Recently I was participating in a discussion on great science fiction novels and I trotted out one of my favorites that I read way back when I was all of 14 years old, Fade-Out, by Patrick Tilley. A slightly expanded/modified version of the novel was later released that I read as an adult and the story still holds up. That edition featured this cover tiny image ahead, I may scan in my copy just so it’s legible):
Black with a glowing orange-red circle that could signify almost anything. Not very arresting as far as images go (and for some reason this particular scan makes the title impossible to see).
However, the original Dell SF (US) cover on the copy I bought in 1978 was this:
A monstrous mechanical spider in front of the Capitol Building with masses fleeing in panic. A classic flying saucer hovering above. A title done in that cheesy chrome look. How could I resist? I couldn’t!
The great part is that the event depicted on this sensationalist cover does not happen in the book. Nothing even close to it happens — though there is a mechanical spider. And it does take place on Earth, as the inclusion of the Capitol Building would suggest. But otherwise, it’s a mashup that deliberately distorts to create a more exciting image — and it worked! If I had encountered the revised cover in 1978 I’d likely have never picked the book up.
On the one hand, this leads me to think that I should judge a book by its cover (cool cover = cool book) and shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (dull cover = dull book). Since the same book had both a dull and cool cover and especially since the cool cover was a load of hooey, my conclusion is: book covers are hooey. Read the first few pages and see if you like what you see instead.
