FROM THE GREAT LIBRARY OF DREAMS 139 - Sredni Vashtar by Saki

A sinister but darkly humorous tale of a small boy and his unusual pet, which may, or may not, be a god...

DIRECT DOWNLOAD -  Sredni Vashtar by Saki

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HYPNOGORIA HOME DOMAIN 

COVER ART-ROCITIES #28

The world of 1970s paperbacks brought the world of terrible books two things. Firstly a slew of witchy, occult flavoured novels that not only boldly stepped onto Dennis Wheatley's turf, but were also an excuse for writing saucy smut. Secondly however the end of the decade saw the beginnings of novelty formats - embossed fonts, foil stamped titles, and most gloriously of all, the double page art spread just inside the cover! 

And this pair would meet spectacularly in this edition of Jane Pankhurst's Isobel - saucy cover and then open it up and get this paperback equivalent of a heavy metal gatefold sleeve! This demented and gorgeous art was the début of Rowena Morrill, who would go on to be come a highly respected illustrator! 

Yes Virginia, there is a crocodile pretending to be a jawa with a boob out! 

COVER ART-ROCITIES #27

As it's World Book Day, I thought it only fitting for this entry to have one of my favourite books that also features an infamously terrible cover! Yes, it's the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual! Of course, you could have read that on the cover reproduced above but I thought I'd mention it as you might have been distracted by the myriad of *ahem* delights swarming on it.. And it IS a very distracting cover with many prospective readers wondering  if that green fella - a troll by the way - was taking a crap.

Now all the early editions of Dungeons and Dragons were somewhat notorious for the variable quality of the art - on one page there might be a genuinely iconic illustration, while over on the next there would be something that at best could be only charitably described as enthusiastically rendered. But as they were the first ever rulebooks for role playing games, we can forgive them their failings as they were, a) at that point only one step above amateur publications b) intended for an audience used to such small press offerings, and c) and most importantly, they were inventing a whole new world of games here. And hence even the sketchiest and crudest drawings evoke not only a fond nostalgia in old gamers, but also bask in a well-deserved aura of historical importance.  

Now an excellent illustration of this fluctuating scale of art quality are the initial three rulebooks for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The Dungeon Master's Guide and Players Handbook both sported cover art that was immediately striking, and quickly became iconic. The Monster Manual on the other hand... Well, it was perhaps the most accessible of the core books, for after all, this was a tome that was packed full of cool monsters -  but all the same, this wasn't the book cover you'd show a newcomer to introduce them to this new and strange game you'd discovered. "Is that guy taking a shit?" they'd ask, and you'd have to hope to win them back with that much cherished drawing of the Succubus on page.... Guys, c'mon - you KNOW which page! Seriously though, there was some truly fantastic art inside - I mean look at this lovely Rahskasa (a type of tiger demon by the way) from Dave Trampier - 

However it is also interesting to note that the iconic cover for the first edition of the Dungeon Master's Guide was created by the same artist who did the Monster Manual - Mr David Sutherland III. And that's very typical of early role playing art too - often the same artist being responsible for both stunners and shockers! But as I said, these books were created by folks - ordinary gamers like you and me - who were self-publishing their new rules and learning the ropes as they went. And we should note that the Monster Manual was the first book in that series of editions to be both created and published, and if memory serves, it was the first ever big hardback book of rules too - now the standard format for rpgs. Hence by the time work began on last of the three core volumes, Mr Sutherland had a lot more experience under his belt, and consequently the DMG's cover is considered a bona fide classic - even by old grognards who still get the screaming heebie jeebies remembering queries about troll bathroom habits. 

And while, I (and many others) have often poked fun at the less then masterly composition of the cover of the Monster Manual, it still has a charm to it, a kind of magic that's all too often lacking in the glossy air-brushed covers of game books and fantasy novels these days. And its amateur stylings are part of that charm - for while from a technical point of view there is too much going on, it's that very busyness that gives you the sense of a world packed full of monsters and adventure. What's more, this cover connected with its original audience largely because it looked like the drawings they themselves were doing, or at least wanted to do. And that's a hugely important thing - for if the Monster Manual hadn't sold, we wouldn't have got the other books, and the nascent past-time of role playing games might not have ever emerged from the cloistered world of war-gaming to become a world wide phenomena - not only inspiring countless other pen and paper RPGs, but becoming an integral part of the DNA of video games too. 

