A FAR SUNSET

Coronet paperback, 1979. Cover artwork by Chris Foss.

Rear cover/synopsis.

CHRIS FOSS' DESIGNS FOR JODOROWSKY'S DUNE

"...suddenly in a bookshop in the pages of an English magazine I found splashed in a thousand colours what I had believed impossible to depict. These spaceships that pleased and moved me were Chris Foss'. I covered the studio walls where I was preparing the film with his works. All masterpieces. I hired various sleuths to track him down. You see, in those heady days I had power! I had a multi-million dollar commitment behind me: a commitment that remained unfulfilled. I had it in my power to call upon the best brains of our generation to collaborate on a project that was to give a messiah to the world. Not a human being, but a film. A film that would be out master. Dune had made me its apostle; but I needed others, and one of these was Chris Foss."

-Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Spice Container.

Pirate ship spilling Spice.

Guild Merchant ship.

The Emperor's Palace.

Spacing Guild tug (for pulling Spice Containers).

Duke Leto's Car.

ANYWHEN

Arrow paperback, 1978. Cover artwork by Chris Foss.

Rear cover/synopses.

A TORRENT OF FACES

Arrow paperback, 1978. Cover artwork by Chris Foss.

Rear cover and synopsis.

VISIONS OF THE FUTURE: AN EXCITING AND NOVEL SELECTION OF SCIENCE FICTION ART OF TODAY

It's books like this that make me wish I had an A3 scanner. Actually, I do own one, but it's old (Windows 95/98) and only has a SCSI cable, which I don't think any of my PCs have had since 2005. Anyway... this is a large format paperback book published in 1976 featuring content previously featured either in New English Library's Science Fiction Monthly (an A3 sized poster magazine that run from the mid to late 1970s), or the covers of NEL's line of SF paperbacks. Artists featured include Brent Armstrong, Jim Burns, Gary Chalk, Gareth Colman, Lucinda Cowell, Gordon C. Davies, Roger Dean, Emlyn Duffy, Ray Feibush, Chris Foss, C. Foster, Bob Fowke, Bob Haberfield, David Hardy, G. W. Harrison, Colin Hay, David Higgins, P. Jepson, Josh Kirby, Bob Layzell, Mike Little, Brigid Marlin, Ian Miller, Kristine Nason, Michael Payne, David Pelham, Bruce Pennington, Time White and Chris Yates. There is a little biographical info on each, ranging from a line (date of birth, country) to whole pages. There's also an introduction by A. E. van Vogt.

The back cover, featuring the work of Karel Thole, who is not in the book, unfortunately. 

Rear-cover guff: 

"These imaginative visions of the future have all been culled from the pages of Science Fiction Monthly, Britain's top-selling sf colour magazine. They represent the work of established illustrators like David Pelham, Roger Dean, Bruce Pennington, David Hardy and Chris Yates and also the best of the new sf artists who have been featured over the past two years. Their range of interpretation and expression is quite exceptional - from the mysteriously innocent idylls of Bob Fowke, through the meticulously detailed space hardware of Chris Foss to the bizarre worlds of Ray Feibush. Like all good artists, they challenge us to think twice about our assumptions - whether the world of two hundred (or two million) years from now will be the technological heaven the scientists have promised, or whether it will be a nightmarish landscape in which we and our values have been hopelessly lost to the superiority of other civilizations 'out there'. As A.E. van Vogt says in his introduction, these pictures represent 'a new and remarkable. . .contribution to the slowly shifting balance of the human psyche as it once more tries to confront reality.' Through the airbrush and the photo-collage these artists tell us about ourselves and our place in the universe. At the same time they give us much of the fun of sf it has come down from the world of pulp fiction - bug-eyed monsters, rayguns, gigantic space battleships and fantastic planets. Their approach is wide-ranging and open, as it should be in tackling a world which looms nearer every day."

"Beyond Bedlam" by Jim Burns.

Painting for "Early Asimov 3" by Chris Foss.

Painting (detail) for Hughes Cooper's "Sexmax" by C. Foster.

"Purple Gas" by David Higgins.

"Invasion" (detail) by Bob Layzell.

"The Rat Catcher" by Ian Miller.

Painting (detail) by Bruce Pennington for M. John Harrison's "The Pastel City".

NOW WAIT FOR LAST YEAR

Granada / Panther SF paperback, 1979 reprint. Cover illustration
by Chris Foss.

"ONLY ONE MAN COULD SAVE THE WORLD, AND HE WAS DEAD. AGAIN. 

Once Gino Molinari, elected leader of Earth and supreme commander of its armed forces in a war against the reegs, had been assassinated by a political rival. The second time he had a heart attack while negotiation a surrender to the enemy. But now he was back, younger and more vigorous than before, giving Earth new hope in its battle for survival. 

Had he really died? Was an artificial Molinari - a robant - masquerading as the overlord of Earth? And what about the men from Lilistar, supposedly Earth's allies? Come to that, what about the reegs, supposedly Earth's enemies? One way and another, the Solar System was in bad trouble - and Molinari was the only one who could get it out of the mess it was in. If he could stay alive long enough. Or at least not stay dead too long..."

