Customer Reviews

Secrets

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Until quite recently I was completely unfamiliar with the work of Luis Royo. However, while I was searching for a gift for a friend at a local bookstore, I picked up a copy of "Secrets" because I was intrigued by the cover. When I looked through it I was shocked by several of the images (particularly the thumbnail pencil sketches which elaborate on the main pictures' themes). I put the book back on the shelf and hoped that no one else had seen me look at it. Over the next few days though, the beauty and horror of Royo's work stayed in my subconscious, welling up involuntarily whenever I saw some real-life image which roughly paralled one shown in the book. I went back to the bookstore twice more before I worked up the courage to buy it. But having now done so, I realize it was worth any momentary embarassment. Royo's art merits it, both in style and subject matter. Those who read this book should beware that they may discover some shadows upon their soul which they might not have ever been aware of. My only regret (and hence my reason for only awarding the book 4 stars) is that there is not enough explanation to accompany the art. Most of the images suggest a story, and while a few have expository text, many are virtually unexplained. Mr. Royo would do his fans a great service if he someday authored either a novel or a nonfiction work which revealed more of the dark, erotic mythos which is "Secrets".

Probably my favourite of Royo's books (which I have all). This is here the beauty and sex appeal of women gets closest to demons and dragons - and even merge with them as in actual love making. This book is about sensuality, sexuality, craving, lust and danger. Women here are seldom innocent and weak - no, they more often than not control and use the creatures of the darkness as their desire dictates them. If you only plan to have one book of Royo, then get this one.

Secrets deals with sex in fantasy. This mind you is a good thing. Sex in fantasy is often ignored or sugar coated. Royo does not do that here. The artwork is excellent. While the woman that he paints are... well, of amazing beauty, the scenes that Royo has placed them in (with beings that at least appear to be of great evil possessing the ability for great destruction) make you seriously think about the ramifications of sex in fantasy. This is a book certainly worth having. I wish that more text explaining the artist feeling for each painting was included rather then the small cryptic/poetic statements. The artist did not hold back in depicting the subject matter and as such should probably not be considered for young readers or those offended by nudity.

Of all of the Royo books I've seen, Secrets, Malefic, and Visions are the most spectacular. The women are absolutely gorgeous, and the level of detail and hyper-realism is astonishing! If you're new to Royo, buy these three books. They emphasize fantasy illustration (as opposed to the sci-fi themes of Women and the post-apocolyptic themes of III Millenium). The quality of the artwork in III Millenium is also very good, but it has a darker, more somber tone. I'd recommend avoiding Women and Conceptions 1. They don't even come close to comparing with the four books listed above, and don't reflect the exceptional talent of Royo as an artist.

I've read some of the other reviews suggesting Royo write more to accompany his art--to help tell a story. It is my belief that his art work tells a very vivid story, each unique to the person who views it. I've seen books that have beautiful/extraordinary pictures that are accompanied by text, and more often than not it is a disappointment. It's like reading a novel then seeing how the film-makers decided to make your favorite character look like... Great art is a story unto itself.

The images in this book are simply amazing to the point of near photo-realism. The subjects are meticulously rendered, but there is an aura of mystery permeating the paintings. You wish there was a caption explaining the origin of the image and what it is about.

Secrets, other than the usual nudity, is a bit more sexually explicit than his other books other than the Prohibited books. They are mainly medieval or ancient-fantasy themes, and a few are cover arts for Gemmell books. As often, beautiful shimmery paintings and powerful women.

While I wouldn't want Royo to write a whole lot, descriptions that are a little less cryptic would be nice.

This book is fantastic in more than one sense of the word. Picture after picture, sometimes dark and sometimes light, but which haunts the soul. I guess my three favorite pictures would be "Threads of Desire" which portrays a mostly naked woman up to her knees in water in a cave with glowing vapors providing a magical vision, "Stars of Heat" which portrays a semi-nude Freya surrounded by the corpses of the dead, and Fissures of the Breeze which is just too hard to describe.

Near each image is a cryptic explanation. These lead you on, into the painting, providing a depth that I have not found in other fantasy art books (though this is my first book by Royo). For those who are interested in alchemy and the like there are many references, sometimes hidden, to the these concepts. Royo knows how to blend old themes with new ones, bringing the old to life in a new way.

In the end, one gets immersed into the world of the artist, and the dark fantasies which make this a real masterpiece.

This book contains some of Royo's most beautiful images, and it is extremely well-put together. If you are a fan of Luis Royo, or of fantasy art in general, this book is well worth the price of admission.

I read the other reviews...it seems some of these people don't know Royo....this is Classic Royo: beautiful, dark and gothic-like, sexual.... it is not for those you blush at skin....but for the lover of gorgeous women and wild monster and magnificent art....if you love royo or know someone who does...get it! it is worth every cent and then some.... and the heck w/ "stories" behind the paintings....you got an imagination...USE IT!!!! that is the intent of pretty much any artist: they want you to think and use that brain and imagine...you want a story, go buy fairytales or something! this is for someone who loves art and had imagination!