Saturday, August 4, 2012

When the Devil Left His Porchlights On

Satan's Manor, a paperback original from Leisure Books by someone with the utterly unassuming name Mark Andrews (doubtless a pseudonym and stuck at the top almost as an afterthought). Which one would you rather read: the original at top, or the 1983 reprint? I absolutely adore the '77 version - go figure - even though it features no monsters or demons or satanic ladies. The sanguine color scheme, the towering title carved in stone, the foreboding house itself, that squelch of lightning... dig it all. Truly an abode for evil. Meanwhile the reprint? I got nothin'.

 

9 comments:

Sidney said...

I kind of like the second one.

Will Errickson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Will Errickson said...

Well, true, I've seen plenty worse - but based on the title illustrations themselves, I gotta go with the original.

Nathaniel Katz said...

Oh, the original without question. The title and the house together are damn imposing.

Zwolf said...

I've got the second one, and I like the cover, but the top one is definitely different, so it's got that "I haven't seen anything quite like this" appeal to it.

Haven't read the book yet, so I'm not sure how the actual novel is...

Kasia S. said...

I just bought two books Eyes and Satan's Manor from your posts alone, great picks as usual!

kas

cl said...

The original. Yay for Satan's Manor!

Unknown said...

Inclined to agree the original cover is more eye-catching. The monolithic styles feels so saturated by the time in which it was published.

Marina said...

I found a copy of the 1977 edition. It is definitely a standout cover. I love it!