{"id":16779,"date":"2021-12-21T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T11:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/?p=16779"},"modified":"2021-12-14T11:01:58","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T16:01:58","slug":"16779","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/archives\/16779","title":{"rendered":"The Books of 2021: Fantasy Covers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"What<\/a>What Abigail Did That Summer<\/em><\/a> (2021) Ben Aaronovitch<\/a> (Rivers of London) <\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Subterranean Press. Cover map image by Stephen Walter.<\/p>\n

Supernatural Mystery<\/em><\/p>\n

This is pretty clearly a Rivers of London book cover, but also there are plenty of signs it’s not a Peter Grant book. Like The October Man<\/em>, the title has a backing, unlike Peter’s books, and even more noticeably, the Fox Whisperer Badge, which if you read the rest of the series you know refers to Abigail.
<\/p>\n

\"Trailer<\/a>Trailer Park Trickster<\/em><\/a> (2021) David R. Slayton<\/a> (Adam Binder)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Blackstone. Cover design by Sean M. Thomas<\/p>\n

Supernatural Mystery, LGBT<\/em><\/p>\n

This is a relatively simple cover design, but like the previous book, refers to events in the book. I also think the starkness of the nearly monochrome art is fitting for the story.
<\/p>\n

Paladin\u2019s Grace<\/em><\/a> (2020), Paladin\u2019s Strength<\/em><\/a> (2021), Paladin\u2019s Hope<\/a><\/em> (2021) T. Kingfisher<\/a> (The Saint of Steel)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Paladin's<\/a>   \"Paladin's<\/a>   \"Paladin's<\/a><\/p>\n

Published by Red Wombat Studios<\/p>\n

Fantasy<\/em><\/p>\n

My guess is that the T. Kingfisher \/ Ursula Vernon designed these herself, so kudos for that!<\/p>\n

My favorite of the three is Paladin’s Grace, with the blue and green hues, but all three covers are striking, and quite clearly the same series.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

\"Out<\/a>Out of House and Home<\/em><\/a> (2021) Drew Hayes<\/a> (Fred the Vampire Accountant) <\/strong><\/p>\n

Self Published<\/p>\n

Supernatural<\/em><\/p>\n

This is another self-published author with a very distinct cover style, and all of them are good–better than some traditionally published novels, really.<\/p>\n

Fred books all have accounting papers, blood drops, an item related to the story, and the title done as an old label.
<\/p>\n

\"Cry<\/a>Cry Wolf<\/em><\/a> (2021) Charlie Adhara<\/a> (Big Bad Wolf)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Carina Press<\/p>\n

Supernatural Mystery, LGBT<\/em><\/p>\n

This series also has a distinct look to its covers. All have the elements of earth and water and wolf prints.<\/p>\n

It’s simple, but it’s also effective and I quite like it.
<\/p>\n

Daydream, Colorado: Blindspot<\/a><\/em> (2021) Mischief<\/a><\/em> (2021), Faces<\/em><\/a> (2021); A.M. Rose<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Mischief\"   \"Blindspot\"<\/a>   \"Faces\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Self Published. Cover designed by BCJ Art & Design<\/p>\n

Supernatural Romance, LGBT<\/em><\/p>\n

Seeing all three together, it’s clear that the first two books are part of a series, and the third is not.<\/p>\n

The two styles are very different, but all are good.<\/p>\n

I think the cover for Faces<\/em> especially is good, since the outlines hint at the blindness of one of the characters, but also of two people finding each other. <\/p>\n

The other series is playful and colorful, which also works well for that series.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>The Nobleman\u2019s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks<\/em><\/a> (2021) <\/strong>Mackenzi Lee<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Published by Tegen Books. Photo composite by Travis Commeau Cover design by David Curtis<\/p>\n

Historical Fantasy<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m guessing about the cover artist since I can’t find the copyright page for this book (borrowed from the library) but the design is very much like the previous two books in the series.<\/p>\n

The dress tells you immediately this is an historical, but I absolutely love the whimsy of the font and the doodled elements.<\/p>\n

This is hands-down my favorite fantasy cover of the year, and might be my favorite cover of any genre from this year.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

The Fog of War<\/em><\/a> (2021) The Quid Pro Quo<\/em><\/a> (2021) A.L. Lester <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>\"The<\/a>Published by JMS Books LLC. Cover Design: A.L. Lester<\/p>\n

Historical, Supernatural Mystery, LGBT<\/em><\/p>\n

Another self-published author that does their own covers.<\/p>\n

Simple but the design tells you this is an historical, and that the pairings are likely same-sex.<\/p>\n

I also adore the font, and the decorations above and below the title.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

A Marvellous Light<\/em><\/a> (2021) Freya Marske<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Published by Tor. Cover art by Will Staehle Cover design by Christine Foltzer<\/p>\n

Historical, Supernatural Mystery, LGBT<\/em><\/p>\n

More silhouettes. Single color. Wallpaper-type background.<\/p>\n

It’s eye-catching and lovely.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

Looking at which publishers came out on top:<\/p>\n

self – 7
\nKatherine Tegen Books
\nCarina
\nBlackstone
\nSubterranean Press<\/p>\n

Self published authors blew away all other publishers, which is quite impressive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Abigail Did That Summer (2021) Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London) Published by Subterranean Press. Cover map image by Stephen Walter. Supernatural Mystery This is pretty clearly a Rivers of London book cover, but also there are plenty of signs it’s not a Peter Grant book. Like The October Man, the title has a backing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,1092,1090],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books-reading","category-covers","category-years-favorites"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/sefxA-16779","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}