This book is a total mixed bag; so while I didn't quite "love it," I certainly did ask "what is it?"
The first half is an inconsistent bunch of illustrThis book is a total mixed bag; so while I didn't quite "love it," I certainly did ask "what is it?"
The first half is an inconsistent bunch of illustrated case studies, some of them fascinating (Amazon, Metallica), while others are either confusing (Coca-Cola), downright annoying (McDonald's, which was just a shameless plug for the chain and a chance to show the logo on various swag and apparel), or just frankly uninspired (Campbell soup's first redesign in 50 years, which looked an awful lot like a classic example of "okay, here’s a $50,000 invoice for what probably amounted to an hour's creative work plus a couple weeks making up a lot of high-concept marketing mumbo-jumbo" - trust me; I've played that game before): [image]
And then the second half of the book is a series of articles on creativity and branding in general - some of which read like a great conversation with a design or advertising professional over a couple of drinks…while the rest reminded me of the kind of over-thought and overwrought lectures I generally nodded off through back in art school. So yeah, the whole thing was pretty much Forrest's box of chocolates.
THAT SAID though, with much of the book being written by actual designers themselves (the rest apparently coming from various corporate flacks), there were some great quotes and relatable insights. My favorites:
"Since childhood, we've wanted to make things that people like. That's why we became graphic designers. Our big dream was to see our work everywhere: we wanted to design things that millions of people liked."
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."
”The worst thing that ever happened to beauty was the idea that it is in the eye of the beholder.”
"A peek inside a designer's mind: get inspired, sketch it out, hate it, abandon it, try something new, like it, find it derivative, scrap it, walk away, get distracted, come back to it - and then somehow, bring everything together in the last hour. This is how designers think. It's messy, but it ends well."
And my personal favorite:
"I can't think of a designer who doesn't have a collection of some sort."
...because in my experience, this is ABSOLUTELY true, with the addition that nearly all of these collections have to do with underappreciated design or aesthetics in some way. I remember a colleague during a summer job at IBM who went out late at night and took rubbings of manhole covers; another friend collects cast-iron tractor seats; a third has a 40-plus-year collection of Asian beer cans. For my adult self, I not only collect seashells and Chinese Nationalist banknotes (can see some with my review of China's Warlords); but have been a long-time photographer of fire hydrants, because like all these other items, they are just SO FASCINATING when you realize the variety out there. I mean, why are there not just 3-4 standard ones - who came up with all these hydrants, manhole covers, beer cans??
Designers, that's who. Passionate weirdos of vision.
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(NOTE: I haven't intentionally been on a graphic design jag the past month - this book, Just My Type: A Book About Fonts, The History of Graphic Design: 1890-Today - it's been more a matter or long-reserved library books becoming available around the same time. But that said…as I grow increasingly disillusioned with my current/final career - i.e., working for the government [don't hate me] - it's been fun taking a nostalgic look back at my first, way back in the 20th Century.)...more
Title says it all - delightful, comprehensive overview of the past 130 years of graphic design, which is just about as long as it's been an actual thiTitle says it all - delightful, comprehensive overview of the past 130 years of graphic design, which is just about as long as it's been an actual thing. Obviously, huge changes at the beginning, and you can really see a decade-by-decade evolution in typography, layout, illustration, etc. But then once you hit the 1960s, things start to level out a little bit - particularly in the area of logo design, with so many logos from back then are still around today, either in their original or updated form, (such as Paul Rand's 1967 makeover of his original 1956 IBM logo - bottom right):*
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(WARNING - MAJOR DIGRESSION) And so it seems - to me at least - like certain aspects of graphic design have become like certain aspects of rock music: they've both reached a level of maturity (or IMHO, "perfection") where further evolution has been minimized, or at least slowed down. I mean sure, there's rap now, and dance and techno and stuff; but at the same time there's still ROCK - two guitars, singer and drums - with groups like Foo Fighters and Green Day (and okay, I get that I'm already dating myself), sounding are pretty damn close to things like "Master of Puppets" (nearly 40 years old) and "Who's Next" (over 50) - and yet my kids still listen to them both. But go back a half century before that? Ragtime and big bands, trombones and the Charleston.
But back to graphics...and just in time, because in fact one big change DID come along in the last decade or so -the widespread use of computer graphics that opened the door to all those cool flying graphics on CNN and other broadcast/internet/digital platforms, as well as the whole new field of 3D logos:
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…which are super cool, but also self-limiting (again, my opinion) in that for many/most of them, there are no longer simple one-color versions.
