Meacham, Beth
Average customer rating:
- Xenophanes
- From the author of Tales of Ancient Xenar
- High five
- Just what the title says...
- Very good, but seems to contain some errors
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Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials: Great Aliens from Science Fiction Literature
Wayne Douglas Barlowe , Ian Summers , and Beth Meacham
Manufacturer: Workman Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Barlowe, Wayne, Douglas
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Similar Items:
- Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy
- The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe
- Barlowe's Inferno
- The Science of Aliens
- Extraterrestrials: A Field Guide for Earthlings
ASIN: 0894803247 |
Book Description
In this illustrated field guide to extraterrestrials-a 1980 nominee for the ABA and Hugo Awards and named one of the Best Books of Spring 1980 by School Library Journal-Wayne Douglas Barlowe paints 50 denizens of popular science fiction literature. 150 full-color paintings show each character not only in full figure but also in detail highlighting distinctive characteristics. Humanoids, insectoids, reptilians, and more are included. Field notes explain movement, diet, respiration, and reproduction habits. The book also features a pull-out chart showing comparative sizes, and a section devoted to Barlowe's own sketchbook of works in progress. Selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. 267,000 copies in print.
Customer Reviews:
Xenophanes.......2007-04-02
Good book. I have owned this since I was a child. It was a great portal into many of these classic Sci Fi books as I would have never heard about them otherwise. Barlowe has a fantastic nack for bringing life to these aliens. Highly recommended.
From the author of Tales of Ancient Xenar.......2005-11-08
I enjoy art books, mainly books of fantasy art. But this book is more a sci-fi art book, and a very good one at that. Mr. Barlowe did a excellent job with the illustrations in this book. I read H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness." I had a hard time visualizing the Old ones described in that novelette. But Mr. Barlowe helped me greatly by including them in this volume and even summarizing their history. I would love to see how Mr. Barlowe would visualize all the creatures in my book, Tales of Ancient Xenar. I know he has a fantasy art book and I hope to see that one very soon. And to be honest, the only thing I am disappointed about is the fact Amazon.com ony allows a max of 5 stars. This book deserve well more than that.
High five.......2004-04-21
I love, love, love this book. I got this book about 10 years ago, and it brought my imagination to life, and what an imagination. When there is something stressful going on in my life I pull out this book and just drift into another world.
The descriptions are so vivid, the pictures just come to life. I just wish there were pictures of Arthur C Clark's novels.
Just what the title says..........2004-04-04
A book on great alien races from science fiction. Classic fiction to boot. Most of us know about the Overlords from 'Childhood's End', the Puppeteers from 'Ringworld', the Guild Steersman from 'Dune' and even the Old Ones from 'At the Mountains of Madness'. But do you remember the Thrint from 'World of Ptavvs', the Cinruss from 'Hospital Station', or the Cygnan from 'The Jupiter Theft'?
A great source of information on alien races with full color pictures, lots of data on history, culture and habitat BUT also a great source for finding classic stories you never heard of!
Do you know the Pnume, Salaman, Triped or Merseian? Well, get this book and found out who they are!
Very good, but seems to contain some errors.......2003-03-20
I do want to say starting off that (1) I got this because, being a Sci-Fi fan into artsy books, this was a hole in my collection; (2) I have been a fan of Barlowe's art since I found a used-but-impeccable copy of EXPEDITION a few years back; and (3) overall, this book did not dissapoint.
The book seems (at least on the surface) to be a well-researched compendium of aliens renedered in paint fit to augment the fertile imaginations of readers everywhere. The aliens are mainly from books and short stories that I'm not familiar with (not surprising since this was published originally when I was aproximately 5 years old), but there is enough info about them included to make it not just pictures of things I don't know what they are.
I personally felt that the best part was the sketchbook drawings in the back. I would adore to see the Thype project finally completed. And I think that some of the sketches of the aliens are superior to the finished paintings, an opinion that I realize many readers may not share.
But my big beef with the book is based on the Guild Steersman. If you read the Dune books with any care you can figure out that steersmen are mutated humans. They are not at all in this book like they are portrayed in the novels and some of the facts here are quite wrong. That the steersmen are not aliens of an unknown planet but humans who are mutated by spice overexposure is used as a plot point in one of the Dune prequels and the fact is presumably taken either from Herbert's notes or the inferences from the original novels.
Now this in itself would not usually lead me to give a book a mediocre review. It does worry me, however, that one of the other races in this book was in a story I was reading at the time (I think it was one of the Poul Anderson stories, neither book is close at hand as I write this) seemed to have a few minor oddnesses with it as well. It makes me wonder if some of the other aliens don't have the same kind of factual problems between what is in this volume and what they're like in the original story in a way that's not simply a difference of imagination.
Bottom line: get it for the art and the glosses of the alien races, but don't be that surprised if the description or portrait of your favorite alien doesn't quite match what you've seen in your head all these years.
Average customer rating:
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A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction
Baird Searles , Martin Last , Beth Meacham , and Michael Franklin
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000BH1MDG |
Average customer rating:
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Weird Heroes Vol.4: Nightshade
Tappan; Meacham, Beth King
Manufacturer: Pyramid Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S9K99K |
Average customer rating:
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A Reader's Guide to Fantasy
Beth Meacham , Michael Franklin , and Baird Searles
Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0871967723 |
Average customer rating:
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A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction
Baird Searles , Martin Last , Beth Meacham , and Michael Franklin
Manufacturer: Avon Books (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0380461285 |
Customer Reviews:
Needs Updating Badly!.......2002-12-10
'A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction' was an excellent book when it was first published over 20 years ago. Updating the book would be an excellent (and badly needed) project for Mr. Searles, et al, or some other sf/f lover.
The authors do a good job of explaining the strengths (and weaknesses) of each writer as well as covering their major works. Also at the end of each writer's section is included a "If you like the works of Fred Smith, try these writers..."
Many of the writers included in the book are all but forgotten in the year 2002. Also many sf/f talents from the past 20 years are sorely missing, including Nancy Kress, Connie Willis, Karen Joy Fowler, Michael Swanwick, Orson Scott Card, and a multitude of others. If this book were updated, it would fly off the shelves. Anybody listening?
Average customer rating:
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Terry's Universe
Beth Meacham
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Contemporary
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ASIN: 0812545923 |
Authors:
- Menander
- Mencken, Henry Louis
- Meng Chiao
- Meredith, Christopher
- Meredith, George
- Meredith, William
- Merril, Judith
- Merrill, James
- Merriman, Brian
- Merritt, A.
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