Art of Vampire: The Masquerade

Rating:
Summary: Marc Davies
Review: I was disappointed by this book because a lot of the pictures in it were identical to others in other books. If your V:tM collection is small, it is a nice addition. If it is quite large, then I don't suggest bothering.

Rating:
Summary: It's an art book. Quite a good one, in fact.
Review: The Neil Gaiman stories in the start of the book were good, occasionally startling, sometimes even frightening, and with one in particular, curiously revealing.

The two pieces of writing which attempt to justify the book, writen by Richard Dansky and Rob Hatch, are entertaining. Both were obviously asked "What is Vampire about?"; Dansky took it straight and gave a satisfying answer, Hatch ridiculed the question and thus provided an even better one. On the other hand, the clan descriptions and quotes are nothing most Vampire readers won't have seen before, and none will grab you; likewise, the Signiture Character pieces could have been left out. Instead, artists notes discussing what they were trying to capture in each picture would have been much better.

The artwork is good, which is surely the main concern here, although some of the artwork included I felt weren't quite up to the standard of the rest (Such as Gerald Brom's Transylvania by Night, or Janet Aulisio's Milwaukee by Night; Both excellent, but both pale next to.. say, Tim Bradsteet's amazing work.) and I was horrified that Joshua Timbrooks awesome Nosfertu wasn't included.

In short: What can I say? It's an Artbook about Vampire: The Masquerade. The artwork is very well done, and the majority of the few pieces of writing included are interesting.