Friday, January 22, 2021
Literary Reviews
  • Home
  • OUR BOOK SHOP
    • Erotic Novels
    • BEST SELLING BOOKS
    • Science Fiction Books
    • Business and Management
    • Computing and IT
    • Cooking
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults
  • Literary Review
  • Literature
  • Book Writing
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Romantic
  • Science Fiction
  • Cooking
  • MORE
    • Erotic
    • Mysteries, Thrillers
    • Literary Themes
    • Business and Management
    • Literary Agents
    • Literary Devices
    • New Books
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults Novels
    • Computing and IT
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality Novels
No Result
View All Result
Literary Reviews
Home Literary Review

Sci-fi goes minimal in Penguin’s new book series

admin by admin
August 10, 2020
in Literary Review
0
Sci-fi goes minimal in Penguin’s new book series
0
SHARES
3
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Related posts

Book Review: Princestan by Sandeep Bamzai | India Education,Education News India,Education News

Book Review: Princestan by Sandeep Bamzai | India Education,Education News India,Education News

January 22, 2021
Meet Critic Lauren Oyler: The Literary World’s Provocateur Releases a Debut Novel

Meet Critic Lauren Oyler: The Literary World’s Provocateur Releases a Debut Novel

January 21, 2021


Penguin Classics has published a new series of ten sci-fi books that aim to give the genre something of a rebrand. The books included are written by authors from around the world and span the sci-fi spectrum, from satire to dystopia, yet they are unified by striking jacket designs that throw caution to the wind as far as mainstream sci-fi aesthetics are concerned.

A world away from the busy scenes and classic iconography many have come to associate with the genre, Penguin art director Jim Stoddart opted for line drawings to present the new series. “There is perhaps a tradition for science fiction books to illustrate unfamiliar conceptualised worlds on their covers. But when judging a book by its cover, even with all the best intentions, I really feel representational depiction often doesn’t do the writing justice, and perhaps unfairly ghettoises some amazing books which should have a much broader appeal.”

The refreshingly minimal line drawings were chosen to convey the human quality at the heart of the narratives. The covers also give a moment of respite rarely seen in sci-fi visuals, with the sparse designs and pared-back colour palette leaving breathing space for readers to construct their own imagined visions.

“The Penguin Classics Science Fiction series is the beginning of a collection of some of the most creative writing out there and it felt really important to turn a corner,” Stoddart explains. “These books are existentially mind-bending and the action best takes place in the imagination. It felt right to let the role of these covers be simply to allude to the pages held within, rather than illustrate them.

“The scope of eccentric worlds and vivid new concepts in these books is vast but the thing that unifies them is the human experience. The relatively minimal line drawings used on these covers express the essence of much more complex ideas,” he adds. “They have that sleight of hand that quick sketches manage to achieve when convoluted thoughts are still skitting around the mind.”

The eclectic series features books from the turn of the 19th century and across the 20th century. “This was the era that the representational arts lost their hold on the human imagination and blossomed – almost hand in hand with literary innovation – with the aim of finding new ways of articulating deeper ideas,” says Stoddart.

Some of the covers will be recognisable to readers, with designs showcasing works by Modernist masters like Picasso, Le Corbusier and Herbert Bayer.

“There is a vivid spirit of inventiveness in each of these drawings. For instance, Herbert Bayer’s extended field of vision diagram visualises so succinctly the multiple distractions thrown by the universe at the lead character in the Strugatsky brothers’ One Million Years to the End of the World,” Stoddart says.

“Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We is possibly the very first dystopian novel, where every person must live in unforgiving glass apartment buildings and is regulated in work, life and love by the state,” he explains. Stoddart channelled this on the cover using Le Corbusier’s Modulor drawing, which the painter and architect described as a “range of harmonious measurements to suit the human scale, universally applicable to architecture and to mechanical things”.

For the cover of The Cyberiad by Stansilaw Lem, the answer came from one of the most influential artists of the 20th century: “Picasso’s search for the limits of what makes us human chimes irresistibly with the very human relationship between the book’s two machine protagonists.”

