Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy [Hardcover]

Wayne Douglas Barlowe (Author), Neil Duskis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1996

Until now, many of the greatest creatures and characters from fantasy and horror have been seen only in the minds of their creators--and their readers. At last these bizarre and beautiful beings have been brought magnificently to life by acclaimed artist Wayne Douglas Barlow, who has often been called the "Audubon of the Otherworld". This book is a sequel to the bestselling Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials. 50+ four-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Wayne D. Barlowe, often called the "Audubon of the Otherworld," was classically trained in fine arts and illustration at The Art Students League and Cooper Union in New York City. He has illustrated literally hundreds of fantasy and science fiction books and stories. His own bestselling creations include the acclaimed Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials, Expedition , and the upcoming Barlowe's Pilgrimage to Hell . --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 100 pages
• Publisher: Harper Prism; First edition (November 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061052388
• ISBN-13: 978-0061052385
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, but not as great..., October 13, 1998

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[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy: Creatures Great and Small from the Best Fantasy and Horror... (Paperback)

I anticipated the publishing of this book as I have few others. Any companion volume to Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials would have to be a plus, right? Well, sort of. The selection of characters is very diverse, but the paintings look very rushed, and incomplete in some cases. Furthermore the text is not very descriptive of the characters. It's more like reading a synopsis of the novels than information about that particular entry. Definitely not as inspired as Barlowe's previous work, but it's wonderful, nonetheless. I wish I could give it 9 on a 10 scale.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as Good as the Sci-Fi Guide, March 7, 2009

By 

Michael J. Tresca "Talien" (Fairfield, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy (Hardcover)

Of the guides, this one is the weaker of the two. For one, Barlowe seems to pick his subjects at random...we see monsters that had minor roles in the various books where they were portrayed (and thus, we probably didn't have a burning interest to see what they looked like if they were minor characters in the books). There's quite a few human subjects in this one as well...and they seem out of place here, as some of them are rather plain (okay, so maybe the golem did look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy...but why put him in the book?). There's also several shape shifters, which Barlowe illustrates by showing them in "mid-form", which doesn't tell us much about what they really look like. If anything, Barlowe's work competes with itself -- I was spoiled by his Science Fiction guide and this one, while definitely a beautiful addition to any collector's shelf, simply cannot match the detail of that book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The incredible artwork, the detail...the man's a genius.", May 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy: Creatures Great and Small from the Best Fantasy and Horror... (Paperback)

The Guide to Fantasy by Wayne Barlowe is a superb look into the minds of authors and one man's ideas of what the character looks like. Full-color illustrations really capture your eyes. I'm in awe of the man.