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 meme is being nurtured by Lynn’s Book Blog and this week we are featuring covers with RINGS. I’ve selected the science fiction classic Ringworld by Larry Niven, which I read a very long time ago.
This edition was produced in September 1985 and all I can discover is that it is a mass market paperback and a US publication. It’s a very understated, rather gloomy affair, I think. While I think the Ringworld itself looks rather lovely, I think a beautiful nebula in the background would give the cover more visual impact. As for the title and author font – they are very clear, if rather boring.
Published in January 1988 by Orbit, this is a far better effort. The Ringworld is easier to see and the spacescape is more interesting. There’s just one major problem… and perhaps I’m being really thick here – but I can’t see a title. Is it just me? Or have Orbit actually forgotten to add the name of the book to this cover? Perhaps they figure everyone ought to know what this legendary best-seller is called.
This paperback edition, published by Del Rey in April 1988, gives a different view of the Ring. We’re near the centre looking outward at the struts. This is certainly the best effort so far. I also like the effort to make the title font more interesting and the overall effect is an attractive, eye-catching cover that gives a good sense of the genre.
This Polish edition, produced by Solaris in June 2010, is my favourite. I love the more dramatic rendition of an earlier Ringworld – that centre really pops. While the spacescape in the backdrop looks beautiful with two moons and the hint of spaceship… maybe. And I also like the attractive title and author fonts.
This ghastly effort is courtesy of Gollancz in April 2009. They went through a really dodgey phase regarding covers around that time, as I recall them bringing out a series of utterly dreary Discworld books. But this one has to take the biscuit for sheer awfulness. What WERE they thinking?? Hallo – the title of the book is Ringworld and it’s all about a world shaped like a ring. So why is there a paper STAR featured against a black background? I wouldn’t know this is a science fiction classic set in space by looking at the cover, in fact I’d probably assume it’s about origami. Apologies if it’s your favourite – but I needed to get that rant off my chest! Which one do you like best?
e rain to visit the Wetland and Wildlife Trust. While it’s often a favourite venue, we were disappointed that the main lake was a drained, muddy mess and their website hadn’t warned us. The rain didn’t help, 
either – but it was still lovely to see Eliza’s excitement on seeing the ‘duckys’. And always a bonus to spend time with the family.
with Himself, binge-watched Harry Potter films with us and helped sort out the foreign coins from a bucket full of change Rob had left behind when he headed off to L.A. Meanwhile, Frankie and I caught up with each other’s projects, went out for coffee together and he spent time working with a new box of watercolours. He also went out on Wednesday evening to catch up with Tim, while I was at Writing Group.
Lee’s best friend went missing on Bodmin Moor, four years ago. She and Mal were chasing rumours of monsters when they found something all too real. Now Mal is back, but where has she been, and who is she working for? When government physicist Kay Amal Khan is attacked, the security services investigate. This leads MI5’s Julian Sabreur deep into terrifying new territory, where he clashes with mysterious agents of an unknown power ¬who may or may not be human. And Julian’s only clue is some grainy footage ¬– showing a woman who supposedly died on Bodmin Moor.
This edition was produced by Disney Hyperion in December 2013. It’s a gorgeous cover and has become, quite rightly in my opinion, the default cover for this book. That dress is just beautiful – the colour sublime and wonderfully sets off her titian hair. I love the richness and sheer volume of those skirts and the way her hair also moves as she stretches up to him. And there are stars… *sighs with pleasure*. The problem with this cover is that the title font just disappears, being far too slight to prevail against the action and colour of the cover.
Published in May 2016 by Carlsen, this German cover is not a bad effort. The two faces both looking out at us are eye-catching and again, the starscape appearing through the main image is effective and gives us a real clue as to the genre. However, while I like the attractive style of the font – it’s the wrong colour, being far too close to the skin tones of the faces behind it, so it essentially disappears when in thumbnail.
