Cover for Piers Anthony's "Hasan" (1979); (Pencil Prelim)

This is one of those times where I appreciate the pencils better than the finished product. Not that Enric's painting was poor, but rather, I feel that something must have been lost in its transfer to the cover of the book -- a certain amount of definition in the wings, especially. And that's really why I liked this one.

I tire of angels and similar (a Bird Princess here) depicted with perfectly-formed, pure white wings. Show me wings with the coloration of a hawk or falcon, even a peacock maybe, depending on the figure depicted. And show me feathers not immaculate and freshly formed, but those that have seen battle; a little ragged, a little split. Variety, please.

The strong pencils, the black-tipped wings, the definition between feathers, and the classic feel all really demanded I pick this up.

Piers Anthony's telling of "Hasan" had a few lives, first in the digest, "Fantastic Science Fiction - Fantasy," Dec. 1969. It was published later in hardcover format by R. Reginald/The Borgo Press in 1977. Dell picked it up for a paperback in 1979 -- the edition for which this is the prelim for the cover art. Then it was printed again in 1991 for Tor Books.

With no disrespect to the cover artists of other editions, I personally feel Enric Torres-Prat's cover was hands-down the best.

Art lovers may also detect a little influence from Maxfield Parrish's 1918 "Garden of Allah" in Torres-Prat's choice of shrubs, flowers, great stone urn, and stone-lined body of water in the foreground.