Future Classics?
20070828 02, originally uploaded by abrinsky.
Gollancz has posed a question for readers with its latest promotion. It has re-released and re-jacketed eight bestselling novels and asked are they Future Classics?
They are:
Richard Morgan, Altered Carbon
Greg Egan, Schild’s Ladder
Alastair Reynolds, Revelation Space
Christopher Priest, The Separation
Paul McAuley, Fairyland
Dan Simmons, Hyperion
Greg Bear, Blood Music
Stephen Baxter, Evolution
Strangely, though it might not be strange considering the amount of the books that are out there, I’ve only read Revelation Space (great book), another book by Greg Bear (Darwin’s Radio) but not Blood Music and I’ve got Altered Carbon. Most of the others I’ve heard of.
One month after launch it seems to have caused a little controversy over at Torgue Control due in part to the lack of women in the selection. It makes for interesting reading especially the comments from Simon (the editor) on some of the choices made.
He also takes part in an interview over at uksfbooknews.net:
“The key thing for us is that the vast majority of those readers will be new to each author, perhaps even to the genre itself – the promotion is all about getting these books displayed in ways or in places they may not have been before. Once that has happened we can, I think, rely on the covers being eye-catching; hopefully that will get the books brought and then the respective writers have a chance of their own writing winning them new readers.”
And they are eye-catching. Each cover relies on the wordless cover to attract the reader if they’re in their stand or on tables or front facing. But not only are the covers wordless they have unique features.For example Evolution is fury and Fairlyland has rainbow ink in the veins.
The other thing about the covers is that they are designed to attracted not only new readers to each author but also readers who are usually put off by their usual genre covers. I could quite happily be seen reading these, but then I don’t mind being seen reading the children’s covers of Harry Potter.
Each title is selected as a classical example of each of the authors. So next time I’m in the mood for some sci-fi this looks like a good place to start.
Though stocks are limited to the promotion so once they’re gone they’re gone!
Gav,
Thanks for this.
The bit about limited stocks is not strictly true. If the books sell out and have a good monthly rate of sale we would reprint (as we have done with some of the previous SF4U titles). In that instance the book would carry on with two editions - Future Classic and original edition.
Hi Simon,
Thanks for popping by and clearing that up. I read the words ‘limited promotion’ and by poor brain did the rest.
It’s good to see sci-fi getting a push to a wider audience.
I haven’t read any of those… I’ll have to look into them.