale? Right, so let’s have either a muscle man or a horse on the cover. Better yet, a muscle man who IS a horse. And so ripped, that even his muscles have muscle men on them. On a wraparound cover.
Published in 1972

Outstanding! Good Show Phil!

(Average: 9.25 out of 10)

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Larry Comments: OK, this doesn’t follow The Rules, but it’s me, the actual artst, giving you a sneak peek at my upcoming disaster. The art direction for this book was LITERALLY: A Black Helicopter versus a Black Locomotive, at night. It’s for the upcoming Baen (No really try to look surprised) book WRITTEN IN TIME.

You might remember Larry’s work from this cover!

To which he has responded: I agree with when I was gigged here at GSS for the Sceptere’d Isle cover. Yes that WAS a gamer pal with a costume. Sometimes I look back at stuff I have done and wonder, holy crap, what was I thinking?

He also says something we whole heartily agree with here, “Misty (Mercedes Lackey) and I have a life philosophy that embraces the humor in all things. As we put it in an interview not long ago, to fully respect something you must acknowledge that all things have an element of the absurd. If you treat something as wholly serious, you’re not respecting its entirety, since you are trimming off and discarding the silly side of it—in other words, to fully love something you must also make fun of it.”

Thanks to Larry for sending this all in and might I add, is a jolly nice bloke, as we would say here. Check out his website: www.gryphonking.com

Good Show Sir, Good Show!

(Average: 4.83 out of 10)

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NoiselessPenguin Comments: I’ll leave you with Samuel L Jackson grinning vaguely with eggcups stuck to his eyes.

Many thanks to NoiselessPenguin!
We’ve been searching for this one, MU HA HA HA!

(Average: 8.12 out of 10)

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Eron Comments: This cover is particularly appalling because of it’s simplicity. We get the text: Unicorns. Peace. Then the image: Unicorn. Twilight. BIG ORANGE Unicorn. Castle. Sure. Also, it seems to me that something is wrong on the perspective on the unicorn… it’s sort of falling on it’s side if I’m seeing it correctly?

Many thanks to Eron!

(Average: 6.54 out of 10)

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NoiselessPenguin Comments: I tried to make a list of what’s wrong with this cover, and stopped when I realised: EVERYTHING.

Thanks to NoiselessPenguin, I’ve never laughed so much!

(Average: 8.62 out of 10)

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Black in Time? Seriously? Alright then. Well I think we should artistically avoid the whole race issue and simply have a huge group of people from every background floating mid space stretching backwards into the earth. And some faces of the main characters, with an hour glass imposed on them. Somehow though, I think it’s not going to take away from the title.

Thanks to the Legend Dave R!

(Average: 8.63 out of 10)

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A naked man wrestles a lion man – who is wearing a speedo I should point out – on top of a mound of fire. Yes, I did just say that out loud. And I want a huge snake in there, with a collar. And I do mean snake, that’s not a euphemism, but then again nothing to stop us from putting some ass on there too.

(Average: 8.63 out of 10)

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I don’t know where I’ve been for the past few days, but I found this written on the back of my hand: Blue black skin, golden eyes, brain tubes, explosions, horrified expression, spaced out look, glass dome head.

Oh wait, it’s just all the classic symptoms of reading a collection of Sci-Fi stories.

(Average: 8.75 out of 10)

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