The Art of John Harris: Beyond the Horizon
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- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：John Harris
- ISBN：1781168423
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Summary
World-renowned visionary artist John Harris' unique concept paintings capture the Universe on a massive scale， featuring everything from epic landscapes and towering cities to out-of-this-world science fiction vistas。
This collection focuses on his wide variety of futuristic art， as well as his striking covers for a variety of esteemed SF authors， including Arthur C Clarke， John Scalzi， Ben Bova， Hal Clement， Jack McDevitt， Frederik Pohl， Orson Scott Card's Enders books and many more。
This collection focuses on his wide variety of futuristic art， as well as his striking covers for a variety of esteemed SF authors， including Arthur C Clarke， John Scalzi， Ben Bova， Hal Clement， Jack McDevitt， Frederik Pohl， Orson Scott Card's Enders books and many more。
Reviews
Michael Reilly
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Even at their most technological， or when daunting in scale or purpose， the images that John Harris creates still retain a human perspective， arising a deep connection due to immense curiosity， wonder and unknown events。 Their vast scale， contrast， edges and minimal details all impress， capturing something beyond mere form and colour， with a storyteller’s eye for suggestion and a masterful ability to generate rich atmosphere without fuss。I’ve been beguiled by Harris’s art since purchasing a copy Even at their most technological， or when daunting in scale or purpose， the images that John Harris creates still retain a human perspective， arising a deep connection due to immense curiosity， wonder and unknown events。 Their vast scale， contrast， edges and minimal details all impress， capturing something beyond mere form and colour， with a storyteller’s eye for suggestion and a masterful ability to generate rich atmosphere without fuss。I’ve been beguiled by Harris’s art since purchasing a copy of MASS many years ago – his structures and scenarios in that book immediately grabbed my attention as something to be experienced; a feeling that is yet to wane。 Beyond the Horizon features many paintings from that earlier collection， with additional comments about their conception and substance: I would have welcomed more of these creator contributions – and further sketches – but the book mirrors the art in providing just enough content to capture your interest and leave you wanting more。 。。。more
Roger
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John Harris has been painting since the mid-1970s and uses a traditional method of oil on canvas。 This 2014 book gives a broad sample of his work， as used for a variety of avenues， from book covers to commissions for NASA。 He has provided covers for books by Asimov， Clarke， Bova， Scalzi and Scott Card， amongst others and his style tends towards bright colours， the impressionistic but technical， and expansive vistas that hint towards whole other worlds。 What I liked most about this book was how y John Harris has been painting since the mid-1970s and uses a traditional method of oil on canvas。 This 2014 book gives a broad sample of his work， as used for a variety of avenues， from book covers to commissions for NASA。 He has provided covers for books by Asimov， Clarke， Bova， Scalzi and Scott Card， amongst others and his style tends towards bright colours， the impressionistic but technical， and expansive vistas that hint towards whole other worlds。 What I liked most about this book was how you are drawn into Harris's mind， and how he appears to genuinely be seeing what he is painting， as though these fantastic sights actually exist。 This is for me how good science fiction works， by not suggesting what we can imagine， but what we can envision as though it is real。 I would have liked more text， and more insight into his process， but this book is a delight nonetheless。 。。。more
Ihor Kolesnyk
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Чудово。 Занурився， політав， повертаюся у життя і трохи сумую。
Joshua Castleman
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Tons of gorgeous art， of course。 I just love his style so much。 The only critique of this book is that I had really hoped to see more of his process， maybe walk through a few of his more 'famous' pieces， but the book was mostly just a gallery。 A beautiful， inspiring gallery of color and texture and space and imagination。 I would definitely like to own this book as a great part of my art collection。 Tons of gorgeous art， of course。 I just love his style so much。 The only critique of this book is that I had really hoped to see more of his process， maybe walk through a few of his more 'famous' pieces， but the book was mostly just a gallery。 A beautiful， inspiring gallery of color and texture and space and imagination。 I would definitely like to own this book as a great part of my art collection。 。。。more
Jack Ellis
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The art work in this book is beyond phenomenal， the pieces he has created for authors such as Arthur C。 Clarke and Ben Bova stand out contrary to the masterpieces of the books themselves and I'm blown away by the level of detail put in to every corner of his work。 The art work in this book is beyond phenomenal， the pieces he has created for authors such as Arthur C。 Clarke and Ben Bova stand out contrary to the masterpieces of the books themselves and I'm blown away by the level of detail put in to every corner of his work。 。。。more
Bryan Irving
