Fantasy art book review: Faeries by Brian Froud.

I love this fantasy art book so much, that I am angry at everything that is not this fantasy art book.

The Review

This is the first fantasy art book that I can ever remember reading. It literally changed my life, I am not even exaggerating. I started sculpting fantasy creatures based on a need to be a part of the world this book introduced me to. In later years, when I began writing my own fantasy fiction, I strove to create characters and stories as in depth, engaging and rich, as the ones on the pages of “Faeries.” I love this book so hard.

First published in 1978 by Harry N Abrams inc and featuring the work of Alan Lee and Brian Froud. This book has 185 illustrations, 147 of those in full color.

Allan Lee is a concept artist responsible for designs in some truly visionary films including “Lord of the rings.” He has also illustrated more book covers than you can shake a Hobbit at. There is a wondrously realistic tone to his work, that forces you to believe, that whatever creature he has created is an actual beasty running about in some forgotten patch of swamp or squatting on a fallen log in the deep woods. His human characters have an unusual depth of soul to them which is seldom equaled.

Brian Froud is an artist, whose designs have appeared in films such as the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth and he is my favorite artist of all time. I have every book of his work that has ever been released, including three copies of this book, just because it is that awesome. His style is whimsical and amusing but also has the capacity to convey an incredible amount of emotion. I especially enjoy his less realistic approach and his frequent use of ink blots and coffee stains on and around his work. Brian Froud is THE artist when it comes to anything even remotely connected to the faerie world. He is worshiped as a god by many.

The Art.

The artwork in this book is spec-friggen-tacular, the two very different styles of the artists, mesh perfectly and complement each other, rather than fighting against each other, like drunk relatives at a Christmas dinner who feel the need to go on and on about every facet of their tiny lives, to the chagrin of all other guests. The end result is a very cohesive experience that is exciting and visually appealing. the set out and formatting of the book is very professional too. I have seen art books where the formatting ticks me off to no end, but here it doesn’t make me want to throw the book into a small shrub and forget its existence at all. I will admit that I am more drawn to the works of Froud than Lee here, but I am borderline mentally unhinged for the work of Brian Froud. Truly I am grateful that I live on a separate continent than him, because I would, without the shadow of a doubt, be stalking him at this very moment, such is the depth of my fanboyness for his art.

The Writing

The writing style here is also quite beguiling, the various critters all have individual stories that are largely set out like an encyclopedia or field guide entry, which I adore. Fanboy. There is just something special that is added to a piece of art, if it is described in a way that it would be described, if the creature were a real flesh and blood being.

PLEASE NOTE: Michael Palmer-Cryle makes absolutely no judgments as to the existence of mythological creatures and respects the reader’s right to believe whatever they wish.

PLEASE NOTE: Michael Palmer-Cryle deeply apologizes over his use of the word “mythological” to describe beings that may or may not be real (but probably aren’t.)(though it would be nice if they were… though they probably aren’t. OK some might be real. Fairies? Maybe. Goblins? Probably. Unicorns? Definitely not, I mean the level of genetic damage required to create a horse with a horn on its forehead is just… so much. The thing would need to be just so, so broken, on a cellular level, I don’t even want to think about it. Honestly the very concept keeps me awake at night, just thinking about the sound something so monstrously malformed would make, causes me to shudder uncontrollably. Narwhals have a horn I guess, but what are Unicorn enthusiasts suggesting? That a random snowy white mare, wandered a little too close to the arctic coastline, whinnied in an enticing manner and caught the eye of a large, aquatic mammal, who hadn’t gotten any in a while, and sexy good times ensued? That’s just silly and I refuse to accept that lunacy, as a coherent theory for the creation of a Unicorn.)

PLEASE NOTE: Michael Palmer-Cryle respects the readers rights to believe whatever they wish about the existence of Unicorns… or the flat earth theory, though you will be judged accordingly… but I digress.

Back to the book, which is so far beyond awesome that if you threw it into the air it would turn into sunlight. Honestly this book is the perfect culmination of great art, gorgeous concepts and engaging storytelling, I read my first copy so much, that it fell apart, which is why I have three copies now. Actually I already owned a copy of the paperback, then I saw the hardback and my brain told me that if I didn’t buy it, I would never know happiness again, so I did. Seriously, that may have been an empty threat but who wants to take the risk, right? then I bought a second paperback because I saw it and couldn’t remember if I had the paperback or hardback at home, again why take the risk. That was the fascinating story as to why I have three copies of the same book. I may well leave that crap out of future reviews.

Final thoughts.

Oh my God this book, this book oh my God, oh my God this book. if you don’t already own this book then you have committed a crime against the very fabric of the universe itself. Perhaps not quite that dramatic but you should still buy it. Or borrow it from somebody, then say you were mugged by a rampant fantasy art book collector and though you put up a valiant effort, the book was lost to the insane desires, of said rampant fantasy art book collector. True you would have to screw over a friend or family member, but the book would be yours and that is all that matters, this book is that good. Score out of ten? Human understanding of mathematics has not yet conceived of a number large enough to accurately gauge how much, out of ten, this book deserves to be scored, suffice to say, a lot. Hmmm let’s say, several bajillion out of ten. to be corrected upward as our understanding of complex numbers evolves.