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San Francisco, 12:29 AM
Sat Nov 28
17 posts in the last 24 hours

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    A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers

    Vegan Rebels of the Bio-apocalypse in “Year of the Floodâ€

    A Nightmare of Genetically-Modified Animals

    Margaret Atwood Says She Doesn't Write Science Fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin Disagrees

    Margaret Atwood's All-Singing, All-Drama Post-Apocalyptic Roadshow

    Our Favorite Last Lines From Science Fiction Novels

    Margaret Atwood's Latest Deals With Financial Crisis, Horrific Floods, Hymns About Al Gore

    Handmaid's Tale Too Politically Incorrect For Canadian Schools?

    Future Dystopias Where Conservatives Have Won

    The Best Conspiracies in Sci-Fi
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Dirk Anger Dirk Anger
    11/18/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    De Elektrische Nachtmerrie? And here I thought title translations to Spanish were lame
     Reply
    Dirk Anger was starred Dirk Anger was unstarred
    Image of Bigdamnhero Bigdamnhero
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    Thank you. That was a wonderful waste of an hour.

    I got a kick out of the Dick covers. You can just hear the designers thinking, "I gotta stick some damn sheep on the cover somewhere? Christ. How the hell am I gonna do that?"
     Reply
    Edited by Bigdamnhero at 11/17/09 9:14 PM Bigdamnhero was starred Bigdamnhero was unstarred
    Image of SJ_Edwards SJ_Edwards
    11/17/09

    @Bigdamnhero:
    I bet the answer came to them in their sleep. #bookcovers
     Reply
    SJ_Edwards was starred SJ_Edwards was unstarred
    Image of gods-n-clods gods-n-clods
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    Water from the well, this is. Must preserve them for future generations. #bookcovers
     Reply
    gods-n-clods was starred gods-n-clods was unstarred
    Image of SJ_Edwards SJ_Edwards
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers

      #bookcovers [www.chrisfossart.com]
     Reply
    Edited by SJ_Edwards at 11/17/09 7:37 PM SJ_Edwards was starred SJ_Edwards was unstarred
    Image of RizzRustbolt RizzRustbolt
    11/18/09

    @SJ_Edwards: Oooo... I love Chris Foss's work.
     Reply
    SJ_Edwards promoted this comment RizzRustbolt was starred RizzRustbolt was unstarred
    Image of SJ_Edwards SJ_Edwards
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    Awesome!
    For me, it's the polychrome space derelicts of Chris Foss's covers, that will forever populate the endless Oort cloud of my mind........
    [en.wikipedia.org] .
     Reply
    Edited by SJ_Edwards at 11/17/09 7:29 PM SJ_Edwards was starred SJ_Edwards was unstarred
    Image of Chip Skylark of Space Chip Skylark of Space
    11/18/09

    @SJ_Edwards: Berkey did some really nice giant space ship covers. I keep coming back to THE SKY IS FILLED WITH SHIPS. Great cover, great title, just above average novel. The same author (Richard C. Meredith) did another long titled book- WE ALL DIED AT BREAKAWAY STATION. That one had another Berkey cover, but it was much muddier. Then Meredith died incredibly young (41?).
     Reply
    Chip Skylark of Space was starred Chip Skylark of Space was unstarred
    Image of gd01skorpius gd01skorpius
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    Lol at the Enterprise in the spanish War of The Worlds #bookcovers
     Reply
    gd01skorpius was starred gd01skorpius was unstarred
    Image of Chip Overclock Chip Overclock
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    This is an awesomely cool idea. After all, it's the cover that catches our eye. And covers are representative of the time and space from whence they came. So these covers should tell us as much of their era and culture as they do about the book they illustrate; for some covers, more.

    I frequently order British editions of my favorite UK authors from Amazon.co.uk because I get paperbacks a year sooner than their American release. I find I generally like the UK cover art better.

    When I order older or used books from Amazon.com and there are several paperback editions available, I usually choose the one with the prettiest cover art. #bookcovers
     Reply
    Chip Overclock was starred Chip Overclock was unstarred
    Image of golddiggersof2033 golddiggersof2033
    11/17/09

    @Chip Overclock: I concur- British cover art is generally more interesting and prettier. Penguin UK does a really good job of it.

    This post made me warm and fuzzy- thanks Lauren! #bookcovers
     Reply
    golddiggersof2033 was starred golddiggersof2033 was unstarred
    Image of TallyCola TallyCola
    11/17/09

    @Chip Overclock: I totally go out of my to order British editions as well, especially when I'm giving a beloved book as a gift.

