The Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley hits shelves August 2011. This project was exceptionally interesting for me. The book is a historical fantasy that takes place in 1827 Edinburgh, Scotland. It follows an officer of the recently formed city police who is on the trail of undead hounds, emptied graves, brutal murders, and a criminal underclass involved with the darkest of powers.

The photo illustration, by Larry Rostant, is a beautiful and haunting cinematic look into the story. We made the main character front and center with very specific details hinting at the plot without being campy or having to spoon feed the audience.

I wanted to emphasize the historical aspect of the book with the title treatment. I did research to see how type and lettering was handled in the early 1800s and I found a bunch of examples. In the end, one image jumped out at me . I knew that if I went to that extreme and used a million typefaces and ornaments  the cover might be too busy,  so I created a considerably toned down version and the result brought the cover together exactly the way I wanted.

The Edinburgh Dead was an engrossing project for me that I had so much fun designing. I hope you enjoy it too!

Here’s a description for you:

Mixing real history and historical figures with magics and conspiracies, this novel imagines the Edinburgh of 1827, populated by mad alchemists who treat Frankenstein as textbook rather than novel, and by a criminal underclass prepared to treat with the darkest of powers.

The plot follows the progress of an officer of the recently formed Edinburgh City Police as he follows a trail of undead hounds, emptied graves, brutal murders and mob violence into the deepest and darkest corners of Edinburgh’s underworld – both literal and magical – and back again to the highest reaches of elegant, intellectual Edinburgh society.