Anyway...fascinating book with copious illustrations - so one to be slowly savored, (several other reviews note the relative lack of explanatory text, but I personally like the emphasis on the designs themselves). Only possible critizism is that as Taschen is a German publisher, this is perhaps a little too Western/Euro-centric; it certainly could have used more Eastern design, especially Japanese (which was represented by only about 5 pages out of 500). In fact, the only other Asian work I spotted at all was a few English-language pieces from "The Father of Hong Kong Design" Henry Steiner,** who is probably most famous in the U.S. for his work with Hong Kong Shanghai Bank, but who "out there" was/is a genuine legend, (great introductory article on Steiner here: https://zolimacitymag.com/steiner-ser...). ____________________________________
* This makes sense, of course, since logos are designed to last for decades; while packaging, advertisements, posters, magazines, etc., are intentionally designed to be ephemeral, and so are more affected by design/marketing trends and fashions.
** And I also had the pleasure of knowing Steiner (who coincidentally studied under Rand at Yale in the '50s, but was much less frightening in person) when I was a young designer in Taipei and he was the undisputed godhead across East Asia - in fact, we at one point were in discussions about him possibly buying our company or perhaps merging it with "Steiner&Co," until my idiot business partner totally fucked it up.
[image] (Left to right: 40-years-ago me, Steiner, idiot business partner)...more
Some decades ago I watched a series on PBS or NOVA or somewhere about the most common shapes in nature, and it was fascinating - just how often a few Some decades ago I watched a series on PBS or NOVA or somewhere about the most common shapes in nature, and it was fascinating - just how often a few basic shapes (I think they discussed six?) occur over and over again in the natural world whether in geography, weather, animals, plants or even outer space. Things like meanders (e.g., snakes, rivers, brain coral); hexagons (beehives, snowflakes, those basalt columns in Iceland and Ireland); branches (antlers, basket stars, circulatory and root systems); rays (dandelions, sea urchins, pine trees, mineral crystals), and the omnipresent spirals (seashells, galaxies, coiled snakes, ram horns, spiderwebs, anything Fibonacci) and circles/spheres (pretty much everything). So totally way cool stuff, but I was never able to find that show again.
But now this book comes close, if not quite as awe-inspiring as I remember that series being. Text is brief but informative, and the photos are just wonderful, although being a 1992 book the layout/production quality is a bit dated. Still, for someone who loves both nature and design (and who can love one without the other?), this was another delightful $3 find at our local monster used bookstore.
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* Thus book is also a great example of why it's so fun to own books/have a home library - I could just go over and get my Snake book to look at and enjoy the patterns again! :)...more
My only uncle was a U.S. Marine during WWII and Korea, and then later went on to a far longer career with IBM - yet to his dying day, in his heart (anMy only uncle was a U.S. Marine during WWII and Korea, and then later went on to a far longer career with IBM - yet to his dying day, in his heart (and all of our minds) he was first and foremost a Marine. And in a way that's kind of what's happened to me as well; from the mid-'70s to the early '90s, I was a professional graphic designer, until I just…stopped. Life happened, I returned to the U.S. and have had enjoyable second and then third careers elsewhere for the past 30+ year. But in my heart of hearts, I realize I am still a designer, even though my grown children have never known - or thought of - me as such.
And so anyway, this was a near perfect book for me (if - or so I thought - perhaps no one else), bringing back just a ton of memories. Yet as with The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World, the book's cover called this an "international bestseller;" and to my astonishment the GR ratings and reviews seem to back that up - so, I dunno, go figure. But by the end I too was convinced that this is indeed a book for everyone, (or at least everyone who's ever admired a movie poster or even simply used Microsoft Word - although my one coworker told me near-daily that "I can't believe you're reading a book about…typefaces??"), and so am most happy that so many of you similar folks out there also found and enjoyed this wonderful book.
Just My Type hit home on so many levels and in so many places. For someone who already considered himself fairly well-steeped in the minutia of typography, I still managed to learned a helluva lot. History, of course - the backstories of the printing and typesetting processes, the "behind the scenes" stories of particular typefaces and type designers (including superstars like Hermann Zapf, Matthew Carter and Milton Glaser; as well as bad guys like Eric Gill, ultimately as famous for his "interest" in incest and bestiality as he was for his typefaces), but also beautiful trivia about the phrase "mind your p's and q's;" where the terms "uppercase" and "lowercase" come from (aka "majuscule" and "miniscule;" since while we often refer to uppercase as "capital letters" there is no equivalent term for lowercase letters); the evolution of the ampersand and the Interrobang, and the difference between Linotype and Monotype machines.
