Book Preview: Spectrum 17: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art

I normally love the reviews on this blog, but this isn't a "Book Review" it's clearly just a copy & paste of the product description from Amazon... There is no Review here, thats pretty lame.

some people just don't read properly and take things for granted.

you're doing a great job Parka. keep it up and ignore the negativity.

The only "problem" with Spectrum is that it's not the best in fantastic art as it depends on the sendings of the artists. So it's a very US centric book. But there is always a lot of good stuff to watch so it's the best annual books in fantastic art :-)

Li-An, You are right that Spectrum is very US centric as are most annuals of illustration and art originating from the US. The problem seems to be getting people to enter their work. I know the people who put this out would love to have more entries from all over the world and they are progressively trying to spread the word. Finding the right advertising routes takes time and money. If you have suggestions I think you should email them. I know they are open to suggestions and help in getting the word out. I was a juror for this edition and can say that the work chosen is stunning, but I would love to have seen more of the art work I look at every day from Asia and even Europe among other places. Help them get the word out for Spectrum 18. I would love to see a more international flavor.

@Parka

You know, I think I rather agree with Anonymous: what is the purpose of a preview if the content is already available somewhere else? Of course, the usual response will be "it's my blog" and "I'm just making people aware" but really, by offering no new information of your own, aren't you just advertising a product? Not to mention, of course, the large footer devoted to myriad Amazon links.

Just sayin'.

What is the matter with you people. Here this guy provides a valuable service and you have to criticize him for doing previews for books. Even if it were an ad so what? The review will come when the book comes. People seem to get really critical when someone has achieved a measure of success. Maybe it's a compliment.

Exactly what Andrew and Bill said above, this site is more than helpful to loads of people out there who are interested in these books. I've purchased many books in the past without knowing what to expect beyond the cover, because there were absolutely no previews available beforehand, and a few of them turned out to be a waste of money. Now, because Parka reviews and previews many of the books that I have the same taste in, I know what to expect instead of taking risks when buying. Besides, if Parka get's sponsorship or any kind of revenue from advertising, then all the more power to him. Everybody has to make money to support themselves and when it comes to these art books, believe me, it ain't cheap either! Thanks Parka for providing us with an awesome website like this... especially when it's FREE for us!

I also echo the "Thank Yous". You are providing a great service, and list books here that I would otherwise know nothing about. Keep up the great work!