Spectrum 23: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art Paperback – November 15, 2016

As always this compendium has its year in review and to start. It talks about some interesting artworks, along with talking about the issues of trolling and to farther extent the question of censorship. Silly how some people react to another's portrayal of subject matter. Life is too short for such dramas. Anyways I saw some beautiful artwork from artists new and old to me. From the adorable anthropomorphic animals of Omar Rayyan, Peter Diamond's rendition of the Black Rabbit of Inle (Watership Down!), Nico Delort's Universal monster posters, Scott Gustafson's Beauty and the Beast, Chris Ayers's Dapper bat, Cory Godbey's Dark Crystal homage, and many more. All are quite lovely and worth further exploring on these artists' works.

Every Christmas for about 15 years I then my older brother then his son always after lunch sit down and take it in turns to look through this yearscopy of Spectrum.This year is no different ,as always Spectrum is very good ,but this year the writing about the gold then silver winners ineach section of the book was almost impossible to read. The black letters on the gold then silver just didn't show up well enough.Other then that all was good and I look forward to getting Spectrum 24 next year.

I have them all and still pick up the older annuals and go through the artwork. You will see many illustrations that may have appeared in your video game or on the cover of a book you've read. This book will introduce you to the artists who are doing the best album and book covers and other commercial illustrations in the US and around the world. It really is worth the hard cover price.

I agree with the reviewers above, Spectrum is THE go to collection for fantasy art every year. I want to give it 5 stars, but I can't. It is just a trifle flat. I wish I could define that better; an off year possibly. Still all kinds of 4 stars, of course.

Avid fan for this display of incredible graphics. I pick them up at Amazon obviously for the price compared to picking it up at a bookstore. It is a little bit expensive but then again you get the most satisfying array of artwork. This is definitely to be recommended for people who appreciate art in one of its finest form.

Lovely art to look at. I wish some of the graphics and works were bigger though. I was hoping that it'd be a full page of art instead of say 1/4 page or 1/2 page. Some of it is, but most of it isn't.

I have been a huge fan and avid Spectrum collector since Spectrum 7. Great books, though it seems recently to have lost a bit of its edge. Its sense of daring has been tamed a bit maybe? Still the best annual for fantasy art by far!

Diverse image selection. This edition there seems to be less digital imagery that’s why I gave them 5. In the past its felt like digital image soup. There’s just not the same atmosphere created when using digital. Great print job!!!

Cutting straight to the chase this is the foremost annual in Fantasy art; you'll not just see big names but the *biggest* names in Fantasy art, in abundance through the annual. Projects the artists have background on include things like Star Wars, Halo, Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons to mention a few... it's very much a 'who's who' of the industry as it stands (although all nominations are voted for through a strict judging process in which the name of the artist is not given nor considered)In terms of the book; it's a sturdy hardback with thick, high quality pages. About an inch thick overall and 304 pages of content you get much for your money.The quality of the offerings is outstanding as you'd expect and widely varied. The short bios of key artists are often inspiring and I can't fault the way that similar or complimentary works are grouped.The opening briefing tackles many current issues in the industry while also telling a story of the solidarity of the art community, one which 'understands the constant fears and vulnerabilities that artists feel and must conquer to continue pursuing their craft'. This humbling start is the ideal way to kick off what is a very bold and 'out there' artistic statement. This edition came shortly after the Charlie Hebdo attacks so the messages around censorship and being attacked for ones craft were particularly poignant.I was lucky to get my edition on a deal and I can say it's possibly one of the best value things I've bought. The only critique I'd have is there *is* quite a lot of chat at the beginning of the book which are more like minutes or recollections of key features/goings on; I'm sure these are very interesting for those in the industry but for I who just wants to enjoy the art they are less useful.If you want a book which feels finely curated and is most definitely an institution, this is for you. I'd also recommend Fantasy+ if you want more and are looking for more good Fantasy art.

Reviewing any art collection is bound to be a bit subjective, as your opinion depends on whether you like the majority of the collection. This volume has a good selection and anyone with an interest in fantasy art is likely to be very satisfied in general, and I'm pretty sure there will be some examples you will love. It's a great way to discover new artists and, with links to their websites, explore their work further. I have every one of the Spectrum books. After the change of management with no.21 I was a little worried, as I thought the quality dipped a little. However, number 22 and this one show a real return to form. There is a huge amount here, and the quality of the printing is high, which is vital in an art book.

Excellent Art collection annual of the best in contemporary Fantasy art and illustration, mainly American artists and some of the top practitioners in this genre.

I've bought a few of these before either as a gift or for myself and I can honestly say that if I'd have thumbed through this in the shops beforehand I wouldn't have bought it. Nuff Said.

Good collection of science fiction and fantasy illustrations.