Good Cover Art Gone Bad

On the whole, I think that the cover art by Daniel Dos Santos for Green by Jay Lake (US, UK, Canada, Indiebound, review) is quite good. It’s the kind of cover art that would make me pick up the book to see what it’s about – and I think it’s something that would likely appeal to a wide-ranging audience (even though it still somewhat fails the ‘would I want people to see me reading this in public’ test).

Then, I read the book. The character featured on the cover is the main character of the novel, also named Green. Yes, she is an adolescent girl, yes she cuts her face beneath a pomegranate tree (though I don’t recall her hanging upside down). So it fits. Only in the book Green is a person of color. In the very least she has dark skin – I always pictured her with a South Asian appearance to match my perception of the country she was born in, but her descriptions in the book leaves her appearance pretty open aside from the consistent description of dark skin.

So, why is a cover that is otherwise a fairly good representation of the content of the book misleading about this small bit? I’ve seen Jay Lake mention on either Twitter or his blog that he likes the cover a lot – now is he just saying this because that’s what a good author does, or does this little inconstancy bother him. I think it would really bother me.

The assumption I jump to is that there is a perception that a person of color in the place of the nice white girl we have instead could reduce the sales of the book. True or not, that really rubs me the wrong way. If it is true, nothing is going to change until there are more people of color on covers (see Tobias Buckell’s Ragamuffin with cover art by Todd Lockwood). Or it could be that the cover artist didn’t know that Green was a person of color, which is entirely possible since he was likely given only a short excerpt to base the cover art on).

Thoughts?

John Scalzi Answers Questions Five

John Scalzi has quickly risen to become one of the most popular science fiction writers out there right now. This has lead to nomination for several high-profile awards, including wins for the John C. Campbell Award and most recently, the Hugo for Best Fan Writer – he missed winning Best Novel for The Last Colony (US, UK, Canada) by less than 10 votes. He is best known for his series of books that starts with Old Man’s War (US, UK, Canada), with his latest, Zoë’s Tale (US, UK, Canada, my review), a stand-alone set within the Old Man’s War universe. However, Scalzi is possibly even better known for his blogging at Whatever, which he has been doing since 1998.

I thank John for taking the time to participate in Questions Five.


YA – Why or why not?

JS: Seriously? I think getting kids to enjoy reading is a pretty necessary step, and also essential for genre, which lives or dies on its ability to hook readers on its product before they're old enough to be convinced by a bunch of illiterate teenage popularity mongers that reading genre isn't cool. So we really need to lay the table for young readers. Not every SF/F writer can or should write YA, but we need to make sure that those who do write YA in SF/F are really good writers.

What advice do you have to give to men in their late 30s pretending to be teenage girls?

JS: Trying to hang around actual teenage girls (say, in the mall), will get arrested and/or having you collect those delightful documents known as restraining orders. Instead, rely on those women you know who are closer to your age, and have them use their own memories of being a teenager to check your character voice. No restraining orders or arrests (unless, you know, you're just that sort of loser), and your own level of self esteem will be considerably higher, because unlike teenage girls, these female friends of yours will not look at you with an expression of vague disgust.

Fill in the blank: Kids today just don’t appreciate the value of ___. How does Zoë’s Tale reflect this?

JS: Kids these days don't appreciate the value of my mortgage, and Zoë’s Tale gives them an opportunity to correct this by sending me money. Hopefully, many of them shall do just that.

More seriously, I'm pretty sure kids today have the same level of appreciation for the value of (x) as they did in my day, which is, not much unless it's directly some aspect of their lives that they need to focus on RIGHT NOW. Being a teenager is an inherently selfish process, because being a teenager is about defining one's self. You stop being a teenager (or more accurately an adolescent) when you start seeing others and their needs on the same level of consideration as you see yourself and your needs.

Why should Zoë’s Tale be the next book that everyone reads?

JS: It doesn't have to be; I'd be happy with it simply being the next book everyone buys (and then, you know, reads at their leisure). But I do hope they read it because I'm very happy with the character of Zoë; I think in fact that she's one of the best characters I've ever written. Also, the title really does reflect the book -- it really is her story, and how, to go back to a previous question, she moves out of adolescence and toward adulthood. Plus, there's snarky dialogue, and how can you not like that.

What peculiar qualities of Ragamuffin should readers be aware of?*

JS: They should be aware that this Nebula-nominated tale of action and adventure is fully and comprehensively made of win. Is this a peculiar quality? Well, as one of only five novels nominated for the Nebula last year, it is certainly rare, at the very least.

*Astute readers will quickly realize that Ragamuffin (US, UK, Canada) was written by Tobias Buckell and not John Scalzi. This is a rather embarrassing error on my part and clear example of the trouble cutting and pasting can get you into when you don’t take the time to review. Thankfully, John was a real sport about it and we agreed to leave it as is since pimping Toby is fine thing in and of itself. It is worth mentioning that the same day Zoë’s Tale is released (August 19, 2008), Sly Mongoose (US, UK, Canada) by Tobias Buckell is also being released. Since both authors live in Ohio, some people have begun referring to August 19, 2008 as “Ohio is Coming To Kick Your Ass With Science Fiction” Day – originally declared (of course) by John Scalzi.