    I picked up Michael Marshall Smith's "Only Forward" and "Spares" completely on a whim in a UK bookstore because the covers looked so awesome and they became two of my favourite books of all time. A good cover art designer is... well they're good because they make me want to read books. #bookcovers
     Reply
    SJ_Edwards promoted this comment TallyCola was starred TallyCola was unstarred
    Image of MonkeyT MonkeyT
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    War of The Worlds #18 looks like a giant Disney character about to eat people. #bookcovers
     Reply
    MonkeyT was starred MonkeyT was unstarred
    Image of MonkeyT MonkeyT
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    I'm surprised the collection of Farenheit 451 covers didn't include what I would consider the obvious design answer: the cover itself appearing heat damaged, cracked and partially burned as if it was one of the books destroyed within the tale. #bookcovers
     Reply
    MonkeyT was starred MonkeyT was unstarred
    Image of Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L. Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L.
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    I love these posts, except for one thing - I look at some of the copies I have of these and realise there are much, much better editions out there I should have got instead.

    Having said that, I've got that iconic edition of A Clockwork Orange and I'm really quite smug about it. #bookcovers
     Reply
    Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L. was starred Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L. was unstarred
    Image of RandomFrequentFlierDent RandomFrequentFlierDent
    11/17/09

    @Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L.: I feel your pain. I'm continually annoyed by the fact that Will Smith stares back at me every time I pick up my copies of I, Robot and I am Legend (which is actually a collection of Richard Matheson's work to which Will Smith’s face has been randomly plastered). If only the movie-tie-in version of books weren't significantly cheaper and I weren't a poor, poor university student. #bookcovers
     Reply
    RandomFrequentFlierDent was starred RandomFrequentFlierDent was unstarred
    Image of PlasmaGlory PlasmaGlory
    11/17/09

    @Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L.: Which edition is that? #bookcovers
     Reply
    SJ_Edwards promoted this comment PlasmaGlory was starred PlasmaGlory was unstarred
    Image of Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L. Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L.
    11/17/09


    @PlasmaGlory: This one. #bookcovers
     Reply
    Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L. was starred Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L. was unstarred
    Image of psychiccheese psychiccheese
    11/18/09

    @Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L.: Is that the US or the UK version?
    I happen to own both, and while the cover is the same, the book itself is different. The US version doesn't come with the last chapter, which completely changes the ending, but it also has the Nadsat glossary in the back. The UK version doesn't have the Nadsat translations, but has all 21 chapters.
     Reply
    psychiccheese was starred psychiccheese was unstarred
    Image of Grey_Area Grey_Area
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    Oh sweet. There goes my afternoon... staring at cool book covers. #bookcovers
     Reply
    Grey_Area was starred Grey_Area was unstarred
    Image of Perhaps Not Perhaps Not
    11/17/09

    In reply to A History of 16 Science Fiction Classics, Told In Book Covers
    You know, I really love these posts. I'm not just saying that - I think they're awesome, and I love all the art Lauren digs up. (Go find the Travis Charest gallery and link to it, L!) But please, please tell me, isn't there some way to stop you people from making each gallery a separate story? It totally screws up the homepage for like, hours. #bookcovers
     Reply
    Perhaps Not was starred Perhaps Not was unstarred
    Image of Fate'sBitch Fate'sBitch
    11/12/09

    In reply to Vegan Rebels of the Bio-apocalypse in “Year of the Floodâ€
    Spoilers:

    I was pretty disappointed. I couldn't stand how Ren was sloppily retconned into Jimmie's life. (actually, the whole character of Ren was annoying) I could see involving Glenn with the Gardeners and exploring how their their ideas (the waterless flood) would have influenced his decision to, you know, destroy humanity, but Atwood shied away from that and instead focused on Ren's inexplicable lifelong crush on Jimmie.

