For this latest entry in my Classic Sci-Fi Book Covers series, I’ve chosen a fairly recent (2004) edition of Roger Zelazny’s Damnation Alley. The book is a great, sci-fi action yarn about a post-WWIII America in which most of the heartland is scarred by nuclear radiation. Gale-force winds above 500 feet prevent any kind of air travel between the coasts, where the few remaining cities struggle to survive. When an epidemic breaks-out in Boston, officials in Southern California offer a tough criminal, Hell Tanner, a pardon if he will lead a convoy through Damnation Alley, a cross-continental route that bypasses the worst radiation spots. The rest of the story is a kind of post-apocalyptic Iditarod, complete with bandits, micro-hurricanes, and grotesque mutants (both human and animal), all of which Tanner must survive in order to deliver a vaccine.
If you grew up in the 1970s, you might remember the really cheesy (but fun) B-movie that was adapted from it (starring George Peppard, no less!). But even if you’re younger than that, the outlaw-turned-hero plot might seem familiar, mainly because it’s been ripped-off so many times in movies, from Mad Max: The Road Warrior to Escape from New York to Pitch Black.
Speaking of movies, Zelazny himself was probably inspired by numerous Westerns from the 1950s and 60s that used the same story. (I’m thinking of The Magnificent Seven, 3:10 to Yuma, and even The Searchers). All such tales focus on a criminal whose ruthlessness and brutality cause him to be ostracized from civilization under normal circumstances, but whose strength and cunning become indispensable in a crisis.
The idea, of course, goes back further still. Greek and Hindu epics like The Iliad and The Mahabarahta are full of instances of big, nasty warriors who must face a seemingly insurmountable gauntlet of enemies (warriors, monsters, demi-gods, etc.) and defeat them all to achieve some seemingly unattainable boon. In the process, the hero delivers his people from danger and (usually) achieves some kind of moral rehabilitation, if only after his death.
But there are a couple of key differences between modern tales like Damnation Alley and The Illiad. In ancient literature, the warrior’s violent tendencies are not a minus; they’re a plus. Paleolithic civilizations valued and glorified violent aggression even more than we do, probably because they faced real, existential threats much more often. Also, in ancient myths, it’s usually the hero himself who, seeking glory, embarks on the challenge of his own free-will. In stories like Damnation Alley, the hero (really more of an anti-hero) is compelled by others to take part in the saga. In the end, he might fight some deeper, non-selfish part of himself—or not. It all depends on the worldview of the author.
I really like this cover (by renowned comic book artist Dennis Callero) because it highlights the book’s anti-hero—Hell Tanner—in all his badass glory. He looks like a Hell’s Angel because, according to the story, he is a Hell’s Angel (back before the world got nuked). Now, instead of a Harley, he rides a tank-like vehicle called a Landmaster, bristling with weaponry, which is shown in the background. I also like the greenish glow (of radiation, presumably) coming from the edge of the picture.
Most of all, I admire how the cover, which was probably done using some kind of digital tool, still looks like an oil painting from old days of 1960s and 70s sci-fi illustration. It’s realistic, but not photo-realistic. It looks like…art.
Ash Clifton, Writer 