Friday, February 13, 2004
Odd sense of deja vu browsing the new releases at Barnes & Noble:
Seems odd that this kind of snafu would happen in a niche genre (in this case, dystopian cyberpunk sci-fi), especially given the high profile of the earlier book (Holy Fire) and author (Bruce Sterling), and the fact that the artwork dates from as recently as 1994.
I don’t know why that made an impression on me, but I guess I’ve always been the type to judge a book by its cover — at least when it comes to actual books! Obviously this is a deep and troubling character flaw. Then again, nobody actually asks me for book recommendations, so it’s just as well.
In the meantime: Alton Brown is on TV making homemade corn dogs with onions and jalapeños in the batter, proving once again that he is the most powerful man in America.
Comments
Oh not really. I’ve seen it happen repeatedly.
Bruce Sterling, an author
http://blog.wired.com/sterling
Okay, see, now this is where I’m wishing I’d actually mentioned that I have read (and enjoyed) Holy Fire. Wowsers.
This happens all the time. Me, I’m thrilled—it’s a gorgeous and arresting image, is emotionally right for the book, and will attract an entirely different group of browsers from the original cover. The fact that you remembered it just means that covers work.
The collage is by a terrific artist named Eric Dinyer (http://www.dreamless.com), who tells me it has been used for several covers.
Hey, I found your blog because I noticed the cover similarity too…
Get over the cover! Solitaire is brilliant :) I just finished reading it yesterday.
thats too bad. becouse the authors would want original artwork. are the two books the same? are they even related or talking about the same subject?
Wow. I guess if it’s a mirror image it doesn’t count??! The authors (both) must be kind of pissed about this.