One needs to read this book with Google handy, so you can check out things like the unique "P" in Palatino, or the subtle differences between Helvetica and Arial, (or, okay, Eric Gill's weird sexual fetishes). The book also includes a number of great quotes, my two favorites being "I love to be a designer, but could we get rid of clients somehow please?,*" and "By all means break the rules, and break them beautifully, deliberately and well. That is one of the ends for which they exist."
But again, best of all were the personal memories it brought back. Childhood memories of Dymo label makers and my mom's old Selectric "golf ball" typewriter, where you could actually change fonts (gasp!!); college memories of California job cases and setting type by hand…and then all the professional memories that followed, many of which focused on the "hardware" of the time (all now long extinct) - rubber cement and waxers; T-squares and triangles; X-acto knives and Dexter mat cutters, French curves and ellipse templates; Rapidograph pens and Letraset dry-transfer sheets (which never gave you enough "e"s) - just great stuff.
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* Clients - whaddya gonna do? I can now chuckle - although it was crazy frustrating at the time - when I recall how every single Taiwanese client would ultimately tell us: "I love the design - but could you make it RED?," (red being the "lucky color" in all Chinese cultures). But as you can see from the below sample of typographic logos we designed back in the '80s, it did kind of limit the range of one's portfolio…blue NEWS logo? How did you make it in there?? :) [image]...more
Been reading a fair amount about Machu Picchu recently, initially as I was fascinated to learn about their unbelievably precise stonework:
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…butBeen reading a fair amount about Machu Picchu recently, initially as I was fascinated to learn about their unbelievably precise stonework:
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…but also then got into the whole history of its discovery, as well as Incan history itself, (which again just highlighted the horrific abuses of the "more civilized culture" - in this case the Spanish - in their wanton desecration, slaughter and theft…not that the Incans themselves weren't right bastards in their own internicine warfare).
Anyway, I went through several interesting books on this from the library, but as a former art school guy, this one was my favorite thanks to Lewin's beautiful watercolor illustrations:
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Short, informative, and just really beautiful....more
Ah, my favorite Shaun Tan book (at least so far). Just a charming story that begins:
This is what I learned this summer:
And then goes on to list suAh, my favorite Shaun Tan book (at least so far). Just a charming story that begins:
This is what I learned this summer:
And then goes on to list such things as (among others):
Never eat the last olive at a party. Never drop your jar. Never be late for a parade. Never argue with an umpire. Always bring bolt cutters. Never forget the password. Never wait for an apology. Always know the way home.
Each "rule" is accompanied by just a wonderful full-page painting - including my favorite, which tells such a complete story in one simple picture:
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Never ruin a perfect plan.
(Don't know if you can see it here, but these little Minion-like thieves in their homemade disguises are about to get caught)
Just a sweet callback to innocent summer days, from first page to last....more
One of Tan's best, with his trademark combination of whimsical storytelling and fantastic (in both senses) artwork. The drawings themselves are minor One of Tan's best, with his trademark combination of whimsical storytelling and fantastic (in both senses) artwork. The drawings themselves are minor masterpieces, but the overall layout - and detailed background areas - are also to be slowly savored.
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With his unexpected aliens-among-us world-building, Shaun Tan is like the H.R. Giger for the under-12 set....more
Nice portfolio of drawings and painting by the author/artist of The Arrival, that has to be read at least twice - once just to marvel at his beautifulNice portfolio of drawings and painting by the author/artist of The Arrival, that has to be read at least twice - once just to marvel at his beautiful and whimsical creations, and then a second time in conjunction with the "Artwork Notes" at the end which includes a "when/what/why" blurb for each of the pieces.
Many of the characters here appear in Tan's other stories, including not just early drawings of both Eric and Cicada (who later feature in their own eponymous books), but a "where's Waldo" cast of background characters that pop up throughout his wonderful The Lost Thing. There are also early drafts of many of the final paintings in Rules of Summer, (all of which are worthy of separate readings).
