Isaac Asimov?
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Whelan and Frazetta are my favorite sf/f artists as well... Though I do have a nostalgic fondness for the exceedingly-old-school covers they had in my youth:
Those are cool, and so are the famous Chriss Foss covers of the 70s.
This is the cover I have: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000G6657A/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
This is one of the best covers of all time:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-m...tImageID=mo2SGMTAU7F2QVY&action=setImg&page=0
RAMA
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My mom has that set.Whelan and Frazetta are my favorite sf/f artists as well... Though I do have a nostalgic fondness for the exceedingly-old-school covers they had in my youth:
Excuse me? Where'd you find that brush you're painting with? The Moon... is a great little book about a revolution. Every revolution has a philosophy driving it-even if its just "more bread". To say the only fans are "libertarians" is an injustice-I'd say the fans of the story are sci-fi aficionados.
Ah, yes, Whelan's cover for the paperback edition of Foundation's Edge. Never did have any idea what the cover meant in relation to the novel's story. Doesn't stop me from loving it, though.
Ah, yes, Whelan's cover for the paperback edition of Foundation's Edge. Never did have any idea what the cover meant in relation to the novel's story. Doesn't stop me from loving it, though.
Symbolic...covers don't have to be specific scenes. It makes man and his works pale in comparison to time and the universe...evoking images of failed empires such as Rome.
RAMA
Michael Whelan's Works Of Wonder is out of print, but I highly recommend tracking down a copy. It not only includes a ton of his cover art, but also an essay to go with each in which he explains his thought processes-- and the guy puts a lot of thought into his art. He explains all the symbolism of the Foundation covers, as well as the elements that tie them together. Great book (as is The Art Of Michael Whelan, also sadly out of print).Ah, yes, Whelan's cover for the paperback edition of Foundation's Edge. Never did have any idea what the cover meant in relation to the novel's story. Doesn't stop me from loving it, though.
Symbolic...covers don't have to be specific scenes. It makes man and his works pale in comparison to time and the universe...evoking images of failed empires such as Rome.
RAMA
Personally, I was trying to stick with the works that I regard as part of the mostly coherent Robots/Empire/Foundation series - but even then, I, Robot and Foundation's Friends (which, admittedly, isn't by Asimov but just inspired by his writing) are pretty much entirely short stories.
My favorite short stories by Asimov are the ones based on his spoof paper, "The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline" - but they don't seem to fit into the aforementioned continuity. (Unless maybe one chose to relate them to The End of Eternity somehow?)
I have that copy of Foundation and Empire, actually.
My Foundation books have the late 80s/early 90s Tim White covers, which are OK. But my mid-80s Robots books (I read them before I got round to the Foundation novels) have Chris Foss covers. You're absolutely right; they're very cool indeed.
I did'nt discover asimov till high school. and met once during my freshman year at jr. college. in 91 got him to sighn my foundation books. said I was the only student who brought his sci fi material to class. I told him he was the reason I took the class.
planning on rereading the entire series soon. Here's what I am missing in e form:
robots and empire
prelude to foundation
forward to foundation
all so would love to see robot city in e form and robots and aliens.
planning on rereading the entire series soon. Here's what I am missing in e form:
robots and empire
prelude to foundation
forward to foundation
all so would love to see robot city in e form and robots and aliens.
That is an awesome cover, one of Whelan's best ever, and that's saying something... I think my fav of his is the cover of Stormbringer, though...
What is he standing on-- the ruins of Castle Grayskull?
Elric vs. He-Man: "By the power of -- akkk! My soul!"
I received Foundation's Edge with that cover when I was a teenager, but the fact that it was my first exposure to Foundation, coupled with the nonrelevant cover, coupled with the fact that the book was a mite... slow... kept me from ever really getting interested in the series. I still haven't read all of them. Someday, maybe.
My only exposure to He-Man is Robot Chicken. 
I also have this venerable SF Book club edition:
...which has the classic author photo on the back:
Ah, yes, Whelan's cover for the paperback edition of Foundation's Edge. Never did have any idea what the cover meant in relation to the novel's story. Doesn't stop me from loving it, though.
Symbolic...covers don't have to be specific scenes. It makes man and his works pale in comparison to time and the universe...evoking images of failed empires such as Rome.
RAMA
I always figured/thought that it was basically showing Trevize as the Lightning Rod... with the whole galaxy basically going to follow his decision.
Of course, that's after finishing/reading the story.
But yes -- in either case, highly symbolic and a great cover.
Cheers,
-CM-
This is the set that I have, too. I inherited it from my dad.Whelan and Frazetta are my favorite sf/f artists as well... Though I do have a nostalgic fondness for the exceedingly-old-school covers they had in my youth:
Ah, yes, Whelan's cover for the paperback edition of Foundation's Edge. Never did have any idea what the cover meant in relation to the novel's story. Doesn't stop me from loving it, though.
According to Whelan's site, Asimov said this about that cover: "It seems to me to be rather marvelous to be able to illustrate not a concrete scene but an abstract imponderable, and in such a way that it seems to brighten and deepen the book even to the writer himself."
The only problem I had with the cover is that it made me imagine a book so amazing and epic I don't think it could have been written.
I've always liked Asimov, and I've read a lot of his fiction and non-fiction. I enjoy his writing style; he writes the way I think, with lots of conversation and not much visual description.
I think my first Asimov book was Adding a Dimension, a collection of his science essays. I was maybe 10 years old, looking through the library's children's section, and Adding a Dimension had been misfiled there. I couldn't take it out, but I had my mother take it out for me.
I think my first Asimov book was Adding a Dimension, a collection of his science essays. I was maybe 10 years old, looking through the library's children's section, and Adding a Dimension had been misfiled there. I couldn't take it out, but I had my mother take it out for me.
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