Of course, over the years D&D and it's brethren have proven to be very powerful gateway drugs - not to devil worship and depravity as has been occasionally alleged by the hard of thinking - but to the world of reading in general. And more than few creative folks - artists, writers, actors and directors - first got their imaginations fired up shaking a handful of funny shaped dice to defeat the various denizens of the Monster Manual... 

   

COVER ART-ROCITIES #26

Possibly the worst ever cover for any edition of Stoker's classic! Mr Dennis Wheatley might have been a leading authority on the occult but whoever approved this cover evidently had no clue as to what Dracula was about! To this today I suspect there was a ghastly mix up at Sphere Books and somewhere there's a paperback guide to yoga with a cover featuring a fanged chap in a cape crawling out out of a coffin! 

COVER ART-ROCITIES #25

After an extended rest, we are back to wheeling out disastrous and hilarious covers of yesteryear. And we're kicking off again with another cracker... Well, what can say about this one? ...Apart from "Kill it! Kill it with fire!"

COVER ART-ROCITIES #24

PUBLISHER - OK, we have a book of on assorted folklore, legends, and spooky tales from Devon...
ART DEPT. -  Like what?
PUBLISHER - Knockers...
ART DEPT. - (excited) I'll call the modelling agency!!!
PUBLISHER - No, not like that! They are some sort of gnome apparently...
ART DEPT. - Boo! So what else?
PUBLISHER - Oh witches, ghosts, phantom hounds, that kind of thing!
ART DEPT. - Witches? Maybe sexy ones? (excited) I'll call the modelling agency!!!
PUBLISHER - Stop that!
ART DEPT. - Ok then.... Phantom hounds eh? Well, my dog terrifies the postman... Do we get an expenses paid photoshoot in Devon?
PUBLISHER - No!
ART DEPT - Scissors and random stock photos here we come!
 

COVER ART-ROCITIES #23

Sometimes there just are no words...  And yes, the actual book does feature Nazi leprechauns! 

If you must know more, see this review over at Tor 

COVER ART-ROCITIES #22

Erm phrasing... No wonder Pac Man looks sad!

COVER ART-ROCITIES #21

...to crush it flat and devour all your puny mortal souls presumably! 

COVER ART-ROCITIES #20

I swear to God I didn't make this up! 

COVER ART-ROCITIES #19

Run for your life! Oscar the Grouch has turned to the Dark Side!!!!

COVER ART-ROCITIES #18

Not entirely sure what's going on here... possibly some Faceless Man is doing a surrealistic juggling act?

COVER ART-ROCITIES #17

Nothing says 'ghost!' quite like a fox, a noose, the dagger from Cluedo, a toy knight...  Or at last that's what Pan's art director thought until his P45 arrived...

COVER ART-ROCITIES #16

Who can forget F Scott Fitzgerald's classic tale of the giant blue blanket monster ate Las Vegas?

Celebrating the mad, bad, and dangerous to look at covers inflicted on the book world

COVER ART-ROCITIES #15

Mongol General: What is best in life?
Conan: To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their art department directors! Ha! Puny mortals! Conan is so mighty he disregards such decadent civilized concepts such as anatomy and proper proportions!

Celebrating the mad, bad, and dangerous to look at covers inflicted on the book world

COVER ART-ROCITIES #14

Perhaps needless to say, this collection of short tales by the late great Ray Bradbury doesn't contain one single tale about a centaur being attacked by glove puppet versions of himself!

Celebrating the mad, bad, and dangerous to look at covers inflicted on the book world

COVER ART-ROCITIES #13

If some sort of grasshopper doffing his hat to some giant seashells wasn't enough, there's the title itself!

Some one wasn't familiar with British swearing...

Celebrating the mad, bad, and dangerous to look at covers inflicted on the book world

COVER ART-ROCITIES #12

Call me a picky Holmesian purist, but I don't think that was quite what Sir Arthur had in mind....

Celebrating the mad, bad, and dangerous to look at covers inflicted on the book world

COVER ART-ROCITIES #11

The Undying Monster was first published back in 1922, and was made into a movie of the same name back in 1942 (see Hypnobobs 86  for more details). And this tale of a lycanthropic curse was popular enough to remain in print until the '70s and the dawn of the age of the photo cover... Bit unfortunate that really...

Celebrating the mad, bad, and dangerous to look at covers inflicted on the book world

COVER ART-ROCITIES #10

Because nothing says 'dystopia' quite like a bunch of farmers beating up a giant Mr Potato Head...

Celebrating the mad, bad, and dangerous to look at covers inflicted on the book world