The Wayfaring Covers – Beautiful World of Books

We’re deep into Scifi Month by now (something I keep forgetting exists when I schedule these things)—so I figured it’s time for an actual science fiction series to make the covers round here. And what better series to feature than the new master of the genre, Becky Chambers?

To Be Taught, If Fortunate

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My Review of To Be Taught, If Fortunate

While this isn’t a Wayfarers’ book, I decided that it was close enough, taking place in a totally new solar system and dealing with some hard issues not often addressed in space opera. Also it serves as a good warm-up to the main event as while these two covers do show their differences up front, they’re much more similar than the other UK and US versions below.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

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Here we have three covers: the UK edition published by Hodder & Stoughton, the US edition courtesy of Harper Voyager, and the self-published original from CreateSpace. It’s clear how much the US covers take after the Selfpub one—a theme that will continue—while the UK edition goes in a much different direction, simply featuring a lone humanoid beneath the night sky.

A Closed and Common Orbit

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These two are much closer, but still retain the original style of those before them, particularly where the title and colors are concerned. Think I prefer the UK one here, but it’s really a tough call.

Record of a Spaceborn Few

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The third entry once again showcases two radically different styles, each of which are vibrant and noticeable in their own right. I don’t even have a favorite here. Even though I own the US edition, I’d happily have paid for the UK one instead!

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

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My Review of The Galaxy and the Ground Within

Again, both eye-catching and noticeable despite the different styles. Where the US version once again goes with a variety of would-be spaceships, the UK sticks to what it does best—photos of the universe at night. Think again I prefer the UK version, but they’re both quite good. Unlike the story, which was the weakest by far…

And those are the covers for this week! Have a favorite? Don’t care? Have you read any or all of them? I’d mostly recommend this series (with the possible exception of #4).