Halfheart by Linden A. Lewis

Halfheart is Linden A. Lewis's stand-alone leap from space opera into epic fantasy, and the design needed to feel just as sharp and weathered as the world it opens into. The title page leads with a tall, engraved serif that carries the weight of myth. The full title page builds on that with an ornate border and a dagger wrapped in briars, coiled like something that's been fought over for centuries, anchoring the title above the author's name and imprint.

That same dagger motif carries through the front matter as a quiet, recurring mark, appearing again facing the "Also By" page and beside the chapter opener, where it doubles as a divider under the part title, "The Book of War." Chapter openers keep the drama contained: a large drop cap, a restrained serif body text, and just enough ornament to signal a new beginning without competing with the prose.

The goal was a design that feels both ancient and lethal, the way the book itself balances a story of grief and vengeance with the scale of gods and empires.