Realms of Tolkien: Images of Middle-earth

Rating:
Summary: An unfortunate mix of wonderful and horrible
Review: There are some excellant illustrations by Nasmith, Howe, Lee and others which leap out of the page at you and bring the Middle Earth to life. Other images must have been chosen from children's editions of the Tolkien books and look like something the kids brought home from school art class currently hanging on the front of the refridgerator. I don't know what politically correct art chic caused the editors to feel that had to balance the beauty with the crud, but it created a truely unfortunate blend of imagery. It's an OK coffee table book for the Tolkien fan, but it could have been so much better if the editors had used their power to create a book of outstanding illustrations, rather than a collection representing all illustrators, even the artistically challenged ones.

Rating:
Summary: Great.
Review: This book is simply wonderful. The paintings are so inspiring, so wonderfully detailed and artistic (except for Cor Blok, but he makes up for that in style), and it's great to see what other people think of Tolkien's world and imagination.

Rating:
Summary: Realms of Tolkien : a very good book
Review: This book puts together a most of the important paintings on Tolkien's world by artist's like Alan Lee or John Howe. The quality of the reproductions is quite high and the cover is very beautyful. For all Tolkien and fine art lovers.

Rating:
Summary: Realms of Tolkien : a very good book
Review: This book puts together a most of the important paintings on Tolkien's world by artist's like Alan Lee or John Howe. The quality of the reproductions is quite high and the cover is very beautyful.For all Tolkien and fine art lovers.

Rating:
Summary: A good collection, though not without flaws.
Review: This collection contains some fantastic art, but also some which will certainly not appeal to all tastes. I guess the beauty of this collection is that it contains such a diversity of art; so though it is probable that there will be some you don't like there should be more that you do. If you are a fan of fantasy art it should appeal, if you are a Tolkien fan with a minimal interest in Middle Earth art then it may still appeal, such is the quality of some of it, but may not appeal enough. Certainly worth considering though as it is well put together.

Rating:
Summary: A -must- for your Tolkien collection
Review: With over a dozen artists, this book provides a great diversity in the way Tolkien's works are visualized. From the intense detail of Alan Lee and Ted Nasmith to the graceful brush strokes of Cor Blok, this book is a must-have!