Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Random House
Paperback version, published June 5, 2012. Cover design by Jim Massey, with an illustration by Whiskytree Inc.
Ready Player One is a science fiction and dystopian novel by Ernest Cline. The extrabold type on the cover of the Crown/Random House editions appears to be Mekon Alt. Mekon (2010) is a digitization and expansion of Black Body (1973) by Peter Steiner — annoyingly, The Northern Block fails to mention this phototype-era typeface as the source of the revival.
With the tiny spyhole counters and the “eating” ‘C’, the typeface is reminiscent of Pac-Man, as Capillya AKA That Cover Girl points out. On her blog, she talked with the author about the covers designed for the various editions of his Ready Player One. Ernie Cline:
I love the hardcover design, because the design and color remind me of the cover of Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions, one of my favorite books. Along with the title, the 80s style font and the tiny 8-bit avatar leaping for the key hint at the plot in an alluring way. Both I and my publisher wanted a cover that would appeal to all sorts of readers and not just science fiction fans, and think the hardcover design does that really well.
Hardcover version (first US edition), published on August 16, 2011. Designer unknown.
“A happily obsessive fan’s homage to her favorite book.” — elissastein
NYT Bestseller variant cover
1 Comment on “Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Random House”
There is also an animated version of the paperback cover.