SOS Cover Art

The Silence Of the Stars novel cover had a few different design options. The design was always going to feature the Earth floating over a pair of hands, but the position and attitude of of the hands was less absolute. The final three options are pictured below:

• Hands offering the Earth to the reader.

Offering the Earth to the reader seemed appropriate in combination with the second-person perspective of Chapter 1 in the book. From the books earliest versions, the idea was to bring the reader on an adventure through a likely future. I, the author, was giving them a vision of the earth, in a sense. However, in the final version of the story, it didn’t feel appropriate for Atlas to give the Earth to anyone.

• Hands cupping the Earth carefully, but greedily.

Cupping the Earth greedily is the opposite of offering it to the reader. In a way, it seemed appropriate given Atlas’ controlling nature. I tried to make this cover look as though the hands were carefully handling the Earth, but hint at greed with the fingers curling up in front of it. However, beta viewers repeatedly described this image to be “sinister”. This version was tempting to use, but the negative connotation was too strong.

• Hands gently cradling the Earth.

Ultimately, I determined that hands cradling the Earth felt most appropriate. Beta viewers said that the intention of the gently open palms was ambiguous, although they were clearly handling the planet with care. Readers of the book may recognize the imagery as being closest to the description of the statue of Atlas.