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 depicting ALIENS. I’ve selected Bloodhype – Book 2 of the Pip and Flinx series by Alan Dean Foster.
This offering, produced by Del Rey Books in September 1985, is one of the default covers for this book. I really like this dramatic spacescape, with the two protagonists about to enter/examine the beautifully weird craft or creature featured in the middle of the cover. The very symmetrical arrangement of the author and title fonts and blurb provides a strong frame for the action, adding rather than interrupting the impact of the design. This is my favourite.
This is a revamp of an earlier cover, but that is all the information I have on this edition. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, other than there’s a large planet nearby. So is that an asteroid or a spaceship – or a cross between both? And down near the bottom of the cover, there seems to be part of a torus, with the back view of a version of the Vitruvian man. Or is it? It’s rather fantastical and weird – and a bit creepy. By contrast, the author and title font is extremely boring and plain.
This edition is the original design, as far as I can ascertain, published by Del Rey in 1973. And here is the alien… along with Pip and Flinx and a young woman wearing an outfit that leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination. That said, and despite the lack of spaceships, I think this cover has a certain charm – and I really like the title font which packs a visual punch. The other big plus for this cover is that it features the protagonists and the scene relates to the book content.
This edition, published in 1979 by New English Library/Times Mirror, has gone for the mysterious island vibe. This cover has an oddly gothic feel to it. That island sn’t your cosy, inviting let’s-get-away-from-it-all version, complete with gorgeous beach and inviting coconut palms, is it? And that sky is downright threatening – complete with missile fire. While it is invitingly mysterious, I’m not sure that this cover successfully reflects the content.
This Italian edition, published by Nord in 1976 is the original artwork of the earlier cover. I love those pops of turquoise that are missing in the copy, which pull the design together and give it a lighter, more playful tone. Suddenly it seems less of a muddle and more of a lighthearted homage to certain tropes. I just wish it wasn’t surrounded and rather overwhelmed by that dreary grey boxing in the glorious design. This would have been my favourite if not for that. Which one do you prefer?
Brainfluff 