The Lovers by Philip José Farmer – Startling Stories August 1952
Illustrating Philip José Farmer's landmark novella 'The Lovers' — a groundbreaking, sexuality-charged sci-fi story that shocked readers and launched Farmer's career — this cover depicts a human spaceman locked in a romantic embrace with a scantily-clad woman against a crimson alien sky. A sleek rocket ship rests on landing struts behind them while blue-green insectoid alien creatures lurk and crouch in the shadowy foreground, weapons in hand, observing the forbidden interspecies encounter with unsettling curiosity.
Forbidden love under alien skies while bug-eyed monsters close in — Farmer pushed every boundary and the cover art didn't flinch. Pure Golden Age audacity.
“TODAY'S SCIENCE FICTION — TOMORROW'S FACT · AUG. STARTLING stories A THRILLING PUBLICATION featuring THE LOVERS a novel by Philip José Farmer and THE HOUR OF THE MORTALS a novelet by Kendell Foster Crossen”
