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A review by misterjay
The Art of John Harris: Beyond the Horizon by John Harris
5.0
John Harris is the artist behind the cover painting of dozens of science fiction books. His style is recognizable at a glance - vivid but indistinct, the line work blurred and yet the whole is understood at once.
This coffee table sized book is a treasure. Although ably introduced by John Scalzi and with commentary by Harris himself, the real joy of the book is the massive spreads, in full color, that allow the reader to examine in minute detail, sans text or markings, the images that have graced so many iconic covers.
Of particular note is the 'Works by Author' appendix, which displays several illustrations side by side, all the better to see how they work as a whole over the course of a given series. For myself, who came to Harris' artwork through Scalzi's 'Old Man's War' series, to see several illustrations from the books laid out together was both a chance to re-examine the paintings together, as well as an opportunity to reflect on a series of books I thoroughly enjoyed.
This is the kind of over-sized book I like to have out where I can leaf through it again and again, letting new details and revelations catch me where they may. I also hope that this volume paves the way for a standalone Art of Old Man's War book at some point in the future.
Highly recommended.
This coffee table sized book is a treasure. Although ably introduced by John Scalzi and with commentary by Harris himself, the real joy of the book is the massive spreads, in full color, that allow the reader to examine in minute detail, sans text or markings, the images that have graced so many iconic covers.
Of particular note is the 'Works by Author' appendix, which displays several illustrations side by side, all the better to see how they work as a whole over the course of a given series. For myself, who came to Harris' artwork through Scalzi's 'Old Man's War' series, to see several illustrations from the books laid out together was both a chance to re-examine the paintings together, as well as an opportunity to reflect on a series of books I thoroughly enjoyed.
This is the kind of over-sized book I like to have out where I can leaf through it again and again, letting new details and revelations catch me where they may. I also hope that this volume paves the way for a standalone Art of Old Man's War book at some point in the future.
Highly recommended.