ECLIPSING BINARIES

Granada paperback, 1984. Cover illustration by Chris Foss.

The evil conspiracy of Lady A takes a new and mysterious turn when Grand Duke Zander von Wilmenhorst - the secret head of SOTE - is implicated in a deadly plot against the Empire. And an enemy is impersonating Jules and Yvette d'Alembert and luring SOTE agents to their deaths. 

The trails lead the Family d'Alembert out into deep space to tackle the source of this disturbing operation. And Etienne d'Alembert has his own mission - to clear the name of Zander from accusations of treason. Before long, SOTE's top agents are locked in mortal combat with some of the Empire's most powerful foes... 

Eclipsing Binaries is the eighth exciting novel in the spectacular space adventure series whose heroes are the Family d'Alembert.

PLANET OF TREACHERY

Granada paperback, 1981. Cover illustration by Chris Foss.

"CHAOS CLOSES IN ON THE EMPIRE OF EARTH 

In an Empire of intergalactic proportions, some space piracy is only to be expected. But not on the massive scale of the operation that is now beginning to cause havoc across the whole of the known Universe. There is only one organization that could be behind such an immense threat to the supremacy of the Space Navy - the brilliantly evil conspiracy of Lady A and the mysterious C. Their plan is nothing less than the conquest of Earth and the Empire. 

With top-secret information leaking to the enemy, only four people can be trusted with the dangerous assignment of stopping this terrifying revolution. They are Jules and Yvette D'Alembert and the spouses they have just married, Yvonne and Pias. But this time, even the extraordinary Family D'Alembert seem to have taken on more than they had bargained for... 

Planet Of Treachery is the seventh volume in the spectacular space series featuring the amazing Family D'Alembert."

THE SKYLARK OF SPACE

Granada paperback, 1979. Cover illustration by Chris Foss.

"FROM EARTH TO THE BLACK DEPTHS OF OUTER SPACE... 

Scientist Richard Seaton had discovered the secret of the complete release of ultimate energy. And his discovery gave him the key to the exploration of the Universe in all its cosmic immensity. But Seaton's arch-rival, the Powerful, unscrupulous DuQuesne, was determined to gain control of this awesome secret too. With his cold intelligence and the backing of a giant industrial combine, DuQuesne was an opponent to be reckoned with. The climax came in deep space, when Seaton, Duquesne and three others - two of them women - were marooned, countless light-years from Earth, with only one chance in a million of ever returning..."

THE CURRENTS OF SPACE

Panther SF paperback, 1973 reprint. Cover painting by Chris Foss.

"DOOMED PLANET 

They called him 'Crazy Rik' - but only he knew that they planet was doomed with all its people. The only key to the vital information that could save it was locked in the subconscious memory of this strange, child-minded man...a memory obliterated by a Psychic Probe! 

Caught in a galactic web of intrigue, Rik struggled courageously with his own blasted mind and an unknown enemy in a desperate and one-sided race with time... 

Here is a nova-bright novel of tension and adventure by the acknowledged High Master of today's science fiction, Isaac Asimov."

Panther SF paperback, 1967. Cover artist uncredited.

I'm greedy - here's another book I unwittingly bought two copies of. The 1973 one with the Chris Foss cover (which I didn't think I still had) was/is my reading copy, the 1967 edition is unbelievably free from wear and is unread.

THE CLOCKWORK TRAITOR

Panther SF paperback, 1977. Cover illustration by Chris Foss.

"Jules and Yvette d'Alembert had faced challenges before - but rarely one as daunting as this. To them fell the perilous task of infiltrating a vicious conspiracy which threatened to destroy the Stanley Dynasty and throw the whole interstellar civilization into chaos. 

Now, as rival candidates from all corners of the galaxy gather for the progress, the two most daring space super-agents of all time go into action. For among the suitors competing to be consort to the royal heiress of the empire of earth, there is a traitor. And somewhere close to the princess, a time bomb is ticking..."

KRONK

Coronet SF paperback, 1975. Cover artwork by Chris Foss.

"P 939 - the greatest venereal disease in the history of mankind 

The day Gabriel Chrome, a failed book sculptor contemplating suicide on the Thames embankment, stumbled on the suicide bid of the naked Camilla Greylaw, was a day of hopeful redemption for a corrupt and violent world. For the lovely form that he chanced to preserve was the sole carrier of a contagious venereal disease. A bug which could inhibit the aggressive instinct, rendering total placidity in all humans. At once Gabriel's life has new meaning and purpose. To save mankind becomes his hardened ambition. But mankind seems far from hope."

THE UNCERTAIN MIDNIGHT

Hodder paperback, 1971. Artwork by Chris Foss.

