Title: City of Thieves
Author: David Benioff
First published: 2008

A work of historical fiction, City of Thieves follows the story of Lev and Kolya, two young Russians trying to survive the chaos of the siege of Leningrad in 1942. They are imprisoned by the NKVD and meet with Colonel Grechko, who sets them the task of finding a dozen eggs to make a cake for his daughter’s wedding.

The novel follows the young men as they encounter NKVD operatives, partisan fighters, struggling civilians and both Nazi and Russian soldiers. Their journey is one of dark survival, set against an intimidating and grim backdrop.

The theme and style of the book is also credited as a major source of inspiration for the post-apocalyptic videogame The Last of Us.

After trying out several approaches to the design, I settled on using the shape of an egg as a nod to the task that the main characters are trying to complete. I pictured them walking in silhouette—set against a stark and cold background—to try and get across the bleakness of the story (without it being too off-putting to more casual browsing readers).

For type I used a poster-cut style, set in a brighter blue, to ensure standout and help convey the gritty nature of the story itself. The artwork also includes a cover blurb.

This is cover is a reimagining and not commercially available, any fonts or images used have been included as part of a personal project only.