While everything here is great, I personally prefer his earlier, simple pencil or ink sketches, such as the birdlike-creature below (Tan is big on birds):
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….or his "emoticons," featuring his Sendak-like monocular critter who often serves as a stand-in for Tan himself:
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Highly recommend his "storybooks" (such as those mentioned above), which - so far at least - have been universally charming. But equally recommend this collection of non-story works, covering over 15 years of production. Just a delight.
I hate to be the one peeing in the punchbowl here, but the sad fact is if Bill Watterson's name wasn't attached to this book, it would just be one of I hate to be the one peeing in the punchbowl here, but the sad fact is if Bill Watterson's name wasn't attached to this book, it would just be one of dozens - if not hundreds - of well-drawn, minimally-written (coming in at just around 400 words total) picture books for…just who, exactly?
The book is billed as a "fable for adults," whatever that means, because it's neither deep enough to hold a grown-ups attention (for the five minutes it takes to read), nor colorful enough to attract the young'uns. The story itself - as far as it goes - is a cautionary tale about, um…climate change? Loss of innocence? Religion, technology, Donald Trump? Well, apparently that's just one of "the mysteries."
It goes without saying I love "Calvin & Hobbes" - who on God's Earth doesn't? But having waited 30 years for ol' Bill to resurface, this slim story - beautiful as the moody B&W drawings may be - was a big disappointment. If you want something equally beautiful but infinitely deeper, try Shaun Tan's The Arrival - now that's a masterpiece.
Not sure what to really call this - graphic novel, picture book, or something uniquely its own - but whatever it is, it's wonderful.
Simple yet beautifNot sure what to really call this - graphic novel, picture book, or something uniquely its own - but whatever it is, it's wonderful.
Simple yet beautifully-rendered story of one man leaving his family to seek a life in a new (and utterly strange) country, where he finds a job, makes friends, shares his story and learns theirs - all without a single word of text. It frankly took me a while to get into it, as I had NO idea what to expect - but once I figured it out, I was hooked.
With the menacing" shadow dragons" of his former homeland and the head coverings of his wife and daughter, I immediately pictured this family as Uighurs; and with the fantastical steampunk technology and omnipresent pets constantly befriending everyone else's pets, I also envisioned this story as set in Philip Pullman's "Dark Materials" universe (or at least a closely adjacent one).
A quick read - but you'll need to go through this multiple times to really grasp the detail and hidden heart of Tan's illustrations. Just great; and hopefully you’ll never look at “foreigners” the same way again....more
Simply stunning. Hadfield has the eye of an impressionist and the heart of a poet - as well as a pretty sly sense of humor, (see final photo). AbsolutSimply stunning. Hadfield has the eye of an impressionist and the heart of a poet - as well as a pretty sly sense of humor, (see final photo). Absolutely recommended for absolutely everybody!
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Aside from being a former astronaut, (and fighter pilot, test pilot, engineer and musician), Hadfield has also written a memoir An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, and recently published his second Tom Clancy-esque techno-thriller, The Defector. So all I can say is, cut it out, dude - you're making the rest of us look really bad! _________________________________
(The second photo above shows a bunch of "oxbow lakes," which I'd never heard of before but which are apparently formed when extreme oxbow rivers try to straighten out their courses and so snip off some of the more extreme loops...or something like that. But just bizarre and REALLY cool!...more
Wally Herbert deserves way more recognition than he apparently has - not only as an explorer in his own right, but*** THIS BOOK GETS ALL THE STARS ***
Wally Herbert deserves way more recognition than he apparently has - not only as an explorer in his own right, but also as an award-winning artist and unparalleled chronicler of the polar realms.
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Textually, this is less autobiography (Herbert has written that elsewhere) than an informal and generally chronological retelling of Sir Wally's various adventures; but because there have been just so many of them at both poles, he uses his personal experiences as linking devices to the stories - and Herbert's paintings - of Scott, Nansen, Shackleton, Amundsen, Peary, et al; as well as fascinating diversions on bears, dogs, shamans and other polar topics of interest and beauty.
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As such, this is much more coffee table art book than memoir, beautifully showcasing over 70 of his paintings, drawings and maps (masterpieces in their own right), often in full-page-plus format that makes this a fascinating and breathtaking reading/viewing experience.
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For those unfamiliar with Herbert, among his numerous other exploits was his leading in 1969 the first - and so far only - surface crossing of the entire Arctic Ocean "the long way," i.e., taking the longest ice route from Alaska to Spitsbergen; along the way becoming the first man "fully recognized" for walking to the North Pole (coincidentally on the 60th anniversary of Robert Peary's disputed expedition, which is now widely believed to have not in fact reached the pole).