"They called him the Survivor - a 20th Century man 'reborn' in 2113 

After a devastating atomic holocaust, mankind had now turned to the machine to solve his problems. Which led to the androids - descended from the robot, they were hardly distinguishable from real humans. By the year 2113 they ran society - leaving man to a life of leisure. 

It was into this world that John Markham emerged after spending 146 years of suspended animation in an underground deep-freeze unit. But his new lease on life was likely to be a short one. A man with his 'outdated' ideas could be very dangerous - a fact the androids realized only too well..."

FRONTIER OF GOING

Panther paperback, 1973 reprint. Cover illustration by Chris Foss.

"POETS IN ORBIT 

The dreamers of the world, rhymers of the moon and dune, are at last looking to the stars with more than romance in mind. Until recently, the only writers who regularly used the literally universal themes offered by space travel were science fiction authors and the occasional avant-garde "wild talent" such as William Burroughs. 

Now, more and more, poets are being inspired by the fresh fields of space exploration. Mind-dazzling visions of other planets, galaxies and satellites, create new frontiers - Frontiers of Going. 

This anthology includes the best space age poetry by new and established poets- 

 George Barker, Edward Lucie-Smith, Peter Redgrove, James Kirkup, John Wain, Robert Conquest, D. M. Thomas and many others..."

FIVE TO TWELVE

Coronet paperback, second impression, 1974. Cover painting by
Chris Foss.

"The twenty-first century is drawing to an end. Earth's social structure has undergone a complete reversal - women dominate society and men have been reduced to the status of manipulated objects. Into this changed world comes Dion Quern, a self-styled troubadour who refuses to conform to the social norm. But he discovers that women are superior to men in both bodily strength and number. And how can one man hope to change a whole society?"

THE VISUAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION

Pan books paperback, 1977. Cover painting by Tim White.

 "A DOCUMENTED PICTORIAL CHECKLIST OF THE SF WORLD - CONCEPTS/THEMES/BOOKS/MAGS/COMICS/FILMS/TV/RADIO/ART/FANDOM/CULTS/PERSONAL COMMENTARIES BY THE GREATEST NAMES IN SF WRITING ... EDITED BY BRIAN ASH THIS ENCYCLOPEDIA INCLUDES COMMENTARIES FROM: BRIAN W. ALDISS/POUL ANDERSON/ISAAC ASIMOV/J.G. BALLARD/JOHN BRUNNER/KEN BULMER/ARTHUR C.CLARKE/LESTER DEL REY/PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER/HARRY HARRISON/FRITZ LEIBER/LARRY NIVEN/FREDERICK POHL/KEITH ROBERTS/JOSEPHINE SAXTON/ROBERT SHECKLEY/A.E.VAN VOGT/JAMES WHITE/JACK WILLIAMSON."

Painting (no title given) by Bob Layzell.

Illustration by Ian Miller for the Pan edition of Simak's The Werewolf Principle.

Painting by Angus McKie for Clark Dalton's The Thrall Of Hypno.

Painting by Chris Foss for City Of Illusions by Ursula K. Le Guin.

Illustration by Hannes Bok for Roger Zelazny's A Rose For Ecclesiastes.

Beyond The Solar System by Chesley Bonestell.

SCIENCE FICTION MONTHLY VOLUME 3 NUMBER 3 1976

Cover painting: Paladin by Roger Dean.

Painitng by Chris Foss for Perry Rodan's The Planet Of The Dying Sun.

Painting by Robert Burton.

Painting by Mark Lowdon.

Blue Demon by Roger Dean, from his book Views.

Paladin by Roger Dean, from his book Views.

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION

Granada paperback edition, 1979. Cover painting by Chris Foss.

MASTERS OF THE VORTEX

Panther SF paperback, 1973. Cover painting by Chris Foss.

"RUNAWAY FIREBALL! 

A churning nuclear vortex, appearing out of nowhere, wreaking utter destruction - and countless numbers of them were menacing planets throughout the galaxy! 'Storm' Cloud, nucleonic genius, set out in his spaceship Vortex Blaster to track and destroy the mysterious vortices - and embarked on a saga of discovery and conflict among the far stars and the worlds of the Lensmen... 

Masters Of The Vortex (original title: The Vortex Blaster) is the seventh and last self-contained novel in E. E. 'Doc' Smith's epic Lensman series, one of the all-time classics of adventurous, galaxy-spanning science fiction."

CHILDREN OF THE LENS

Panther SF paperback, 1979. Cover painting by Chris Foss.

"Armageddon For The Universe 

It was beginning to look as though no one could prevent the annihilation of the civilized Universe. For a weird intelligence was directing the destruction of all civilization from the icy depths of outer space. Kim Kinnison of the Galactic Patrol was one of the few men who knew how near the end was. And in the last desperate stratagem to save the universe from total destruction, he knew he had to use his children as bait for the evil powers of the hell-planet Ploor... 

Children of The Lens is the sixth self-contained novel in E. E. 'Doc' Smith's epic Lensman series, one of the all-time classics of adventurous, galaxy-spanning science fiction."