Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week’s Can’t-Wait offering – The Immortality Thief – Book 1 of The Kystrom Chronicles by Taran Hunt – release date – 11th October, 2022
#science fiction #space opera #thriller
BLURB: Refugee, criminal and linguist Sean Wren is made an offer he knows he can’t refuse: life in prison, “voluntary” military service – or salvaging data in a long-dead language from an abandoned ship filled with traps and monsters, just days before it’s destroyed in a supernova. Data connected to the Philosopher’s Stone experiments, into unlocking the secrets of immortality.
And he’s not the only one looking for the derelict ship. The Ministers, mysterious undying aliens that have ruled over humanity for centuries, want the data – as does The Republic, humanity’s last free government. And time is running out.
In the bowels of the derelict ship, surrounded by horrors and dead men, Sean slowly uncovers the truth of what happened on the ship, in its final days… and the terrible secret it’s hiding.
It was the title that caught my eye – and then the premise. While I find it difficult to cope with creepy stuff here on Earth – once it’s safely out in space, I find it thoroughly enjoyable. Particularly as the extremely hostile conditions of deep space always make it much harder to simply run awaaay – which is often what I’m urging protagonists who insist on visiting deserted houses with dubious histories… isolated wilderness spots with dodgy characters… or simply getting out of bed to confront the strange noises in the night – who does that??? Anyway, back to this offering – it sounds like there are all sorts of nasties lingering in the shadows and I’m looking forward to tucking into it😊.
This edition was produced by Celadon Books in August 2019. It’s it clever? The handprint that somehow turns into a butterfly works really well. And they haven’t even added a bit of colour to give us a visual clue, which would have been acceptable. I love the fact that ALL the information featured on the cover is the title, the author and the fact that this is a novel. For once the publishers have relied on the strength of the book design to sell this one – and judging by the numbers of reviews it garnered on Goodreads, this default cover did the business. 
Published in June 2019 by Penguin, I think this is both beautiful and gruesome – and those aren’t two adjectives that go together all that often… The beautiful butterfly wing in the pale gold against the dark background is stunning – until you look a bit more closely and notice the details are skulls and parts of the human skeleton. The pin through the wing just adds to the sense of wrongness. But it is subtle and clever. This one is my favourite. 
This Polish edition, published by MUZA S.A., in October 2019 is another cover that plays visual tricks. The white moth against the black cover couldn’t be more simple – until you look again and see it as a triangular, ghostly face. I also like the title font – the greying, slightly grubby look works really well with the monochrome effect of the rest of the cover and I applaud the designer in keeping it pared back. So many covers these days are so very busy. My only niggle – and yes, you’ll probably already know what I’m going to say, but I’ll say it anyway – are the lines of chatter under the melting moth/face. What a shame they had to be there, as they detract from the spare menace of the design.
This Bulgarian edition, produced by Сиела in 2019, has taken the butterfly – or is it moth? – theme in a different direction. There is a lot going on in this beautiful, ominous cover. The full moon outside provides all the light as a lightning forks across the sky and those moths flutter around the window. Nothing much to see – except the curtain has been drawn back and there is a single palmprint on the glass. If the owner of the hand pressed against the window was standing in front of it, s/he/it had to be outside… It’s cleverly done and gives a disturbing sense of wrongness without recourse to any kind of horror trope.
This Macedonian edition, published by Сакам Книги is less subtle, but I absolutely love the jagged cut across the title font which works so well. I’m not quite as thrilled with the spatter of blood, but that butterfly… Is it resting on the chin of a face, just below a screaming mouth? Or is that just my imagination working overtime? The indistinctness adds to the horror vibe. If I have a quibble, I think the abandoned house beneath the title font is an unnecessary addition – they should have trusted the strength of that single, shocking image, rather than hedging their bets with another horror trope. Which is your favourite?
This edition was produced in June 2007 by Berkley. I really dislike this cover. Those heaped skulls drenched in red could be effective – but for the fact they are squeezed between two charmless text boxes. The green effort at the bottom of the cover for the title font is particularly grotty – it doesn’t match or tone with anything at all and the font style has virtually no visual impact.
Published in November 1986 by Futura, this one is my favourite. I think the image is far more coherent than the previous effort. The skeleton is looking out at the reader and directly engaging with us. The author font is particularly attractive, I love the embossing on it – and in Stephen King’s case, it makes marketing sense to feature his name, rather than the title. While it might be less snazzy than the title, I do like the way the scythe is positioned in front of the lettering on the title font.
This Polish edition, published by Proszynski i S-ka in 2000, is another reasonable design. I rather like the misty effect, giving a slightly more creepy vibe which is important in a horror book. I have two niggles with this effort, however – I think the backdrop is too dark, which doesn’t allow those skeletons to sufficiently pop. And the title and author fonts are once again, drearily plain.
This Czech edition, produced by Beta Dobrovský in 2014, is a departure from the skeletons, instead featuring a rather dramatic sea monster. Given that this is a fairly basic design, I think it is effective with the detailed tentacle and the splash of blood. The author font is especially good, echoing the design of my favourite and while the title font is a lot less attractive and eye-catching, it does at least look as if some thought has gone into it. 
This edition, produced by Scribner in January 2016, is a complete departure from the horrible skeletons or sea monsters – the creepy absence of anyone on a deserted pier, just the empty seat. I really like this one – the warmth of the lighting and misty effect that reflects off the wet wooden boards gives a sense of wrongness. It is a lot more subtle than the other covers and would have been my favourite, but for the woefully underwhelming author and title fonts. Why would you simply not bother to make the title and author information look attractive, after to the trouble of producing such an effective image? Which one do you like best?
This edition was produced by Grand Central Publishing in March 1979. Unusually, the film came first, then Alan Dean Foster was commissioned to write the Alien novels. This cover features that famous tagline from the movie, while the image featured shows a cracking egg. I think this is an incredibly dreary, and rather boring cover when considering the amazing visual impact of the film.
Published in September 2015 by Aelph, this Portuguese edition actually features the alien in all her spooky glory. I choose to think she is really very cross about human beings infecting her planet as she’s heard they are terrible for the environment. Or maybe she is suffering from a hangover – whatever it is, she is clearly very grumpy. As a cover, this is far more effective than the previous offering.
This edition, published by Nova Cultural in 1987, also hails from Portugal, but this time around features some original artwork, presumably of the aliens’ planet. I do love the title – The Eighth Passenger which I think is far more satisfactory than Alien.
This Portuguese edition – they were clearly a bit obsessed about this book – was produced in 1979 by Abril. I’m pleased they decided not to pinch any artwork from the film and I think the image is really striking. What spoils it for me is that white textbox splatted across the top of the design, which really undermines the effect of the design.
This Hungarian edition, published in 1987, is my favourite. I love the artwork, which puts me in mind of some of the quirky modernist science fiction covers of the 1960s and 70s. Featuring that fateful moment when a hapless crew member from Nostromo picks up one of the lethal eggs, it has plenty of drama. I also love the artwork in the background, which has echoes of the amazing set in the film. I think it’s striking, well designed and the best cover here by a long country mile. But what do you think – which is your favourite cover?
Brainfluff 