Analog Cover Jan/Feb 2021 - Odd Coincidence

[DeltaV]

Somehow I managed to skip my Jan-Feb 2021 issue of Analog. Upon taking off the wrapper, I was surprised to see the cover. I have also just
received a copy of Elizabeth Moon's second volume of the adventures of Ky Vatta (Marque and Reprisal). And the covers are the same.

I thought that the covers on Analog were unique ... commissioned by the magazine. So is it common for Analog to use artwork that has previously appeared on the cover of a book? (I don't have enough of a SF library to tell).

 

[Alex The G and T]

Interesting. Yes, same art with a tweak or two to the color values.

I subscribed to Analog, continuously, since sometime in the mid '80's until a couple of years ago.

The corrosion began when the publication was taken over by the Dell crossword puzzle/find-the-words-game empire.

Executive interest in actual "Science Fiction and Fact" and exploring strange horizons eroded rapidly. (Especially in administration of the on-line forum)

When Stanley Schmidt retired, the editorial zeitgeist faltered severely. Wassissname never wrote his own editorials and the tone of the stories suffered to the point where I ceased subscribing.

So it surprises me not that some bean-counter lackey would approve previously published public domain cover art.

I'm sad, too.

 

[mosaix]

Agree. Analog isn’t what it used to be.

 

[Bick]

You're quite right - how odd. Usually it is still original art. The next issue clearly illustrates one of that month's stories. I wonder if there was a problem with the planned artwork, and they had to scramble a replacement.

Agree. Analog isn’t what it used to be.

I actually think it is still the best SF magazine out there. Lack of readers are making its life difficult, but the content is better than most of the e-zines to be fair.

 

[DeltaV]

Whoever tweaked the colours on the Analog cover messed up with Ky Vatta's eyes ... they look downright creepy!

On Analog in general, I recently renewed for another two years. There are enough stories to keep my interest and, really, if you are a fan of slightly harder SF, where else do you go? There is the odd review in The Reference Library that prompts me to buy a book. Occasionally I find one of the fact articles informative and thought-provoking. Yeah, I agree, I can see areas where they could improve and, yeah, a few of the stories do stray from the old Analog mission statement of "Astounding/Analog has long been renowned as the bastion of "hard" SF, meaning SF that takes its science seriously."

But, frankly, it wasn't that great back in the middle nineties either (at least not for the types of stories I enjoy). Gosh, I'm going through 1996 right now and it is turning into a real slog. Again, my opinion only on what I like and don't like. I'm sure there are people that really enjoyed the near-future Earth-based SF that was so popular in Analog back then. But me, I like to be out in space. And there are enough stories in present-day Analog to scratch that itch that I keep reading, and subscribing.

 

[Bick]

What did you think of the following stories that appeared this year, in Analog, DeltaV?

Dancing on Spun Sugar by Meghan Feldman
Tail Call Optimization by Tony Ballantine
Invasive Species by Catherine Wells

I thought they were especially good.

 

[DeltaV]

Dancing on Spun Sugar by Meghan Feldman

I have not read this one yet. This issue is in my "to read" pile.

I'll put my comments on the next two in a Spoiler:

Spoiler: Story Comments

Tail Call Optimization by Tony Ballantine

'All Finns are equal but some Finns are more equal than others...'. . Even in the BoboboCedian world the same cynical principle applies. Fortunately our protagonist plays on that for its freedom. I like Ballantine's Recursion stories. He is creating an interesting universe with details and plot points to think about. I had to look up the title of the book to see what it meant and how it applied in the story. Well done. I hope we see follow up stories on the protagonist.

Invasive Species by Catherine Wells

Humans as invasive species? Oh yeah. Surprised anybody lets us share a world anywhere with our reputation! A nice story with a real twist at the end ... did not see that coming at all. My only quibble would be that I am not sure that humans could interbreed with an alien race even with one with the extensive chameleon talents of the Parsans. Unless their mimicking abilities go down to the molecular level ... perhaps then one could wonder who is the real invasive species?

 

[oranges]

Why have the most recent two issues been so late? I don't have a subscription, I've been buying them at a local independent bookstore. But the local Barnes and Noble doesn't have the most recent one, either. And they got the previous one a month late, too.

 

[tinkerdan]

I suspect that there is some connection between TOR and Analog that made this possible.
They don't just use these and toss the original--That's why you see many book covers with the same art work as some past novel.
They don't always use the artwork for the thing they commission it for.
Sometimes they don't buy all the rights, while other times they buy all the rights.
Usually they buy the rights to use the artwork however they see fit.

That doesn't make it cheap or chintzy(American definition) to reuse an artwork.