Review: Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell

Tobias Buckell follows up his debut novel, Crystal Rain, with an explosion of scale in Ragamuffin – we move from Caribbean-inspired steampunk/science fiction to full-blown space opera. Buckell is an action-packed, fun author of both subtly and brevity who is too often overlooked.

Ragamuffin begins by introducing Nashara, a human clone with modifications that upgrade her to ‘kick-ass’ and hold a nasty surprise weapon for the ruling alien empire, the Benevolent Satrapy. Nashara is on the run from an essentially failed mission, seeking a way to get home to one of the human dominated worlds long since cut-off from the empire. Humans have enjoyed a degree of independence as they survive on the fringes of the Satrapy, but a new policy of apparent elimination emerges as Nashara and others fight for survival. About half-way through the novel, Buckell rejoins the survivors on New Anagada from Crystal Rain and joins the two plot-lines – escalating things even further and leaving the promise of more to come in Sly Mongoose (August, 2008).

Buckell is oft lauded for a return to the roots of space opera with an interesting Caribbean spin – an adventure of the sort Hollywood drools over. This emphasizes the strength of Ragamuffin, while covering up the more subtle aspects that I found more enjoyable – battles, explosions, and general mayhem are great (and covered extensively in other reviews), but underlying these is some satisfying meat. Crystal Rain struggles with the ultimate weapon and the consequences of its use – we see both result and potential presented in various forms throughout. Ragamuffin evolves this theme further as we confront the reality of two species coming together to achieve a common goal – survival. The wrongs of the past cannot be forgotten and the way of the future is uncertain to say the least as each will do whatever they feel necessary to survive. Parallels to the world we live in are there, and in the blink of another explosion, Buckell moves on. Whatever the hope for the future is, Buckell doesn’t get there in Ragamuffin, but I eagerly await seeing where it does go in Sly Mongoose – surrounded I’m sure by explosions, war, and Pepper and Nashara kicking serious ass.

Buckell keeps things moving quickly and page counts relatively low. For me, this is a huge plus in spite of it raising a few issues. Characterization often suffers a bit for this – the main characters are generally portrayed well, others are caricatures and some leave us wanting much more. Of course this isn’t always the case as I literally applauded the death of a particularly annoying character that I suspect I wasn’t meant to applaud. At times the pacing can feel as if it moves in fits and starts and some relationships between characters seemingly spring from nowhere. But overall, these issues are minor and don’t spoil a refreshingly enjoyable read.

Ragamuffin builds on the strengths of Crystal Rain in a huge escalation of scale. These Caribbean-inspired books are loads of fun with something to offer all fans – highly recommended. 7.5/10

Related Posts: Review of Crystal Rain, Tobias Buckell Answers Questions Five

Tobias Buckell Answers Questions Five

Tobias Buckell is the author of Crystal Rain (my review) and Ragamuffin (review) along with a bit short fiction.

Tobias S. Buckell is a Caribbean-born speculative fiction writer who grew up in Grenada, the British Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has published stories in various magazines and anthologies. He is a Clarion graduate, Writers of The Future winner, and Campbell Award for Best New SF Writer Finalist.

His latest novel, Ragamuffin, was released by Tor in June and I’m very happy to have him as the inaugural author in my ‘Questions Five’ interview format. Enjoy.


If Ragamuffin were a fortune cookie, what would its fortune be?

TB: 'The power to change the destiny of humanity is within you.'

A bit deep, huh, but then, sometimes fortune cookies are, in their own self-reflexive way.

Of course, you then have to add (in bed) to the end so you get:

'The power to change the destiny of humanity is within you, in bed.'

That's a whole other book. I hear when they make the movie version of something adult directors sometimes make a porno version, so that's the fortune cookie fortune of the movie version of Ragamuffin done as a porno.

How would you interpret this fortune if were your own?

TB: Humanity's screwed if the power is within me. I just want to sit in my office and write more books. Seriously, I'm really boring like that. I grew up in the middle of the invasion of Grenada, my life has had enough adventure, I like my little home office.

How do you picture the ‘natural habitat’ of Ragamuffin?

TB: Hopefully, reader's shelves. At the very least, bookshelves of major chains, faced out by adoring minions so that awesomeness of the cover compels passersby to purchase it.

What peculiar qualities of Ragamuffin should readers be aware of?

TB: There's a black woman on the cover with a very big gun doing crazy SF-nal adventurous stuff in outer space that often have only previously been done by manly manly men with square jaws and galactic empires behind them. Apparently this doesn't sit well with some people. My advice is that they should take the cover off and buy the book anyway, but it's bad advice, because she's the main character and kicks ass all up and down the book. There's no escaping her. But at least they'll have the book, and I can forgive a lot for that!

Why should Ragamuffin be the next book that everyone reads?

TB: Dreadlocked space pirates and starships called Starfunk Ayatollah. Crazy aliens that want to destroy humanity and their quisling human enablers who can wipe your brain and turn you into mindless analog equation solvers. Caribbean planets. Giant battles in outer space. Mind-controlling aliens. Plucky young heroines. Good food. Big guns. Really big explosions. Why shouldn't it be the next book everyone reads?