From Publishers Weekly
An abundance of lavish full-color illustrations and detailed black-and-white sketches dominate Barlowe's fictional account of a 21st-century exploratory space flight to the imaginary planet Darwin IV. Sent along as the mission's artist, Barlowe ( Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials ) describes his "excursions" to survey Darwin IV and the unusual animals he encountered: creatures like the monopodalians, who pogo-stick across a barren, icy landscape, or the winged but flightless Stripewings that are in "evolutionary flux." Numerous "observed" details, such as the length of a Darwinian day (26.7 hours) and the feeding, hunting and mating behaviors of various creatures, help maintain the illusion of realism and immediacy such a first-person narrative demands. SF fans who relish the bizarre for its own sake may enjoy this volume. But while superbly executed, Barlowe's visualization of an alien world falls short imaginatively and is naturalistically unconvincing. Many animals look like dinosaurs designed by a committee and discerning readers will suspect that Darwin IV wouldn't work as an ecological system, no matter how alien.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
THE MOST IMPORTANT TRAVEL BOOK OF THE 24TH CENTURY
New York, March 24, 2366-Five years to the day after returning to Earth, Wayne Douglas Barlowe has published his collection of paintings, drawings, and sketches made during the first manned expedition to planet Darwin IV. His previous and highly acclaimed Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials was nominated for a Hugo Award. Robert Silverberg said of the artist: "Barlowe awes me."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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