    In the end, I finished it just to finish it. I didn't really care about any of these characters and the end was a little to "neat" for me (hey, welcome to the end of the world, how convenient that we all know each other). Which is a shame because Oryx and Crake is one of my favorite books and I'm a huge Atwood fan, Cat's Eye and The Blind Assassin are also favorites. #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    Fate'sBitch was starred Fate'sBitch was unstarred
    Image of englishmajorennui englishmajorennui
    11/12/09

    @Fate'sBitch: I was in the same boat. I love Atwood, Oryx and Crake is my favorite of hers, but I didn't like this one as much. The relationships between the characters in general rang false, in my opinion. In Oryx and Crake, relationships like Crake and Jimmy's snippy-but-affectionate co-dependency and Jimmy's maybe-one-sided obsession with Oryx felt authentic and intense. In The Year of the Flood, I felt like the only reason these characters were connected was because they were all briefly mentioned in the last book. Ren's crush especially was dull--maybe it was supposed to mirror Jimmy's long-lived pining for Oryx, but it just felt tagged on. #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz promoted this comment englishmajorennui was starred englishmajorennui was unstarred
    Image of transitnap transitnap
    11/12/09

    @Fate'sBitch: These were pretty much my thoughts too. The Year of the Flood felt more like fanfiction than a continuation or companion piece to Oryx and Crake. I also felt there was a lot less "science" this time around. The concepts from the first book, though "fanciful," were at least interesting and well-developed. This time around, it just felt like a re-hash of what was mentioned previously.

    I also agree about not really connecting with the characters. I didn't find them all that engaging and I wasn't invested in what would happen to them. #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz promoted this comment transitnap was starred transitnap was unstarred
    Image of Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz
    11/12/09

    @Fate'sBitch: I hated Ren. #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz was starred Annalee Newitz was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    11/12/09

    In reply to Vegan Rebels of the Bio-apocalypse in “Year of the Floodâ€
    Just a small quibble: they're always called Gardeners, but the actual name is God's Gardeners.

    And to call the science in a work of science-fiction "fanciful at best" seems weirdly derogatory? Unless there is some definite template on what exactly a lion/lamb hybrid would look like? I mean, what other option is there but to imagine the science of the future? #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of englishmajorennui englishmajorennui
    11/12/09

    @Pope John Peeps II: I'm no scientist, but to me, the science in Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood didn't seem that implausible (well...maaaaybe the neon herpes in Oryx and Crake, but who knows?). It seemed to be in the general vein of what current scientists and corporations are looking into. I also wonder if that's why Atwood has called her work "speculative fiction" instead of "science fiction." Maybe she feels that science fiction features only purely fictional science? #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II promoted this comment englishmajorennui was starred englishmajorennui was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    11/12/09

    @englishmajorennui: Well, she's given a bunch of interviews on that subject, so I don't think anynoe has to repeat any of what she has said. Just go Bing it! hahah. microsoft. nice try. #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of englishmajorennui englishmajorennui
    11/12/09

    @Pope John Peeps II: They should have launched it in the 90s so people could say, "Chandler it!" #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    englishmajorennui was starred englishmajorennui was unstarred
    Image of grant.goodine grant.goodine
    11/12/09

    @englishmajorennui: Nah, she's just always had a derogetory view of science fiction. Robert J. Sawyer's commented on it once or twice. And just so I don't get pegged as a bandwagon jumper, I've been reading Sawyer for 11-12 years now.
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II approved this comment grant.goodine was starred grant.goodine was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    11/12/09

    @Pope John Peeps II: Again, as I said before, it wouldn't matter if Atwood hadn't said stuff like "my book isn't science fiction because it's about things that could actually happen." #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of DraconisXC DraconisXC
    11/12/09

    @Wookie1972: Once an author tries to present their work as some sort of prophecy of an inevitable dystopia my interest begins to wane. There's a reason there isn't a section in the bookstore called "Fiction...FOR NOW!!1!" #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment DraconisXC was starred DraconisXC was unstarred
    Image of Vulcan Has No Moon Vulcan Has No Moon
    11/12/09


    @Pope John Peeps II: I'm thinking a lion/lamb hybrid would be sort of like this... #yearoftheflood
     Reply
    Vulcan Has No Moon was starred Vulcan Has No Moon was unstarred
    Image of Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz
    11/12/09

    @Pope John Peeps II: The science in both books is appallingly bad. There is a good reason why Atwood refuses to be called a science fiction writer. She doesn't give a crap about science, or scientific realism. All of the science in this novel and in Oryx and Crake were purely intended as symbolism.
     Reply
    Edited by Annalee Newitz at 11/12/09 9:28 PM Annalee Newitz was starred Annalee Newitz was unstarred
    Image of Bill-Lee Bill-Lee
    10/30/09

    In reply to A Nightmare of Genetically-Modified Animals
    The pig thing reminds me of the graphic novel Oink by John Mueller in which the government has created humanoid pigs to work in Public Slaughterhouses tending to giant pigs. #books
     Reply
    Bill-Lee was starred Bill-Lee was unstarred
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