Misleading cover art and blurbs?! Cover and story don't match?! Welcome to vintage science fiction.

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  • Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
  • Cover and story don't match? Misleading marketing? Taking a look at the second book in the Ace Science Fiction Specials Series Two 'Red Tide' by D. D. Chapman and Deloris Lehman Tarzan 1975.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 22

  • @GrammaticusBooks
    @GrammaticusBooks Місяць тому +1

    Interesting topic. I’ve run into times where the cover artist has taken an abstract approach that runs far afield. Or where the artist has tried to make the book appear similar to a more popular series. But I don’t think I’ve seen one that was just flat out wrong before!

  • @unstopitable
    @unstopitable Місяць тому +1

    I've felt the same, Rich. In those days, I guess it was acceptable to play fast and loose when it came to making a sale. Cheers.

    • @thebookrapport-cx8kh
      @thebookrapport-cx8kh Місяць тому +1

      Rooms full of cigarettes and half drunk editors - "Dammit Frederick, where did you dig up this trash? We're going to be hocking this one by blurb and cover only just to hope to break even! "

    • @unstopitable
      @unstopitable Місяць тому +1

      @@thebookrapport-cx8kh Funny. And the Don Draper walks in. Or Blake, from Glengarry Glen Ross.

  • @AbdulAwalSikder12
    @AbdulAwalSikder12 Місяць тому +1

    Hi there! Your UA-cam channel is one of my favorites, and I always enjoy watching your videos. They're incredibly informative and have helped me learn a lot. However, I've noticed a few things that could be tweaked in your recent uploads. Looking forward to seeing more great content from you.

  • @bartsbookspace
    @bartsbookspace Місяць тому +1

    Misleading cover art and misleading blurbs are annoying, but what I find even more infuriating are spoilers on the back of the book... 🤬

    • @vintagesf
      @vintagesf  Місяць тому +2

      @@bartsbookspace Yes! Ira from SF Words of Wonders also warns to never read introductions to a novel until you’ve read the novel.

  • @paulcooper3611
    @paulcooper3611 Місяць тому +1

    As far as being mislead by cover and blurbs goes, in 1976 I found a book called 'Star Wars' in the book store. It had a decent cover and promised to be in the tradition of space opera adventure stories. (It also mentioned a movie tie-in that was coming soon.) I bought it, expecting something in the vein of Leigh Bracket or Edmund Hamilton. Instead, I found pablum written in baby-talk. It made the works of Flash Gordon seen mature by comparison. I was so hacked by the book that I refused to watch the movie. My wife finally dragged me to see it after it had been in the theaters for over a year. I groused all the way there. I groused for the hour we had to stand in line, waiting to get in. Then I actually saw the movie. The book and movie are a perfect example of how different the two art forms are. Sometimes, what is perfect in the film does not work on the printed page and visa versa. The experience was an education for me on so many levels.

    • @vintagesf
      @vintagesf  Місяць тому +1

      This is a lesson I keep learning. I have so many expectations when judging a book by its cover.

    • @salty-walt
      @salty-walt Місяць тому

      Great SW story!

    • @salty-walt
      @salty-walt Місяць тому

      ​@@vintagesfI have many cover related stories, I fear I may start to inflict you with some of them. I apologize in advance: there's nothing I can do.
      "It is beyond my control."

    • @vintagesf
      @vintagesf  Місяць тому +1

      @@salty-walt Ready to be inflicted!

  • @outlawbookselleroriginal
    @outlawbookselleroriginal Місяць тому +3

    'Red Tide' was for me a good read, but not a great one. As I said in my review of it some months back, it was either too short or too overburdened by too many characters. The 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' cover is misleading - but then there are more misleading SF covers than there are species of mammals- as that element of the story was underplayed and only part of the narrative. An ambitious book, but not quite satisfying. I love that cover myself, though!

    • @vintagesf
      @vintagesf  Місяць тому +1

      @@outlawbookselleroriginal Dean Ellis is the cover artist for ‘Red Tide’ and many of the other Ace Specials two. I really like his work. Although a more conventional style than the Dillons in series one, it serves the same purpose in unifying the series. The first two books of series two were ambitious debuts. Now on to a couple of veterans.

  • @picturepainter
    @picturepainter Місяць тому

    A famous case of misleading cover art is the first American paperback edition of "The Hobbit": a landscape that inexplicably includes emus and a lion. J.R.R. Tolkien was so taken aback he contacted the publisher. The reason the cover art had nothing to with the content of the book was very simple: the illustrator didn't have time to read the book.

    • @vintagesf
      @vintagesf  Місяць тому

      @@picturepainter I love the magic that occurs when a publisher provides an advance copy and the artist reads it before creating the cover. I don’t know how common this is.

  • @chocolatemonk
    @chocolatemonk Місяць тому

    wow, I admit I bought these because they were a set. Series 2 specifically. I had no idea they were so all over the place as I had yet to read any.

    • @vintagesf
      @vintagesf  Місяць тому +1

      I have hope for Lem and Shaw. Not sure about the rest as they are new to me.

    • @chocolatemonk
      @chocolatemonk Місяць тому

      @@vintagesf we will see. I am going to try and read Lem before your video. Shaw well; that should be a safe bet along with Yarboro (sp?)

    • @vintagesf
      @vintagesf  Місяць тому

      @@chocolatemonk My advance planning has me reviewing ‘The Invincible’ somewhere in mid to late July. It would be great to get your take on it too.

  • @zarg05
    @zarg05 Місяць тому

    Its common with blurbs in general. It just has to push the buttons to get you to give over your cash. Usually superlatives abound often for mediocre novels.