This large format book features Whelan's cover art for the works of Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster, Isaac Asimov, Piers Anthony, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and more, and really shows the amount of care that went into every detail of each painting. He is a favorite artist of authors for a reason: he reads every book and takes great pains to be adhere to the descriptions within, even working in symbolism that might go unnoticed (or even unseen, when reduced to book cover size) by the casual reader.

A nice feature of this volume is that alongside the full page "clean" art, we get a reproduction of the final book cover design. The Lovecraft diptych (possibly the only cover work that doesn't represent the contents -- Whelan was simply commissioned for a horror piece) is particularly interesting in this regard. The artist also discusses each work in detail. ( )

Published in the ascendency of Michael Whelan's domination of the professional artist category of the Hugos, this book is a joy. Lovingly produced with a definite "art book" feel, the book has heft. The art itself brings back memories: Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series, Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders (more illustrations than Wonderworks had), Isaac Asimov's Elijah Baley and Foundation series, the Del Rey Lovecraft covers, and Edgar Rice Burrough's Martian series. The descriptive text adds a "behind the scenes" look at the art, from how it was composed to symbolic elements in the art. A truly delightful addition to my science fiction/fantasy art collection. ( )

Michael Whelan is my favorite SF/Fantasy cover artist. The artist provides notes and thoughts about many of his covers and also includes some of his original work. ( )