Classic 70s and 80s Fantasy Book Covers - Weirdstone of Brisingamen
Updated: Jan 20, 2021
Remember when you were first waking to the magic of fantasy writing? For me, it was in the mid-80s, when Alan Garner and Susan Cooper, in particular, first sent tingles down my spine. Along with their writing, the book covers of this period conjure up that special feeling.
Obviously we should never judge books by their cover....BUT....no-one has ever said don't judge a cover by it's book. In the case of the ones I want to share, I feel in each and every case, they are worthy of the books they represent.
There is a particular style to covers from this period, that I will forever associate with these stories.
Perhaps it's all just nostalgia. And why not?
First up, it's Lions' cover of Alan Garner's The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, with (a sinister-looking) Cadellin Silverbrow dominating the centre, flanked by two Gollum-like svarts, while Colin looks towards some distant light, and Susan seems slightly bored.....I love the green tones of this, and it takes me right back to reading the book for the first time at school.
Illustrator credited as Stephen Lavis.
Oh, wow, this brought back such a flood of memories! Seeing these 70s and 80s fantasy covers immediately transported me back to my childhood library. I remember spending hours just browsing the shelves, not necessarily looking for anything specific, but just letting the covers draw me in. There was this one particular series, I can't even recall the title now, but the covers were always so incredibly vibrant and a little bit bizarre, much like the ones you've featured https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cereus_Poker_Network They had this almost dreamlike quality, with fantastical creatures and heroes in impossibly dramatic poses. I distinctly recall a book with a shimmering, almost iridescent dragon on the cover that I checked out at least three times, even though the…