Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover–Issue Twenty-Eight: Fantasy (Part 2)

“Do! Judge A Book By Its Cover” is a regular feature on Pop! Goes The Reader in which I pay tribute to some of the best and brightest the publishing world has to offer in the way of book cover design. This feature is inspired by Katie’s feature Cover Love on her blog One Page At A Time. The idea is being used with her gracious permission.

I think we’re all familiar with the age-old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. And you know what I have to say about that? Rubbish! Covers are an invaluable part of a book’s package. A truly great cover can tell you a lot about the novel contained within its pages. Book covers can also catch your attention and attract you to a novel you might otherwise ignore. So go ahead, judge a book by its cover – We all do it!

Well, I’m dipping my toe back into unfamiliar waters this week, and truthfully I couldn’t be happier about it. While I’m woefully unread in the Fantasy genre, if there was one thing that could inspire me to start delving into it, it would be some of these criminally creative, beautiful book covers. I was absolutely blown away when it came time to compile this week’s post and while I’ve listed a few of my favourites in particular, any single one of these covers could easily qualify. The saturation of colour was particularly pleasant. I love how bold and striking the colour and strength of designs are. They absolutely demand your attention. As always, any mistakes you feel were made in regard to the miscatagorization of a book as ‘Fantasy’ when it is not is entirely my own. Because I have very little experience with this genre I had to rely heavily on Goodreads, which has proven unreliable (at best) in the past. Some of my favourite covers this week include Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski, While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell, Illusive by Emily Lloyd-Jones, The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst, Winter Falls by Nicole Maggi, A Shard Of Ice by Alivia Anders and City of Snakes by Darren Shan.

The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin ● Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick ● Dirty Wings by Sarah McCarry

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo ● Hang Wire by Adam Christopher ● The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

The Too-Clever Fox by Leigh Bardugo ● Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre ● The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin

While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell ● Cress by Marissa Meyer ● Illusive by Emily Lloyd-Jones

The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst ● Rain by Amanda Sun ● Winter Falls by Nicole Maggi

A Shard Of Ice by Alivia Anders ● Authority by Jeff VanderMeer ● Procession of the Dead by Darren Shan

A Greater Monster by David David Katzman ● Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez ● City of Snakes by Darren Shan

Now it’s your turn! What are some of your favourite fantasy covers? Did I list one of your favourites here or is there one I forgot that just has to be included? Let me know in the comments!