And for those non-artist readers, it's critical to understand that not only was Herbert completely self-taught, but that he worked in two of the most difficult media out there: watercolor, and an old mapping technique called "pencil and scalpel." Watercolor, because unlike oil painting there is no room for error and no opportunity to overpaint, since all white areas of a painting (which when depicting snow and ice are a LOT) are the bare paper showing through, with only the darker shapes and shadows actually painted. And then "pencil and scalpel," as it involves spraying a special white paper with gray printer's ink and then overdrawing with pencil for the darker tones; while for the lighter/whiter areas, the ink is scraped off with a surgeon's scalpel, resulting in such near-photographic results as these (as well as the self portrait on the book's cover):
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On top of which: while Herbert paints in "full color," the polar worlds are by definition so monochromatic that nearly all of his paintings use less than the full palette, consisting mainly of an infinite number of warm and cool grays with just subtle touches of blue and yellow:
I used to love those National Geographic articles on ancient cultures, where they'd have some top-notch illustrators do paintings that showed you whatI used to love those National Geographic articles on ancient cultures, where they'd have some top-notch illustrators do paintings that showed you what things really looked like back then, rather than just photos of the surviving ruins. (FUN FACT: James Gurney, author/illustrator of the Dinotopia books got his start as just such a Nat Geo artist.)
Well, this book is pretty much like that, except much more so. It combines current photos of the world's most impressive surviving "monuments" from ancient cultures with artists' impressions of what they looked like and how they were used "back in the day," providing a beautiful and informative introduction to some places I know fairly well, some I've only generally heard of, and a number of which I previously knew nothing at all.
A few of these - Beijing's Forbidden City, Versailles,* South Korea's Confucian Academy (which frankly doesn't really belong in this book) - remain today pretty much as they have for hundreds of years, and so are generally the least interesting. Others - Borobudur, Petra, Hagia Sofia, the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and parts of the Acropolis - are still around but have lost their original polychromatic grandeur, and so it was fascinating to see what they looked like back in their former "full color" splendor. But then there are a handful of places that are both total ruins today and generally new to me overall - Sri Lanka's mountaintop Sigiriya palace, Babylon's Ishtar Gate, Great Zimbabwe, Egypt's desert Malqata complex and the harbor at Carthage - and so these were truly eye-opening.
ONE MISSED OPPORTUNITY: I found it strange that in their discussion of Java's Buddhist Borobudur temple complex, they totally overlooked its fascinating history. Built around 800 AD (no one knows for certain), the complex was inexplicably abandoned sometime around the year 1000; it was then - like many New World ruins in Central and South America - buried under volcanic ash and jungle growth for centuries. It wasn't until the early 1800's that it was rediscovered under the governorship of Sir Stamford Raffles (of later Singapore and Malaysia fame), but even when the covering vegetation was removed, the entire complex remained an unstable ruin:
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And so it more or less remained for the next 150 years, until a total restoration was undertaken between 1975-1982, since when it has looked more like this:
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Great book for fans of ancient cultures, architecture, archeology, and general "ooh, pretty!" DK books in general.
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* Gotta say, the French don't fare particularly well here. Not only does Versailles come off as the ostentatious frat house for a bunch of inbred, foppish French aristocrats - but it was also Louis XIV who unnecessarily blew up Heidelberg Castle, (also featured here as the most modern "ruin" - thanks, Louis!)....more
Nice to see Gurney return to the main storyline from his first two books here, after the swing-and-a-miss that was Dinotopia: First Flight. That said,Nice to see Gurney return to the main storyline from his first two books here, after the swing-and-a-miss that was Dinotopia: First Flight. That said, there is even less plot here than in any of the previous books, which is saying a lot - the title here alone serves as an accurate summary of the entire book, in that Arthur Denison and his protoceratops pal Bix literally (and exclusively) take a one-way journey from Waterfall City to Chandara, with absolutely NO real adventures or excitement along the way.
That said, Gurney uses this book as a nice way to catch up with the current science, introducing feathered dinosaurs to his previously all-reptilian world, (and I still find it unbelievable to think that the whole idea of "dinosaurs had feathers" is less than 25 years old - i.e., since his previous books came out). And he gets to expand on his original world-building in new and interesting ways - Chandara is a very Asian/Middle Eastern-themed "empire." His artwork also remain as impressive as ever, and in his more architectural paintings almost approaches a Simon Stålenhag feel, (whose Tales from the Loop books also put "look" way ahead of "story"):
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At other times, though, he moves away from his earlier near-photorealistic style in two distinct directions - on the one side, going with a more painterly "brush-strokey" look; while on the other going towards an almost "Norman Rockwell meets Dr. Seuss" exaggerated caricature vibe:
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Also…while I know it's silly to try to bring "logic" into a story based on talking dinosaurs, but…if Chandara is so hard to reach, why didn't they just fly? Also - why on Earth would Denison trust Lee Crabb again, after he literally tried to kill him in the previous story?
Gaping plot holes aside, though - this is well worth a quick read, and then a longer relook for the artwork alone. Especially since it doesn't look like Gurney has any plans to return again to his lost world; this last book is already 15 years old, and I don't see any indication online that he's thinking of doing more....more
Recently got the video "Bosch: The Garden of Dreams" from our library, which focused on Bosch's most famous (and hiWell, this book just pissed me off.
Recently got the video "Bosch: The Garden of Dreams" from our library, which focused on Bosch's most famous (and history's weirdest) painting, "The Garden of Earthly Delights." Fascinating enough to make me want to learn more about Bosch and his other works, so got this book (also from the library, and their only book on the topic)…and it turns out the whole thing is only 6" x 6"!!
So sure, interesting analysis of his various works - but consistently juxtaposes statements like "a dragon rises behind a ruined wall on the far shore" against reproductions actually smaller than this...
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…so I could barely find the wall, much less any damned dragon. Like, page after page...nnaaAARRGHH!
That said, the text itself was fairly interesting - as long as I had the painting opened up on my laptop so I could zoom in on whatever the hell Campbell was talking about at any given moment. However, as an actual stand-alone book, this is HIGHLY not recommended.
So...4 stars for Campbell's contribution, but then just 1 to publisher "Harry N. Abrams, Inc." for this totally messed up production concept; and then rounded down for overall putting me in such a foul mood - never really the hoped-for response when studying famous paintings.
FINAL OBSERVATION: More from the video than this stupid book, I was struck by the similarities between "The Garden of Earthly Delights" and Singapore's famous "Tiger Balm Gardens," much of which is devoted to Buddhist representations of hell and contains many similar mutant-human-animal-hybrid demons such as those found in Bosch's work. Weird that such similar imagery could arise in two places separated by such time and distance…Google it, if you're unfamiliar....more
God knows I hate these bastards, but with their usual skill DK has once again managed to change a boring or (in this case) even slightly repulsive subGod knows I hate these bastards, but with their usual skill DK has once again managed to change a boring or (in this case) even slightly repulsive subject into a deeply informative and - yes - even beautiful book. The patterns and color combinations; the different types of eyes and scales and teeth; the various evolutions into desert/jungle/mountain/ocean dwellers…actually pretty damn fascinating.
(Also - and just my own personal observation - I now have to believe that indigenous weavers around the world were heavily influenced by the geometric patterns found on different snakeskins.)
Fascinating follow-up and direct sequel to Stålenhag's first book, Tales from the Loop. This one has a bit more of an actual plot than Loop, but is stFascinating follow-up and direct sequel to Stålenhag's first book, Tales from the Loop. This one has a bit more of an actual plot than Loop, but is still more focused on mood and world-building than strict storytelling, ( tålenhag doesn’t truly go there until his next book, the jaw-dropping The Electric State).
Stålenhag does a great job of creating a world that is like ours yet totally different. While I continue to insist that Electric is most definitely not set in the same universe as the first two books (despite being listed that way on Goodreads), they are all set in the same late-20th century time period, and all contain subtle references to our own reality - Burger King, Safeway and other recognizable logos buried in some of Electric's backgrounds; and the barely-recognizable "Jurassic Park" blanket in which this feral robot has wrapped himself on the cover here in Flood.
Fascinating picture book and the first to feature Stålenhag's unique vision, this is more a series of captioned snapshots of an alternative, technologFascinating picture book and the first to feature Stålenhag's unique vision, this is more a series of captioned snapshots of an alternative, technologically-advanced "recent past" Earth, rather than an actual story with a plot.* As such, this is really a 3-3.5 star experience, but I'm rounding up based on the groundwork here leading to what would follow in Stålenhag's subsequent books.
