Shrunken women board

A common theme in 80s horror paperbacks -- art that has nothing at all to do with the actual story they cover. Unfortunately, this is one. The story is actually about a woman, recently suffering a break-up with her boyfriend, getting involved with dark forces at her new house.

I thought this was going to be about Small World, the out-of-print debut horror novel by Tabitha King, wife of Stephen King (yes, that Stephen King). I can still see myself picking up the paperback at Waldenbooks (!) and discovering that the cover was not bullcrap but in fact a story about a woman named Dolly (get it?) using a shrink ray to work out her personal grievances and ambitions. Good luck finding a copy today.

Holy shit, I have that book! Bought it in 1984!

Olo wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 03, 2021 5:48 pm

Good luck finding a copy today.

... or, you could just read it online for free:
https://archive.org/details/smallworld00king

foreverlurk wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 03, 2021 8:03 pm

... or, you could just read it online for free:
https://archive.org/details/smallworld00king

Awesome! Thanks!

Olo wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 03, 2021 5:48 pm

I thought this was going to be about Small World, the out-of-print debut horror novel by Tabitha King, wife of Stephen King (yes, that Stephen King). I can still see myself picking up the paperback at Waldenbooks (!) and discovering that the cover was not bullcrap but in fact a story about a woman named Dolly (get it?) using a shrink ray to work out her personal grievances and ambitions. Good luck finding a copy today.

smallworld.jpg

True story: 20 years ago I ordered that book from my university bookstore's catalog. The day I went to pick it up, the girls at the counter were very nice to me until they saw the cover. The looks on their faces, I thought they were going to call the cops on me. It was so abrupt I remember walking away with my mouth hanging open. Lucky for me I was living off-campus and didn't have to share a room with anyone. Somehow I still felt dirty reading it when I got myself alone.

SirLurkALot wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 04, 2021 2:14 pm

True story: 20 years ago I ordered that book from my university bookstore's catalog. The day I went to pick it up, the girls at the counter were very nice to me until they saw the cover. The looks on their faces, I thought they were going to call the cops on me. It was so abrupt I remember walking away with my mouth hanging open. Lucky for me I was living off-campus and didn't have to share a room with anyone. Somehow I still felt dirty reading it when I got myself alone.

It's obviously a horror cover, so I suppose a random store clerk would assume that the content is lurid, but I would be very surprised if they concluded either that it was literally about a shrunken woman or that it held any fetishistic value for you.

Found these "Small World" covers, ones a spoof