2 years ago
105
Skulls, bones, and skeletons are classical book cover iconography, with symbolism for myriad tones oregon themes: horror, poison, death, humanity, and, you know, conscionable wide coolness. I’d similar to deliberation skull imagery became fashionable successful the literate satellite acknowledgment to our person Hamlet and his pal Yorick — the exhumed skull Hamlet monologues astatine — and for that, I’m eternally grateful for the bard.
The existent joyousness successful curating this database of books with skull covers is the assortment of genre and audience. Skulls are not tied to immoderate 1 genre, though of course, they thin to beryllium much fashionable successful horror, fantasy, science, and transgression books. In the onshore of mediate people covers, the skulls thin to beryllium subtle oregon cartoonish, portion young big and big covers spell hard successful trying to springiness you nightmares.
I’m ranking these covers by prettiness to eerieness, due to the fact that that’s however I roll. We person skulls of each styles here, from floral arrangements and abstract shapes to realistic illustrations and haunting manipulations.
A note: I tried to way down the designers for these gorgeous skull covers, but a fewer were elusive. Apologies to those designers, and if you find this, fto america cognize to adhd your sanction for due recognition!
Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
Nell Barber is an expelled PhD campaigner studying poisonous plants. She’s enamored with her mentor, Jane, and soon the 2 get tangled up successful a web of messy relationships and obsessions alongside their partners. Things get chaotic arsenic they each intersect connected the assemblage field successful enactment and play. Since she was expelled, Nell brings location each poisonous works she tin get her hands connected and keeps diligent notes connected her studies. Hex is told successful a winding, stream-of-consciousness way, which makes this delicate floral statement the cleanable skull screen of the bunch.
Designed by Jason Ramirez, lettered by Grace Han
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The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
Maali Almeida is simply a warfare photographer, closeted cheery man, and gambler, and helium conscionable woke up successful the afterlife. As helium looks down from supra to spot his earthly assemblage dilatory sinking successful a lake, helium has nary representation of what happened oregon who killed him. The afterlife is crowded, chaotic, and afloat of bureaucratic reddish tape. He finds retired helium has 7 moons — 7 nights — successful this in-between abstraction to bespeak connected his beingness and pb his loved ones to the container of photographs helium took of death, devastation, and lies successful the ’80s successful Sri Lanka. Along the way, helium adventures with ghosts and demons of each stripes connected this last travel for exposing the truth.
The Liar’s Crown by Abigail Owen
Meren and Tabra are duplicate princesses, but Tabra is the 1 who gets the glory. Meren’s occupation is to enactment hidden and lone travel successful to beryllium her sister’s assemblage treble erstwhile she could beryllium successful danger. When the Queen dies and Tabra is astir to beryllium named Queen, Meren is suspicious and slips into spot — and is kidnapped by a shadowy figure. But arsenic she tries to escape, the lies of her beingness statesman to crumble, and somehow, that shadowy fig has stolen her heart.
Designed by Elizabeth Turner Stokes
Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda
When fearfulness and sci-fi blend, thing magical happens. And erstwhile the communicative is acceptable successful space? Even better.
Laura is simply a shipraider with 1 goal: find the vessel that was blasted crossed the postulation and holds committedness for redeeming the quality race. Tuck and his unit person been connected the USS John Muir successful stasis for centuries, and erstwhile Laura’s vessel crashes into the John Muir, chaos ensues. She has to combat disconnected alien monsters that termination with their voice. It is horrifying and relentless and volition support you up mode past your bedtime.
Designed by Kathleen Breitenfeld
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Is it a database of skull covers without Gideon the Ninth? No. It is not.
Gideon is acceptable to get disconnected this satellite and extremity this beingness of servitude. But her puerility nemesis, Harrow, Necromancer of the Ninth, has been summoned by the Emperor to the Lyctor Trials against the different House heirs, and she needs a swordswoman. Enter Gideon. The contention turns deadly accelerated arsenic Gideon and Harrow recognize each House has their ain secrets.
Designed by Tommy Arnold
The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
Tea didn’t mean to resurrect her brother, but present that she did, she sees that her magic is antithetic from the magic of her family. She’s a bony witch — a necromancer — and ostracized by her community. She joins forces with an elder bony witch who takes successful Tea and her member for training. The worldbuilding is top-notch arsenic we ticker Tea turn into the witch she’s meant to be.
Look maine successful the oculus and archer maine this screen isn’t gorgeous. Full disclosure that I enactment for this book’s publisher, but conscionable look astatine it.
Designed by Jeff Miller, Faceout Studio
The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe
A acheronian Peter Pan retelling? Sounds fab!
Darling women vanish connected the 18th birthday. It’s happened for centuries. Tonight is Winnie’s birthday, and she’s acceptable to archer her communicative of being whisked distant with the Lost Boys successful this dark, spicy romance.
The much I look astatine this skull cover, the much it haunts me. And I can’t halt looking astatine it. Creepiest 1 of the bunch, for sure.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Yadriel is determined to beryllium he’s a existent brujo aft his accepted household has a hard clip accepting his gender. He performs a ritual to summon the shade of his murdered relative and acceptable it escaped — but the shade turns retired to beryllium Julian, the atrocious lad from school. Julian has immoderate escaped ends to necktie up, and since Yadriel brought him here, the slightest helium tin bash is assistance him out. Except the longer they’re together, the much they bask each other’s company. Cemetery Boys is simply a gorgeous, sad, charming communicative astir coming of property and proving your worth.
The skull present is simply a small subtle, but besides a character. I emotion it so.
Designed by Mars Lauderbaugh
If ranking publication covers is your jam, beryllium definite to cheque retired the worst covers of classical books and ranking Batman covers.
English (US) ·