These Early-'90s 'Futuristic' Romance Covers Are Stunning and Wondrous
In DepthHistorical romance covers of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s are instantly recognizable—a triumph of design, frankly. But equally striking are the covers for these science fiction romance stories from the period. In 3034, we won’t need spacesuits, just pants and rippling abs. The future looks bright!
Science fiction romance has never been quite as enormous as, say, historical romance. But that’s not to deny that there’s a tenacious core of enthusiastic readers and writers going back decades. For instance: All these early ‘90s releases from Dorchester Publishing, from their line branded “Futuristic Romance.” The tagline: “Love in another time, another place.” Each cover hews to a pretty neatly defined look—and that look is trippy as hell.
It would be easy to razz covers so light on fabric and heavy on eyeshadow and just magnificently dated. But it’s actually beautiful to see women seizing the tropes and visual style of something as dude-dominated as Golden Age science fiction and repurposing them for a genre that revolves around female pleasure.
Denim jeggings! Blue eyeshadow!
The plot sounds amazing:
A privileged passenger on the skyliner Moon Courier, Alena Yor was waiting for the journey to end and her new project as a high-ranking cartographer to begin when she first met virile officer Garner Rie. Handsome and courageous, Garner intrigued Alena like no man had before. But surrendering to his touch would mean nothing but misery for them both. For any contact between the lowly officer and the highborn beauty was strictly off-limits in their rigid world—and Alena had been raised to play by the rules. But when the ship’s systems failed and they were forced to evacuate, Alena found herself in Garner’s strong arms, hurtling toward an unknown world.
Funny how the fashion of the future looks like skimpier ‘80s pageant-wear. (Just imagine the innovations in sparkle technology that await us.) Those earrings, though!
The back cover says:
The message was explicit—no other man would do but the virile warrior. Determined that Brace must join her quest, Marissa rescued him from unjust imprisonment, then nursed him back to strength, never telling the arrogant male that he was just a pawn to exchange for her sister’s freedom. But during the long, cold nights Marissa found herself irresistibly drawn to his hard warrior’s body, and as the danger-filled days flew by she knew her desperate mission was doomed to failure. For how could she save her sister by betraying the one man she could ever love?
You just don’t see a lot of leather vests and gold armbands on men anymore, a real pity. P.S. Is that Nicole Kidman?
If you see “sensual earthman” in somebody’s OKCupid bio, run like hell: