Perspectives

I've always known that the cover art of a book influences my reading of said book (and indeed, often if I even pick up that book or not). I'd never give it much thought regarding short fiction, because I've rarely had any of my short fiction illustrated. That changed with "The Final Voyage of La Riaza," which Interzone published with half a dozen illustrations from artist Doug Sirois. I'm on record as being impressed with the quality of the illustrations Sirois turned in. He's very talented. I particularly love the chart room scene, with Diego Brazos and Capitan Ancira. I want an orrery like that!

But some of the other scenes weren't entirely accurate. Not that I'm complaining--I'd love the chance to have Sirois illustrate another of my stories someday. But as "La Riaza" was a swashbuckler in flying airships, he drew the ships as, well, 18th century ocean-going vessels flying through the air. Which is cool imagery, no doubt, but the ships in my story are closer to 18th century zeppelins (or dirigibles, you you want to be a stickler). I've got a things for zeppelins/dirigibles, you see (No, really?). No matter, I thought. The illustrations won't effect the story. And they're pretty, too.

While the majority of opinions regarding my story have been, thankfully, positive,
more than one specifically stated that the ships weren't dirigibles. That couldn't be right, I thought. Was I unclear in my writing? I thought I'd taken great care to describe the cigar-shaped, canvas-hulled craft as a zeppelin-like airship in the opening section without actually using those words.

Diego took the elevator wheel, then rang out the “cast off” signal. Immediately, La Riaza drifted back with the wind. The loosed mooring lines slipped free of the towers, quickly pulled in and stowed by airmen in the bow and stern. The silver ship rose smoothly into the sky. Emerald striping ran along the lines of the ship’s ribs from the folded masts and rigging at the bow to the low-slung pilothouse and horizontal, boxy complex of rudders and elevators at the stern.

Granted, I never use "cigar" or "torpedo" to describe the actual shape of the vessel, but I thought there were enough clues to tip the reader off that this was a dirigible, and their imagination would fill in the rest. Apparently not. The (thankfully few) negative reviews seem to have accepted the "magic flying pirate ships" reading of it as well, and not been impressed.

The next one I write in this sequence, I'll have to take extra care to leave the ship's form wholly unambiguous. Maybe put in something along the lines of:

The great ship looked like an enormous, airborne phallus; the imposing helio-filled hull was little more than thin silver canvas stretched over a complex skeleton of timber ribbing running the length of the vessel. Count von Zeppelin would be proud of this alternate-reality incarnation of his creation, that is, if he were still alive and willing to read English-language speculative fiction.

That might actually do the trick... unless there are more flying magic pirate ships in the picture, that is. ;-)

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