The story - such as it is - is told through an unnamed narrator (an alt-world Stålenhag himself?) as a "look back" at the world of the Loop, an enormous Swedish particle accelerator that apparently had the side-effect of messing certain "cosmic energies" that among other things…brought back dinosaurs? Not really explained - but then not much really is, other than some of the cooler technological discoveries, including the "Magnetrine Effect" in 1943 that resulted in way-cool hoverships, and a 1960s "robotic nervous system" that allowed for various Star Wars-type walkers that were ideal for off-road purposes such as "forestry, mining, warfare, planetary exploration."
Stålenhag's subsequent book, Things from the Flood, is a direct sequel to Tales; but while the book after that, the stellar The Electric State, is listed as the third book in this series, I don't see any real connection - although maybe that will show up when I actually get to Things. (Tales and Things cost over $20 each, so I'm finding it cheaper to read them over coffee at Barnes & Nobles - since unlike Electric State, both of these look to be one-and-done's.)
* I would imagine that the Amazon series based on at least this first book has more of a storyline, and I look forward to watching it sometime if it comes out on DVD or I finally bite the bullet and subscribe to Prime....more
Insanely fascinating book for any lover of maps, data and cool infographics! (I'm sure I can't be the only one…)
This gorgeously imagined and produced Insanely fascinating book for any lover of maps, data and cool infographics! (I'm sure I can't be the only one…)
This gorgeously imagined and produced book contains dozens of creative reinterpretations of information converted into cartographic (or other "-graphic") form, and makes you consider some fairly complex issues and concepts from a whole new (visual) perspective.
Unfortunately, most of these large images (many of them foldouts) don't reproduce well at this size, but here's just one example: how the United States would be redrawn it we divided states based on where people lived and commuted, rather than the current often arbitrary (or at least outdated) arrangement based on...well, I don't really know what.
[image] (I mean, just look at this: why are Manhattan and Albany - much less Buffalo - in the same state, when NYC commuters come from New Jersey and Connecticut, Albany attracts workers from Vermont and Massachusetts, and the Northern Tier sucks people in from Pennsylvania?)
Such a metropolis/commute-based reconfiguration means that among other things, these new "states" could control their own relevant infrastructure and tax bases; rather than, say, having a situation where someone like Chris Christie close some bridge into Manhattan because of…well, whatever it was that pissed him off; I don't remember.
The book is divided into four main sections: Where We've Been, Who We Are, How We're Doing, and What We Face. The final piece is obviously the most depressing, because "what we face" is frankly a future world of shit - the individual illustrations here add up to a brutal, damning and undeniable portrait of rising temperatures, increasing fires (both wild and set), melting glaciers, rising seas, falling fish populations, and so many other looming disasters that I want to go full Will Smith on every "climate change denier" that crosses my path.
Like most such books, this is best read a couple pages at a time - but I definitely recommend that it should be read. ...more
"It was first thought to be some kind of cosmic phenomenon. As if our solar system had drifted into an unknown part of the galaxy where there were pro"It was first thought to be some kind of cosmic phenomenon. As if our solar system had drifted into an unknown part of the galaxy where there were processes as yet unmapped by human science. The black globes appeared to follow rules and regularities that transcended those of nature or change. Occasionally, they were seen moving in formation, patiently gliding through the landscape from one place to another.
"As if there were following a plan of action."
[image]
And that really is all the backstory you get in Simon Stålenhag's latest sumptuous trip into his bizarre post-apocalyptic universe, (or more accurately, one of his universes, as this end-of-the-world Earth seems unrelated to the different-yet-equally-shitty world depicted in his earlier and absolutely outstanding The Electric State). From then on, it's a straight-up horror/mystery/tragedy with only occasional glimpses of the ships and machines and mysterious black globes and…alien plant thingies?...that are all that remain on Earth's surface. In their place, we get claustrophobic images of on underground base and a WAY dysfunctional family…
But that's all I can say without totally giving away the whole plot of this slim but unsettling tale. Unfortunately, as good - and disturbingly beautiful - as it is, it just doesn't compare to Electric State, which was also in the end a story about siblings, but was just much more of a revelation in its combination of gorgeous/haunting images, spartan text and barely-hinted-at world building. So a very solid 4 stars for this worthy addition to Stålenhag's growing body of work - but only because Electric is a full-on 6.
PERSONAL NOTE: This fairly pricey book was an unexpected gift from a Goodreads friend, who just "had an extra copy" and so sent it off to me at her own expense…aren't GR friends just the best??...more
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