Subject: EXPEDITION, by Wayne Douglas Barlowe.

From: [email-masked] (Mark W. Tilden)
Date: 15 Aug 91 16:44:25 GMT

EXPEDITION
		by Wayne Douglas Barlowe
	Review Copyright (c) 1991 Mark W. Tilden 

%A Barlowe, Wayne Douglas
%T Expedition: Being an account in words and artwork of the 2358 A.D 
   voyage to Darwin IV
%I Workman Publishing.  
%C New York
%D September 1990
%G 0-89480-982-2 (cloth), 0-89480-629-7 (paper)
%P 192 pages
%0 softcover CAN $30.00

Wayne Douglas Barlowe first published in 1979 with "Barlowe's Guide to
Extra-Terrestrials," a beautiful book which took aliens from some worthy
science fiction novels and rendered them lifelike through the eyes of a
trained scientific illustrator.  Fleshed out like any good nature book on
ornithology or other wildlife, "Guide" gave a detail and realism to these
imaginary creatures better than many previous artists.

Unlike other illustrators who push out incredible creatures without rhyme or
reason, Barlowe gives meticulous care to the morphology and bio-dynamics of
his creatures.  Where it is easy for others to crack out pictures of King
Kong being taller than a skyscraper, or dinosaurs who drag their impossible
tails, Barlowe's creatures really look like they could not only stand, but
move believably.  (Note: King Kong could never exist.  Because of ratio-
density, his impossible weight would snap his legs like matches the moment
he tried to stand.  Likewise any dinosaur that dragged a tail would be in
chronic danger of breaking its spine whenever it turned left or right.  At
that scale, bones behave more like sponge toffee than rigid sticks.)

Anyway, the great thing about the "Guide" was not just the wonderful
pictures of famous science-fiction creatures like the Old One, Thrint or
Dilbian, but the large collection of pencil drawings at the back styled like
a naturalist's sketchbook.  These showed details of the creatures Barlowe
came across in his undisclosed 'travels.' At one point he has a wonderful
half page dedicated to "two gentlemen who sat for me on the Galactic Rimship
'Heliad'..."

The one downer was that this sketch book was also littered with well drawn
but obvious creatures for a Fantasy novel Barlowe was working on.  Even
given the aforementioned points, these characters came across like warped
Tolkien, and any plot surrounding these creatures hinted at being obvious
and superficial.  Yearg.

But it never happened, and 12 years later we have "Expedition," and it's a
gem.  Somehow, Barlowe realized that, as he was trained as a naturalist, he
should do a book as a naturalist would.  The result is a documentary-sci/fi
book of incredible detail and believability.

"Expedition" is solid imagination.  Reading more like a National Geographic
expose' on the fauna of some exotic land, the entire book details the
author's flight across the fourth planet of a system some 6 light-years
distant.  Sent as an illustrator for this great trek with a host of earth
and alien scientists, he describes incredible creatures on an incredible
planet: Darwin IV.

Creatures here evolved without eyes, the planets murky history quickly
weeding out sighted creatures; thus, everything 'sees' by sound.  The planet
is small but temperate, low gravity producing a greater variety of flying
creatures than exist on earth, and the concept of fur forgotten in the need
to insure accurate sound and infra-red images.

The planet is dark with reds and greys predominating.  With a host of earth
and alien scientists, he describes incredible pictures of alien creatures in
a vicious social climate.  Creatures of immense size stride across living
amoeba seas while herds of tri-legged cursors seek to avoid being eaten by
predatory trees.  Giant slider creatures stroll fearlessly across landscapes
leaving destruction in their wake (along with expectant predators).  And
through it all is the calm, scientific dialog of the artist observer,
detailing every aspect of the creatures he encounters with thoroughness,
astonishment, and brilliant detail.

At several points the book does make single-line references to potential
plot points, but none are followed through.  Although I am a fan of a good
sf plot, I am also a fan of a good documentary, and this book satisfies a
long ignored concept.  In retrospect, books like "Rendezvous with Rama" and
"Ringworld/Integral Trees" are also imagination documentaries, the plots
cluttering up what is otherwise just a incredible romp through the writers'
imagination.

"Expedition" avoids all plot pretexts and delivers a beautiful visual
presentation, not unlike visiting an exotic zoo for the first time.  It is
imagination for imagination's sake, a truly wonderful notion and one I
strongly recommend.  The book hints at a return to Darwin IV.  I just hope
it won't be another twelve years in the coming.

-- 
Mark Tilden: _-_-_-__--__--_      /(glitch!)  M.F.C.F Hardware Design Lab.
-_-___       |              \  /\/            U of Waterloo. Ont. Can, N2L-3G1
     |__-_-_-|               \/               (519) - 885 - 1211 ext.2454,
"MY OPINIONS, YOU HEAR!? MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"