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Alien Horizons: The Fantastic Art of Bob Eggleton
Book by Nigel Suckling
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 24, 2012
Eggleton isn't my all-time favorite SF artist (that would be Michael Whelan) but he's certainly in the top tier. This book gives a wide overview of the best of Eggleton's work, with details on each painting, Eggleton's thoughts on art in general, and light snippets of biography. The sections are broken down into the general areas that the artist is know for - dragons, astronomy, aliens, spaceships, and horror with lots and lots of skulls - and each is equally engaging. (Though I admit to skimming through the horror work. Yeah, I'm a wuss.)
It took a while for me to notice the one major element that's missing from Eggleton's work, and that's people. I can only think of two Eggleton paintings that feature human beings in close enough detail that you can make out their faces. It's an odd subject for an someone who's primarily a cover artist to avoid, and it's never explained (or even asked) why in the book. Everything else Eggleton does, though, is so dramatic that it's easy to get lost in the pages.
It took a while for me to notice the one major element that's missing from Eggleton's work, and that's people. I can only think of two Eggleton paintings that feature human beings in close enough detail that you can make out their faces. It's an odd subject for an someone who's primarily a cover artist to avoid, and it's never explained (or even asked) why in the book. Everything else Eggleton does, though, is so dramatic that it's easy to get lost in the pages.
June 10, 2018
An excellent early retrospective representative collection of Eggleton's work. I believe that many people seem to think of him as The Big G's personal portraitist or just another dragon guy, but this volume sets the record straight. My favorites are the Bonestell-worthy (best complement I can think of!) astronomicals, though his horror and fantasy work is also delightful. I could have done with a little larger images and a little less type-space, but it's a lovely volume nonetheless.
August 1, 2012
Yes yet another paper tiger artwork book - I would love to say that I read books because of the author or the content or the title - but never the cover -NOPE sorry of those reasons I do read books but I also look at the covers. For those of you who know what I mean can no doubt remember books more clearly because of their distinctive cover styles - for example the UK publication of the Necroscope series - well you cannot miss it.
But what is the significance of this book - a book of basically covers. Well thats the whole appeal to me - this book contains so many pieces of art which found their way either intentionally or eventually on to books i have subsequently read and enjoyed. Therefore reading this book I have returned to so many fun books - reading the story of who and when they came to being and look at them in greater detail - as highlighted by one picture which stated that the version used on the cover was reduced to little more than the size of a postage stamp - which considering the quality and relevance to the story is a real shame.
In short this is a book of book covers - some of the best and most memorable I can think of so yes I loved this book even if it has spurred me on to reading them all - all over again.
But what is the significance of this book - a book of basically covers. Well thats the whole appeal to me - this book contains so many pieces of art which found their way either intentionally or eventually on to books i have subsequently read and enjoyed. Therefore reading this book I have returned to so many fun books - reading the story of who and when they came to being and look at them in greater detail - as highlighted by one picture which stated that the version used on the cover was reduced to little more than the size of a postage stamp - which considering the quality and relevance to the story is a real shame.
In short this is a book of book covers - some of the best and most memorable I can think of so yes I loved this book even if it has spurred me on to reading them all - all over again.
January 4, 2015
This book is fantastic! There were several pictures with art from awesome covers of books I've read and I really enjoyed reading about the creative process of the artist and what was the idea behind these covers. Over all I would recommend this book to anyone who like looking at good old space-alien-dinosaur art :)
October 22, 2024
Warm, beautiful and highly skilled images which combine the virtues of Athena with those of Dionysus. There is much to acclaim but can only give a mid star review as my own spirit does not turn in the direction of the artist. Not a universal complaint but a personal one, yet one about which I cannot lie.
August 20, 2013
I've owned this book for ages, but this is the first time I have read it cover from cover, instead of just looking at the pictures. To be honest, with this sort of book, you don't have to worry about the text - it's interesting, but not mind-blowing. But the pictures are. I love the variety that is shown here, only slightly spoilt by a lot of the pictures going across the spine and ending up with a crease up the middle. A lovely reference book though.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews