Expedition: Being an Account in Words and Artwork of the 2358 A.D. Voyage to Darwin IV (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

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.

Product Description

In 2358 Wayne Douglas Barlowe joined the first manned flight to Darwin IV, a newly discovered world beyond our solar system. Here he provides naturalistic paintings that vividly capture the alien creatures he encountered. Illustrations, full-color paintings, and maps.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (January 12, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0894806297
• ISBN-13: 978-0894806292
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #142,794 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unique vision of an alien world!, May 12, 2005

By	Ruben Garza (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Barlowe has created a rich and exciting world for his readers. We discover this world alog with his main character, who is an intrepid and earnest researcher and artist. Barlowe does not simply spell out every detail of this world, but makes conjectures based on the available data, thus preserving the illusion that this is an actual account of a place that exists.
This book is the template for the new Discovery Channel special on alien worlds. I recommend this book to anyone interested in beautiful art coupled with a fantastic story.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, April 17, 2006

A Kid's Review

This is the best work for Alternative evolution yet! I actually like how he made the animals look nothing like things on Earth because they evolved from a completely different orgin.It is even better that it's movie adaption Alien Planet. In alien planet it said that they have eyes, but very weak ones, probably just strong enough to pick up biolights, but not strong enough to have complex vision. I like how they ended up with sonar. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who is as big an evolutionary science nut as I am!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of this World!, July 1, 2005

By	Kain Horward - See all my reviews

Expedition is a book in the style of Dougal Dixon's "alternitive zoology" books, with the main diffrence being this book takes place on a completley alien world, Darwin IV.
The book itself is amazing. The writing, while not as bad as some reviwers say, is'nt up to Dixon's books, but the artwork is truly where Expedition shines. Darwin IV and it's alien inhabitants jump off the pages, even if some of the creatures look pretty "out there". I highly reccomend Expedition to any fan of scientific fiction.