Alien Landscapes

Alien Landscapes
By Robert Holdstock and Malcolm Edwards

Mayflower Books, NY 1979

The sci-fi boom that followed the success of Star Wars led to a surge of books devoted to genre art, and one of the foremost of these was 'Alien Landscapes'.

This is one of two coffee-table books co-authored by the late Robert Holdstock (1948 - 2009) and Malcolm Edwards (b. 1949), the other being 'Realms of Fantasy' (1983).

At 120 pages in length, measuring 11 1/2 x 11 1/4 inches, this is a well-made art book, printed on heavy stock with a library-friendly hardcover binding.

The book is modeled as a travelogue to ten of the better-known worlds depicted in the science fiction of the interval from the 1950s to the 1970s:

The artists who were commissioned to supply three pieces for each world read like a British who's-who of sci fi illustration in the 1970s, and include Angus McKie, Tony Roberts, John Harris, and Les Edwards, among others.

On the main, the artwork represents the airbrush-centered aesthetic that dictated album and book cover art in the 1970s. Unfortunately, many of the pieces in 'Alien Landscapes' suffer from underexposure and as a result are difficult to make out. This is particularly true of Bob Fowke's illustrations for 'Hothouse'; after scanning and increasing the Brightness function, I was able to see details that are otherwise illegible.

Why this problem wasn't detected in the proofs stage and corrected is a mystery. I'm accustomed to underexposure being an issue in modern printing, when computer monitors are used at 100% brightness for composing art and failure to correct for this in the printed version can have consequences, but in 1979 there was no such thing as scanners and digital composing.....just a camera, and some 35mm film.

As for the art in relation to the books it is based on: at one point or another I have read some of the works depicted in 'Alien Landscapes' (I haven't read the books by Blish, Asimov, Clement, Niven, or Harrison) and I found the art adequately represented the scenery in the book. That said, most of the novels in 'Alien Landscapes' are not ones that I would call must-reads, and indeed, I have no intention ever of reading 'Cities in Flight', 'Foundation', or 'Mission of Gravity, as they are likely to be stupefyingly boring...........?!

The verdict ? If you're a fan of 70s sci-fi art, or a dedicated fan of the novels profiled in the pages of 'Alien Landscapes' then it may be worth picking up; copies of the hardcover version in decent condition have asking prices of under $25 at your usual online retailers.