The Rings of Saturn by Isaac Asimov

The Rings of Saturn by Isaac Asimov

Originally published in 1958 under the title Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn, this is the final book in Isaac Asimov’s Lucky Starr series. Because these books were targeted at juvenile readers, Asimov initially chose to publish the titles under the pseudonym Paul French. While many readers suspected that Asimov was behind the series, he did not admit to being Paul French until after the books were completed.

One of Asimov’s goals in writing the Lucky Star series was to introduce scientific concepts to young readers. The books introduce a number of astronomic concepts and scientific theories. Later editions of the book, including this one, include a preface that acknowledges the new scientific discoveries that were made after the book was written. The protagonist of the books was based on Asimov’s son David.

This edition, published by the New English Library in 1974, is the first version of The Rings of Saturn to remove Lucky Starr from the title. Although this is the sixth book in the series, the back blurb describes it as “The fifth novel in the extra-terrestrial odyssey of David Starr.” Later editions corrected this error.

The moody cover art was created by Ray Feibush, a British artist that frequently worked with the New English Library. Feibush painted covers for many sci-fi greats during this time, including Robert A. Heinlein and A. E. van Vogt. He also provided cover art for Stephen King’s Carrie.

While Feibush worked on numerous covers over the course of his career, he didn’t stick to books exclusively. He painted several LP covers, including the cover for Milhaud’s La Création du Monde, for which he won a Music Week design award. He also worked as a technical illustrator for a number of years.

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