jamesdoyle
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2021
- Messages
- 4
Hi guys. Just discovered this forum yesterday, and I hope that someone might be able to help me, although it's a bit a stretch, this one!
So, the book I remember is from the latter half of the 1970s, and probably 1977 on. I was between 10 and 15, so money was tight enough that I couldn't afford to buy books often, so every trip to the bookshop would mean choosing between a number of desirable books. Sometimes, a book wouldn't make the cut several times in a row, before eventually getting chosen. The one I want to find is one that never got picked!
This means of course that I've got no story clues, but what I do remember is the cover. The main feature of the cover was a guitar or similar stringed instrument, held upright in front of a landscape. Within the guitar sound hole was visible another landscape, different to the one behind the guitar. As I recall, the landscape within the sound hole was distinctively fantasy, or at least medieval - countryside with either a walled town or a castle with banners flying.
The second thing I remember about the cover is a goblin-like creature, either peering over the guitar (or holding it?), or perhaps looking out of the sound hole. I'm inclined to think it's the former rather than the latter, as I think the latter might be my faulty memory merging this with the cover of Martians Go Home.
My impression is of a light, humorous fantasy novel, possibly involving someone being taken from our world to another. I'm inclined to think 1977-79 because in my head this book was linked to the song Wonderous Stories by Yes, which is from 1977; but it could have been earlier because the bookshop I remember this from did have a habit of keeping books on the shelves for a long time, so it could have been hanging around from before then.
I'm currently wading through all the cover art on ISFDB, a bit at a time. It's a long shot, but thanks for taking a look at my request.
So, the book I remember is from the latter half of the 1970s, and probably 1977 on. I was between 10 and 15, so money was tight enough that I couldn't afford to buy books often, so every trip to the bookshop would mean choosing between a number of desirable books. Sometimes, a book wouldn't make the cut several times in a row, before eventually getting chosen. The one I want to find is one that never got picked!
This means of course that I've got no story clues, but what I do remember is the cover. The main feature of the cover was a guitar or similar stringed instrument, held upright in front of a landscape. Within the guitar sound hole was visible another landscape, different to the one behind the guitar. As I recall, the landscape within the sound hole was distinctively fantasy, or at least medieval - countryside with either a walled town or a castle with banners flying.
The second thing I remember about the cover is a goblin-like creature, either peering over the guitar (or holding it?), or perhaps looking out of the sound hole. I'm inclined to think it's the former rather than the latter, as I think the latter might be my faulty memory merging this with the cover of Martians Go Home.
My impression is of a light, humorous fantasy novel, possibly involving someone being taken from our world to another. I'm inclined to think 1977-79 because in my head this book was linked to the song Wonderous Stories by Yes, which is from 1977; but it could have been earlier because the bookshop I remember this from did have a habit of keeping books on the shelves for a long time, so it could have been hanging around from before then.
I'm currently wading through all the cover art on ISFDB, a bit at a time. It's a long shot, but thanks for taking a look at my request.
