New Gollancz Editions

[JohnnyBGlod]

Although I do get why people love the Josh Kirby covers, I could never get over the total disconnect of the cover with the story. It always looked like someone fed him just a few bits of information and he guessed at the rest. Guessed all wrong!

I know he had to redo the Jingo cover because he would've given away a major plot point so maybe he did read the books first.

I think he managed to capture the chaos of the Discworld. The Paul Kidby stuff is drawn well but other than Night Watch, they are quite boring. Not as bad as the American covers though.

 

[Catch-up]

No, none of them are as bad as most of the U.S. covers. They were very sterile and offered no insight into what the book was like. At least they're making an effort with them now. But, as bad as the covers were, I still picked up Small Gods and was hooked! And, Discworld never struck me as chaotic.

 

[JohnnyBGlod]

Maybe chaotic is the wrong word. I like how Kirby's covers (indeed all of his art I've seen) feels very organic and, for me, distill what each book is about without giving anything of the plot away.

I wonder if he was working on a cover for Night Watch when he passed away and if there is an unfinished version somewhere. More importantly, I wonder how much the originals sell for.

 

[pip]

Didn't he die the best part of a year before night watch

 

[JohnnyBGlod]

I can't remember to be honest.

NW was published in 2002, JK (MHRIP) died in October 2001. Pterry could have given an outline of the novel and JK could've started coming up with some ideas and put them to paper.

 

[pip]

Very possible. Not sure of how early or late in the year NW was so anything is possible

 

[Catch-up]

I think organic and distilled are a great way to describe them.

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Mega cheap hardcover of the new Pyramids under £3.00.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pyramids-Discwo ... rd_title_0

 

[=Tamar]

Mega cheap hardcover of the new Pyramids under £3.00.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pyramids-Discwo ... rd_title_0

I'm pleasantly surprised - the cover is actually quite clever.

 

[Jan Van Quirm]

Love that it has Teppic doing his finals in A-M in the background!

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Yes I got that quite good, but I still prefer the original by Josh.

 

[The Mad Collector]

It's a mark of how much people want them that Amazon has already discounted the book by 70% before it even comes out

 

[Tonyblack]

It's a mark of how much people want them that Amazon has already discounted the book by 70% before it even comes out

It's the bait to get people to buy them all.

 

[Ghost]

they get them hooked then jack up the price

 

[The Mad Collector]

Well it won't work with me as I have no intention of buying yet more editions just to get a set of not very good covers

 

[DazzyDaz]

I was on the fence when I heard about these new covers.
Josh Kirby is my favourite illustrator, got all the Discworld paperbacks which are looking a bit tatty now.
Been read many times over and over the years.
I like the artwork I went to Waterstones to have a look and was impressed with the design and binding.
The printed covers are on a kind of canvas texture with bits of the design created in silver or gold foiling.
So I order them @ whsmith for 6.99 each instead of 9.99.

Very pleased with them and they look great all together in the book case.

 

[DazzyDaz]

I see Good Omens is in the new covers.

 

[Bouncy Castle]

Probably my favourite book of all time.

 

[meerkat]

I approve of that cover, even though it will not fit in with my black spines. I may even go so far as to buy it!

 

[Tyger]

I was born just around the time Maskerade was published, so by the time I came of any reasonable reading age, my dad already had the whole collection. As a result, I never really got around to getting any of the books for myself, reasoning that I could always just borrow his copies, but I figured that these new editions present the perfect opportunity to start my own Discworld collection, particularly because they cater perfectly to my semi-OCD-ish collector's genes. I keep my fingers crossed that theír sale figures will motivate Transworld to do the last nineteen novels in the same format. I'd particularly like to see Going Postal or The Wee Free Men done like this. I think they'd make for interesting covers (partially because I'd love having books the spines of which says 'Discworld: The Moist Collection').

Incidentally, are there any theories on why Good Omens has a smooth cover, unlike any of the Discworld books?