Penguin Classics Science Fiction series is out now; penguin.co.uk

Tags: BOOKminimalPenguinsScifiSeries
Previous Post

Clinical Literature Improvement Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Trends, Growth and Forecast 2020

Next Post

Review: Bombings and a disappearance fuel Parker's new novel

Next Post
Review: Bombings and a disappearance fuel Parker’s new novel

Review: Bombings and a disappearance fuel Parker's new novel

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED NEWS

Micro Businesses flourish post lockdown with the Religion & Spirituality sector witnessing a 311% uptick : Instamojo report

Micro Businesses flourish post lockdown with the Religion & Spirituality sector witnessing a 311% uptick : Instamojo report

7 months ago
11 Best New Romantic Comedies of 2021

11 Best New Romantic Comedies of 2021

1 month ago
Consumers split on attitudes towards eating and cooking at home

Consumers split on attitudes towards eating and cooking at home

2 months ago
Obituary: Oxford literary agent Felicity Bryan

Obituary: Oxford literary agent Felicity Bryan

7 months ago

Products

  • THE PATIENT MAN a gripping crime thriller full of stunning twists (JACKMAN & EVANS Book 6) £2.99
  • Superworm £5.94
  • Boy at the Top of the Mountain £6.18
  • The Invincible Company: How to Constantly Reinvent Your Organization with Inspiration From the World′s Best Business… £18.49
  • The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Tour of Britain: Take a Puzzle Journey Around Britain From Your Own Home (Puzzle Books) £9.26

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Book Writing
  • Business and Management
  • Computing and IT
  • Cooking Books
  • Education
  • Erotic
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Literary Agents
  • Literary Devices
  • Literary Review
  • Literary Themes
  • Literature
  • Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense
  • New Books
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Romantic Novels
  • Science Fiction
  • Self Help

RELATED PRODUCTS

  • The Human (Rise of the Jain) £12.07
  • The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two A: The Greatest Science Fiction Novellas of All Time Chosen by the Members… £15.12
  • The Ankh-Morpork Archives: Volume One (Discworld Anthology) £17.69
  • Cold Heart Creek: A nail-biting and gripping mystery suspense thriller: 7 (Detective Josie Quinn) £8.99
  • The World Sauces Cookbook: 60 Regional Recipes and 30 Perfect Pairings £12.51

PRODUCT CATEGORIES

  • Best Selling Books
  • Erotic
  • Science Fiction Books
  • Cooking
  • Business and Management
  • Education
  • Computing and IT
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Teens & Young Adults
  • Self Help
  • Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense
  • Romance Books
Literary Reviews

Follow us on social media:

Recent News

  • 25 Romantic Lesbian Love Quotes
  • A Literary Trailblazer’s Solitary Death: Charles Saunders, 73
  • From Terminator 2 to Clue: 10 of the best alternative movie endings | Film

Category

  • Book Writing
  • Business and Management
  • Computing and IT
  • Cooking Books
  • Education
  • Erotic
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Literary Agents
  • Literary Devices
  • Literary Review
  • Literary Themes
  • Literature
  • Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense
  • New Books
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Romantic Novels
  • Science Fiction
  • Self Help

Recent News

25 Romantic Lesbian Love Quotes

25 Romantic Lesbian Love Quotes

January 22, 2021
A Literary Trailblazer’s Solitary Death: Charles Saunders, 73

A Literary Trailblazer’s Solitary Death: Charles Saunders, 73

January 22, 2021
  • Home
  • OUR BOOK SHOP
  • Literary Review
  • Literature
  • Book Writing
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Romantic
  • Science Fiction
  • Cooking
  • MORE

© 2020 literaryreviews

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • OUR BOOK SHOP
    • Erotic Novels
    • BEST SELLING BOOKS
    • Science Fiction Books
    • Business and Management
    • Computing and IT
    • Cooking
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults
  • Literary Review
  • Literature
  • Book Writing
  • Kindle Publishing
  • Romantic
  • Science Fiction
  • Cooking
  • MORE
    • Erotic
    • Mysteries, Thrillers
    • Literary Themes
    • Business and Management
    • Literary Agents
    • Literary Devices
    • New Books
    • Self Help
    • Teens & Young Adults Novels
    • Computing and IT
    • Education
    • Religion & Spirituality Novels

© 2020 literaryreviews

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In