Absolutely! Cover designs were always the first thing to grab my attention as well. As a teenager, I found myself wanting to read "Foundation's Edge" simply because of the cover. Once I found out that it was part of a classic series, I got the previous books and read them first. That one book cover sold four books altogether.
I came to ERB through a strange route; from reading Dale Pollock's *"Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas"* - that listed Lucas's literary influences - I felt to properly understand all the nuances of Star Wars, I *had* to read the inspirations that formed its genesis. As well as ERB's Martian Series, I bought the adapted novelisations of Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, and Frank Herbert's Dune. (E E Doc Smith's Lensman saga is the next on my list)
I did a similar thing with the "Foundation" books. Another one was "Burnt Offerings," by Robert Marasco, which I read after learning that it was an inspiration for "The Shining." I never realized that there were novelizations of Flash Gordon, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised. How are they? I'll look up the Lesman saga, as I'm not familiar with it. Thanks for commenting!
@@TheAtlanteanArchive I remember that I wasn't all that taken with the six Flash Gordon novelisations, written under pseudonyms by Ron Goulart and Bruce Cassidy; I much preferred the novelisation of the Flash Gordon movie by Arthur Byron Cover - maybe with a re-read of them now, I'll find that I appreciate them more than I did in the late '80's.
Can't overstate how important cover art was to me as a kid. Whelan was a big deal when you was a kid in the early 80s, and his covers got my money😉
Absolutely! Cover designs were always the first thing to grab my attention as well. As a teenager, I found myself wanting to read "Foundation's Edge" simply because of the cover. Once I found out that it was part of a classic series, I got the previous books and read them first. That one book cover sold four books altogether.
I came to ERB through a strange route; from reading Dale Pollock's *"Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas"* - that listed Lucas's literary influences - I felt to properly understand all the nuances of Star Wars, I *had* to read the inspirations that formed its genesis. As well as ERB's Martian Series, I bought the adapted novelisations of Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, and Frank Herbert's Dune. (E E Doc Smith's Lensman saga is the next on my list)
I did a similar thing with the "Foundation" books. Another one was "Burnt Offerings," by Robert Marasco, which I read after learning that it was an inspiration for "The Shining."
I never realized that there were novelizations of Flash Gordon, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised. How are they? I'll look up the Lesman saga, as I'm not familiar with it.
Thanks for commenting!
@@TheAtlanteanArchive I remember that I wasn't all that taken with the six Flash Gordon novelisations, written under pseudonyms by Ron Goulart and Bruce Cassidy; I much preferred the novelisation of the Flash Gordon movie by Arthur Byron Cover - maybe with a re-read of them now, I'll find that I appreciate them more than I did in the late '80's.
Who needs Ewoks when you have Woola the calot? ;)
@@carebear8762 He certainly comes in handy!