Rating: 
Summary: Catching up with Barlowe
Review: Having just purchased a new copy of the classic BARLOWE'S GUIDE TO EXTRATERRESTRIALS, I felt it necessary to catch up on some of the incomparable Wayne D. Barlowe's more recent work. I leafed through several books and settled on EXPEDITION, primarily for my interest in its subject matter (having many graduate hours of zoology under my belt). I see that from the late '80s-onward, Barlowe has been handling both art and writing chores, I assume in order to make his projects more personal and satisfying. Certainly, the man is an immensely talented artist, but I feel that he should have worked with established authors and/or scientists in order to give EXPEDITION more substance, structure, and technical basis.Regarding the story, I feel that Barlowe blew it from the start with the premise that the expedition to the planet Darwin IV was only possible due to the fact that Earth had already made contact with a sort of "sponsor" alien species, the Yma. If that's the case, then why aren't we learning more about the Yma instead of the inhabitants of Darwin IV? Detailing Earth's first contact with another intelligent life-form sounds more interesting to me than the study of an unknown planet. A tighter approach would have been to drop the Yma and then have all of the technology be Earth-based (this IS the 24th century, after all). I definitely feel that when you're theorizing on alien biology, all rules, such as we know them, can stand by the wayside. For a detailed project such as EXPEDITION, however, there should be some logical restraint. While this book contains some very clever biological concepts, such as the Amoebic Sea, Emperor Sea-Strider, Rime-Runner, and Gyrosprinter, they are brought down a notch by the questionable equilibrium of the Daggerwrist population, the feeding and locomotion of the Tundra Plow, and the seemingly inefficient maturation of the Forest Slider. But of course, we've found some organisms on our own planet that are almost as odd, so who's to say what we may find on another?
Rating: 
Summary: Yadda Yadda Yadda...
Review: Hey! This book's storyline is weak but adaquete enough to provide an excuse for the pictures. Although the art is top noch, I feel this book could have been made into something more. However, anyone who appreciates art should buy this book and (I almost garuntee) drool over the hyper-creative pictures of alien flora and fauna.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: I love this book. All I can say that hasn't been said before is that I wish the place really existed.
Rating:
Summary: Superb artwork for a want of good plot.
Review: I loved this book. Barlowe is a fave artist of mine, and his imagination seems to know no bounds.
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Book of Extraterrestrial Life
Review: I'm a fan of science fiction, but before reading this book, hadn't been too exposed to sci-fi art. Barlowe is a gifted host in the fantastic world of science fiction art. I read this book over a period of three or four days, and couldn't wait to get back to it. The pictures are amazing, and the story is gripping. Barlowe is an incredible artist and storyteller, and I hope to see more of his work in the future! Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible voyage!
Review: I'm a fan of science fiction, but before reading this book, hadn't been too exposed to sci-fi art. Barlowe is a gifted host in the fantastic world of science fiction art. I read this book over a period of three or four days, and couldn't wait to get back to it. The pictures are amazing, and the story is gripping. Barlowe is an incredible artist and storyteller, and I hope to see more of his work in the future! Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but not super-great
Review: The fictional planet of Darwin IV is a beautiful and interesting place for any wildlife artist (sauch as Mr. Barlowe). His artwork is fabulous and the individual animals are interesting and workable. However, although the animals are inteesting in and of themsleves, besides certain universal features (like the absence of eyes and jaws), they seem to have nothing in comman. While all Earlthly land vertibrates have or had four limbs (hece the name terapods). Barlowe's creations all seem to have different numbers of limbs and no explanation is given as to why. There is also none of the intricate ecosystems that grace Earth. It seems that Mr. Barlowe has created many different biotas and crammed them together on one planet. I suggest this book for fun and for its great artwork, but not for it's scientific value.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent faux-exobiology field guide!
Review: This book is amazing and far outpaces the nearest competition in the 'lets imagine if' category of illustrated science fiction. barlowe's artwork is center-stage and exquisitely detailed. my only complaint is that the book should have been at least 3 times larger...i wanted more creatures and siphonovores! maybe barlowe will read this and get to work on a re-visit to darwin or another new planet (hint hint!)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent faux-exobiology field guide!
Review: This book is amazing and far outpaces the nearest competition in the 'lets imagine if' category of illustrated science fiction. barlowe's artwork is center-stage and exquisitely detailed. my only complaint is that the book should have been at least 3 times larger...i wanted more creatures and siphonovores! maybe barlowe will read this and get to work on a re-visit to darwin or another new planet (hint hint!)
Rating:
Summary: Complete
Review: To compare this work with his earlier books, Expedition is a certain step up. All of the creatures of Darwin IV are beautifully rendered with complete backgrounds and vivid text that communicates the truly mantic zoology of this pristine planet. Each of the chapters is centered around a specific creature or terrain, and is written in personal narrative, with numerous sketches of the minor details. Highly recommended because of the beautiful imagery and Barlowe's thoughrough understanding of and ability to manipulate the basics of biology.
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