Fascinating . . .

[RathDarkblade]

As I said in the "Discworld Books" forum, Kidby's cover looks absolutely stunning. I retract my earlier guess about falling leaves, obviously. More speculation over at the Books forum! (Just speculation, no spoilers).

As for British vs. American covers - I agree. Paul Kidby's covers are amazing, full of life and little details. I love Josh Kirby's covers too - although his style was very different, his attention to detail was tremendous and it was obvious that he'd either read the books (or captured the "essence" of particular scenes) before drawing the covers. The American covers, by comparison, are drab, boring and lifeless.

I think I might be able to offer an explanation. It's not, perhaps, a particularly politically correct one, but it's all I've got. :twisted: Over the years, I have read in various sources that British-written material often gets "translated" for the American market, for whatever reason. Some - perhaps not all, but some - American publishers don't trust their readers' intelligence or feel that they have to dumb things down for their readers, which is obviously a source of great irritation for said readers. :x Luckily, us Aussies don't seem to suffer from this problem (at least, as far as Discworld books go) - we've always had Kirby's and Kidby's covers, and our Discworld-reading experience has always been enriched by that fact (at least, mine has!)

This explanation is, perhaps, rendered more plausible by the fact that Terry's always had trouble when he tried approaching Hollywood-types to render his books into films. I remember one delicious story about Mort being made into a film, where the Hollywood people basically said "We love it, it's high concept, but... lose the Death angle, guys". :doh: At least, according to L-Space wiki... :doh: I wasn't old enough back then to be on afp. Sigh...

Given all that, I think I might understand why some people would believe this story about The Madness of George III, even if it's not true. It sounds like it could be true... "A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on", according to TP's "The Truth".

Anyway, I'm digressing... let me drag away my soapbox.

 

[MrsWizzard]

Luckily the American covers aren't the only ones available to us and are typically the mass market paperback covers. We get Kidby's art to, thankfully! I've bought the past three Pratchett novels with Kidby art!

Edited to add that I don't think I've had any trouble with Harper publishers translating in the US. If I recall correctly though I did meet someone whose copy of a novel described Lady Margolotta as wearing a "sweater" whereas mine still said "jumper," so I suppose it depends on the publishing company?

Double edit to add I'll order the novel from the UK if I have to to get the proper cover art on this one!

 

[pip]

Book Depisitory will deliver the UK edition to the United States for free

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

I've had the same problem over here if I get a UK version of an American book, the editors won't spend the money on them.
Bland UK cover

USA one which I prefer and have to get from the States if Amazon UK won't supply it.

 

[hnorwood]

Any idea why what looks like a sand dollar is central on the US cover? Or will we have to wait to read the book?

 

[Tonyblack]

Any idea why what looks like a sand dollar is central on the US cover? Or will we have to wait to read the book?

It's a (we think) fossilised echinoid - commonly found in chalk and known in folklore as a shepherd's crown.

Here's a link to a simple site on the subject.

 

[hnorwood]

Here's a sand dollar.

Taken in 2002 so that's a 12 year-old's hand (my son)...

(click on the image for a bigger version)

 

[Tonyblack]

Yes, that is indeed a sand dollar.

Here are some pictures of fossilized echinoids. I would particularly draw your attention to the one on the bottom right.

 

[SpideyGirl]

Lovely artwork

 

[Tonyblack]

Here's a review of the Paul Kidby artwork for the book.

 

[mirandashell]

That's a very good review. It encapsulates what I feel about Tiffany.

I wish she'd been written when I was a young girl. I would have taken so much strength and inspiration from her. Thank you to Terry Pratchett and to Paul Kidby.

 

[Mixa]

I totally agree with you, mirandashell, in my case I’ve got the luck of growing up with her, but specially with Esk.

Great cover! :romance-heartbeating:

Mx

 

[=Tamar]

Sorry to be the curmudgeon here, but I don't like the Kidby cover. I've been an enthusiastic fan of his covers and artwork for years, but in the last few years or so, I feel he has forgotten how to draw. Specifically, he draws the same face for every character, and it's usually his own, as if he just looks in a mirror and adds different hair and hats. It started when he forgot how to draw the bridge of a nose, and has gotten worse ever since. It isn't just the faces; Tiffany is a hard-working young woman. She should have muscles in her arms. (She should at least have bones!) I will be happy to get the American cover.

 

[RathDarkblade]

Not sure about that. You can see the veins near Tiffany's hands, and her hands look pretty dirty (which accounts for her hard work). OTOH, part of her duties include midwifery, which accounts for her cleanliness. After all, no-one would employ a midwife who had filthy hands!

There's also the matter of appearances. As Granny pointed out, if you're going to be a witch, you may as well look like one. Tiffany looks quite like a young witch.

 

[Catch-up]

I've never been one to care a whole lot about what the covers look like, but the U.S. publishers certainly don't seem to put any effort into creating better covers do they? I have to agree with Tamar about the faces on the U.K. cover. Both Tiffany and the cat look off.

 

[raisindot]

Sorry to be the curmudgeon here, but I don't like the Kidby cover. I've been an enthusiastic fan of his covers and artwork for years, but in the last few years or so, I feel he has forgotten how to draw. Specifically, he draws the same face for every character, and it's usually his own, as if he just looks in a mirror and adds different hair and hats. It started when he forgot how to draw the bridge of a nose, and has gotten worse ever since. It isn't just the faces; Tiffany is a hard-working young woman. She should have muscles in her arms. (She should at least have bones!) I will be happy to get the American cover.

Even though I will be getting the British cover (because the US cover is such an amazing cop out) I do agree that this is one of Kidby's poorest efforts, just like his last two covers for Snuff and Raising Steam, which were essentially the same (someone driving some kind of vehicle under attack by baddies).

I really don't like the portrayal of Tiffany here. There's no detail, no subtlety at all. She looks like an expressionless robot, and that forward-facing "looking at the camera" pose is just creepy. For a character that is so full of life, she looks like a waxen mannequin. Everything on the cover is so perfectly and symmetrically arranged that it ends up looking like one of those awful Victorian photographs of people posing as Greek and Roman gods.

Still, the U.S. cover is such pants that the UK cover only looks better by comparison.

 

[RathDarkblade]

Pants! I've always loved that way to express disdain for something (i.e. "it's such pants"). Now I'm curious why it's become that way... any ideas? Very, very curious.

 

[raisindot]

Pants! I've always loved that way to express disdain for something (i.e. "it's such pants"). Now I'm curious why it's become that way... any ideas? Very, very curious.

I never heard of it until I joined this site and first saw it used in nearly every post by one of our most active members, who alas has moved on to Other Things.