This meme was started by Books by Proxy, whose fabulous idea was to compare UK and US book covers and decide which is we prefer. This week the theme is a cover featuring puppets or dolls, so I’ve selected The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein.
This Japanese cover, produced by 早川書房 in December 2005, is one of my favourites. There is plenty of drama in this cover, with the puppet girl on the poster in the background as our gallant investigator is swathed in the police tape as he goes undercover…
This edition was produced by Del Rey/Ballantine books in January 1990 and is a really attractive. I love the backdrop, which is beautiful and detailed, while the man in the centre being strung up like a puppet is a really disturbing image. My only grizzle is that there is rather too much chatter.
Published in February 1990 by DelRey/Ballantine books, I also really like this one. The greens really stand out and those three marionettes look wonderfully wrong… However, I don’t like the ugly white box along the top which cuts across the artwork, effectively shortening the cover.
This edition, published by Baen in July 2010 has gone for the retro feel, while keeping the typical Baen house style. I quite like the detail on the cover – I can never resist a spacescape, anyway. The snag is that this cover feels rather generic – yes… there are aliens, but they are in the process of invading Earth and the artwork doesn’t give any indication of that.
This first edition, produced by Doubleday & Co in December 1951 is simply a fabulous piece of artwork. The muted palette, odd stance of the figues and staring eyes give us a really creepy insight into what is going on. This is my favourite, but which is yours?
Brainfluff 