Science fiction cover art has a bad reputation. Not without reason: much of it is pulpy, overly brash, or just plain scary — it’s kind of the name of the game. Yet there are also plenty of science fiction novels and collections that buck the trend and manage to be not only palatable to those that (for instance) love the insides but hate that naked green woman on the cover, but downright gorgeous. After the jump, a selection of some of the best, from vintage paperbacks to new and shiny hardcovers. Don’t see your favorite here? Do everyone a favor and add it to the list in the comments.
The Melancholy of Mechagirl, Catherynne M. Valente, art by Yuko Shimizu
The Separation, Christopher Priest (part of this lovely set of redesigns)
The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate, Ted Chiang
The Islanders, Christopher Priest
Wild Seed, Octavia Butler
Another version of Wild Seed, Octavia Butler, equally gorgeous
Thuvia, Maid of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Collected Stories of Carol Emshwiller, Carol Emshwiller
Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood
Another lovely version of Oryx and Crake
Trafalgar Angélica Gorodischer
The Unreal and the Real, Vol 2., Ursula K. Le Guin
What I Didn’t See, Karen Joy Fowler
Aurorarama, Jean Christophe Valtat
A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
Beauty Belongs To The Flowers, Matthew Sanborn Smith, art by Yuko Shimizu
The Tar-Aiym Krang, Alan Dean Foster, art by Dean Ellis 1972
The Dancers of Noyo, Margaret S. Clair
The first edition of Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
And the even lovelier version we all know.
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne (hey, it was sci-fi at the time)
Red Planet, Robert A. Heinlein
The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World, Harlan Ellison
The Alchemy of Stone, Ekaterina Sedia
Consider Phlebas, Iain M. Banks
Rainbow’s End, Vernor Vinge
Star Maker, Olaf Stapledon
The Drowned World, J.G. Ballard