Sunday, November 20, 2011

Fred Hoyle Cover Gallery

Sir Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) was a British scientist who made some astonishing, occasionally controversial, claims about the universe. He was a champion of the steady state theory but, coincidentally, also coined the term 'Big Bang' for an alternative theory now widely accepted. I read an article some time ago which argued that Hoyle should have received a Nobel prize but... well, read the article.

Hoyle the novelist is probably best remembered as the author of A for Andromeda, which was based on his TV series of the same name. Most of his novels were written in collaboration with his son, Geoffrey (1941- ).

Further information: SFE, Wikipedia.

The Black Cloud (London, Heinemann, 1957)
Penguin Books 1466, 1960, 219pp, 2/6. Cover by John Griffiths
---- [2nd imp.] 1962
---- [3rd imp.] 1963. Cover by John Griffiths (as 1st with diff. layout)
---- [4th imp.] 1964
---- [5th imp.] 1965
---- [6th imp.] 1967
---- [7th imp.] 1968. Cover by David Pelham
Penguin Books 0140-01466-7 [8th imp.] 1971. Cover by David Pelham (diff. to above)
---- [9th imp.] 1971
---- [10th imp.] 1973
---- [11th imp.] 1975, 219pp, 60p. Cover by David Pelham (diff. to above)
Penguin Books, 1980, 219pp. Cover by Adrian Chesterman
---- [xth imp.] 1983. Cover by Jon Harris
Penguin Book 978-0753-82710-9, 2010, vii+215pp.
Penguin Books 0141-19640-8, 2010, vii+214pp. Cover by John Griffiths [afterword by Richard Dawkins]

Ossian's Ride (London, Heinemann, 1959)
Four Square Books 317, 1961, 189pp, 2/6. Cover by Jack Kirby
New English Library, Nov 1967, 190pp, 3/6. Cover by unknown

A for Andromeda, with John Elliot (London, Souvenir Press, 1962)
Corgi Books YS1300, 1963, 173pp, 3/-. Cover: stills. TV Tie-in.
Corgi Boosk 0552-08199-X, 1969, 3/6.
Corgi Books 0552-09938-4, 1975, 174pp.
Souvenir Press 0285-63588-3, 2001, 176pp.

Fifth Planet, with Geoffrey Hoyle (London, Heinemann, 1963)
Penguin Books 2244, 1965, 221pp, 3/6. Cover by Magritte (L'Oiseau Fleur)
---- [2nd imp.] 1967. Cover as 1st with different layout.
Penguin Books 0140-02244-9 [3rd imp.] 1971. Cover by David Pelham
---- [4th imp.] 1974, 221pp, 40p. Cover by David Pelham (diff. to above)
---- [xth imp.] 1979. Cover by Adrian Chesterman

The Andromeda Breakthrough, with John Elliot (London, Souvenir Press, 1964)
Corgi Books GS7347, 1966, 189pp.
Corgi Boosk 0552-09939-2, 1975, 205pp, 45p.

October the First is Too Late (London, Heinemann, 1966)
Penguin Books 2886, 1968, 175pp. Cover by Mullins/Sampson
Penguin Books 0140-02886-2 [2nd imp.] 1971. Cover by David Pelham
---- [3rd imp.] 1973
---- [4th imp.] 1974, 175pp. Cover by David Pelham (diff. to above)
---- [5th imp.] 1975. Cover as 4th.
---- [6th imp.] 1976, 175pp, 50p. Cover as 4th.
---- [xth imp.] 1980. Cover by Adrian Chesterman

Element 79 (New York, New American Library, 1967) [Collection]
(no UK edition)

Rockets in Ursa Major, with Geoffrey Hoyle (London, Heinemann, 1969)
Mayflower 0583-11912-3, 1971, 124pp, 25p. Cover by Chris Foss

Seven Steps to the Sun, with Geoffrey Hoyle (London, Heinemann, 1970)
Penguin Books 0140-05132-5, 1981, 188pp.

The Inferno, with Geoffrey Hoyle (London, Heinemann, 1973)
Penguin Books 0140-05133-3, 1979, 170pp, 85p. Cover by Adrian Chesterman

The Molecule Men and the Monster of Loch Ness: Two Short Novels, with Geoffrey Hoyle (London, Heinemann, 1971)
(no UK paperback edition)


Into Deepest Space
, with Geoffrey Hoyle (New York, Harper & Row, 1974)
Penguin Books 4401, 1977. Cover by Peter Tybus

The Incandescent Ones, with Geoffrey Hoyle (London, Heinemann, 1977)
Penguin Books 0140-04859-6, 1979, 156pp, 75p. Cover by Adrian Chesterman

The Westminster Disaster, with Geoffrey Hoyle (London, Heinemann, 1978)
Penguin Books 0140-05301-8, 1980, 188pp.

Comet Halley (London, Joseph, 1985)
(no UK paperback edition)

The Energy Pirate, illus. Martin Aitchison (Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1982)
(no UK paperback edition)

The Frozen Planet of Azuron, illus. Martin Aitchison (Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1982)
(no UK paperback edition)

The Giants of Universal Park, illus. Martin Aitchison (Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1982)
(no UK paperback edition)

The Planet of Death, illus. Martin Aitchison (Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1982)
(no UK paperback edition)

4 comments:

  1. I remember that the Mayflower cover to 'Rockets in Ursa Major' blew me away when it appeared in 1971, turning me into an instant Chris Foss fan. I wonder if that could have been his first SF artwork?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Steve. Thanks for an interesting post, though there was in fact a UK edition of 'Into Deepest Space' which you can see here:

    http://www.penguinsciencefiction.org/20.html#4401

    All the best,

    James.

    ReplyDelete
  3. James,

    I've corrected the entry.

    And to everyone else... If you're interested in seeing more (many, many more!) Penguin SF covers, you should head over to James's website.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Phil,

    It wasn't his first but certainly it was an early one.

    ReplyDelete