This Portuguese edition, published by Editora Planeta in December 2015, is featuring the romance far more heavily, while also giving us a taste of the alien planet below. Split image covers like this can work as long as the divide is effective, which I think it is in this case. I think while the font works for a romance, it isn’t so successful if you take into account the sci fi element. However, the problem for me is that the kissing couple is not something that would induce me to pick up the book.
This French edition, produced by La Martinière Jeunesse in December 2013, is more heavily leaning towards the sci fi element – you won’t be surprised to learn that this was a very close contender for me. I like the tension evident on the protagonists’ faces and the punchy font, as well as the clearly alien nature of the landscape featured across the top half of this cover.
This paperback edition, published by Allen & Unwin in December 2013 is my favourite. It is essentially the top cover, with all the lushness and loveliness AND you can read the book’s name, which has to be a bonus😊. Which is your favourite?
going to need all their wits about them if they are to stay alive. And they have to, because there is nobody else to save all their worlds from a doomsday weapon which is set to obliterate the entire universe.
AUDIOBOOK Over Sea, Under Stone – Book 1 of The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper – children’s book
scandal that sent her packing – resentful teenager in tow – from the London Met to the lonely Kent coastline. Even murder looks different in this landscape of fens, ditches and stark beaches, shadowed by the towers of Dungeness power station. Murder looks a lot less pretty. The man drowned in the slurry pit had been herded there like an animal. He was North African, like many of the fruit pickers that work the fields. The more Cupidi discovers, the more she wants to ask – but these people are suspicious of questions. It will take an understanding of this strange place – its old ways and new crimes – to uncover the dark conspiracy behind the murder. Cupidi is not afraid to travel that road. But she should be. She should, by now, have learnt.
way to save their doomed nation, Achaea, from the might of Troy. The startling revelation that follows will set Odysseus on his most daunting mission yet, as he seeks to reunite the divided Achaean kingdoms before the rapacious Trojans strike. His journey will pit him against wrathful gods and legendary heroes, in a deadly contest for the hand of Helen of Sparta, the daughter of Zeus, upon whose choice the fate of Achaea rests…
the new year to set ourselves ambitious targets, so that even if we don’t fully succeed in these, we still come out ahead. This year, we weren’t able to spend New Year together, so I had to wait until she was able to travel up from Lincolnshire to reflect upon our previous year’s progress and compile our current list. This is what I’m trying for in 2020:-
This edition was produced by Orbit in May 2006 and is quite quirky – and evidently before the True Blood TV series, which focused less on the comedic aspect of the story and ensured the bedroom scenes were far more graphic than Harris wrote them. Not sure I like this one all that much – I think the vampire looks odd. But I do like the font and think this effort captures the tone and feel of the book far better than the True Blood tie-ins.
Published in April 2003 by Ace Books, this cover is essentially the complete version of the previous offering and as such, works a lot better, I think. Again, the tone and feel of this cover very much reflects the book. My grizzle is that that mood and quirkiness is undercut by the chunks of chatter scattered about the cover – but despite that issue, this one is my favourite.
This edition, published by Ace Books in June 2010, is clearly in the wake of the True Blood series, and while it certainly reflects the tone of the TV series, I question whether it is an accurate portrayal of the book. I don’t like it much, to be honest. If I hadn’t already been a solid fan of the series, I wouldn’t have touched this with a bargepole, based on this cover, which gives the impression this is a dark fantasy book with a strong horror element.
This Spanish edition, produced by Punto de Lectura in May 2009, is also significantly influenced by the True Blood series. I’m trying to work out why you’d want to kiss someone with blood all over their lips – all I thought was, “Eww!” But perhaps I don’t have sufficient vampiric tendencies…
This Swedish edition, published by Månpocket, takes the design of the 2010 Ace Books and turns it into a drawing, rather than featuring the actual cast of the True Blood series. I prefer the effect on the design, which I think gets nearer to the tone and mood of the books, rather than the TV show. Which is your favourite?
warriors seek revenge against the giants for the loved ones they lost. But will vengeance be enough to salve their grief?
Brainfluff 