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In the late 70s， I worked in a print and design company when John Harris was， for a short time， the graphic designer。 When we moved into bigger premises John had ventured full time into paining and we were lucky to have a big wall space where he hung his amazing representations of vast objects in space。 This is the second book about his work， thirty years after the first collection， Mass， and is a continuation of the spiritual quest and civilisation themes。 Beyond The Horizon is pushing the visi In the late 70s， I worked in a print and design company when John Harris was， for a short time， the graphic designer。 When we moved into bigger premises John had ventured full time into paining and we were lucky to have a big wall space where he hung his amazing representations of vast objects in space。 This is the second book about his work， thirty years after the first collection， Mass， and is a continuation of the spiritual quest and civilisation themes。 Beyond The Horizon is pushing the vision of what it could be like a few thousand years along the road。 After a career in science fiction illustration which saw him become the first artist commissioned by NASA， John Harris's literary commissions took him into landscape-themed jacket covers for many famous authors。 Nowadays he's still on a philosophical journey into the future and is one of its most distinctive and imaginative representational artists。 。。。more
Marco
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A pretty large hardcover with a dustjacket， this is a collection of paintings by the famous Science Fiction artist， reproducing a plethora of the cover illustrations he painted in his forty years career。 Also， like most creative people Harris appears to be working on a personal magnus opus， which this book provides a pretty good look into。 Also features a number of texts and annotations by the artist， providing insight into a number of his works。The only reason I'm not giving this five stars is A pretty large hardcover with a dustjacket， this is a collection of paintings by the famous Science Fiction artist， reproducing a plethora of the cover illustrations he painted in his forty years career。 Also， like most creative people Harris appears to be working on a personal magnus opus， which this book provides a pretty good look into。 Also features a number of texts and annotations by the artist， providing insight into a number of his works。The only reason I'm not giving this five stars is personal taste; a number of the paintings just do not vibe with me。 。。。more
Daniel Elder
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I've owned this book since its release in 2014， and have long enjoyed leafing through its lovely imagery and using the various paintings at writing portals。 But only now， during the pandemic， did I sit down to actually read the book's text through from beginning to end。 This was a delightful exercise， especially the final section， which I had always skipped when leafing through because its inclusion of humanoid figures was boring to me compared to the epic landscapes and spaceships and interstel I've owned this book since its release in 2014， and have long enjoyed leafing through its lovely imagery and using the various paintings at writing portals。 But only now， during the pandemic， did I sit down to actually read the book's text through from beginning to end。 This was a delightful exercise， especially the final section， which I had always skipped when leafing through because its inclusion of humanoid figures was boring to me compared to the epic landscapes and spaceships and interstellar scenes。 But the final section of the book is a group of sketches and drawings and paintings Harris has made towards his own science fiction cosmology—a world， like most of his paintings， born out of lucid dreaming。 It's a rich world that I was so glad to read up on in detail。 Truly a delightful book for any science fiction nerd。 。。。more
Simon Jones
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Limited edition of 300 copies issued in illustrated slipcase with signed print in envelope and variant jacket from trade edition。
Brent Byron
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Got this for Father's day。 A perfect gift for me。John Harris is one of the greats of science fiction art。 There is a sense of vastness and longing in his works。 A quality that I've occasionally experienced in epic dreams about space。 I admit that I have bought books just because I recognized his art on the cover。 Fortunately， it is never a letdown to do so。 John Harris' artwork is on the cover of the Ender's Game series， John Scalzi's Old Man's War， and Anne Leckie's Ancillary series just to nam Got this for Father's day。 A perfect gift for me。John Harris is one of the greats of science fiction art。 There is a sense of vastness and longing in his works。 A quality that I've occasionally experienced in epic dreams about space。 I admit that I have bought books just because I recognized his art on the cover。 Fortunately， it is never a letdown to do so。 John Harris' artwork is on the cover of the Ender's Game series， John Scalzi's Old Man's War， and Anne Leckie's Ancillary series just to name a few big hits。 Harris has illustrated more than one Hugo and Nebula award winner。 He has also done covers for newer printings of Isaac Asimov and Ben Bova's books。There are also several pages of Harris' own art projects you won't find elsewhere。 This is much more than just book covers。 。。。more
Vegan Jon
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Beautiful works。 Very evocative。
Kiel Bryant
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I envy every visual artist who finds unique expression without loss of commercial appeal。 John Harris is among those radiant few。
Pendra Nachteule
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Incredibly good！
Maciek Salyga
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Impressionistic as Science Fiction at it's best。 John Harris artwork immediately hits you with an immense sense of scale。 The spaceships are humongous， and the planets these crafts are set against manage to dwarf them！ A great accomplishment in sci-fi concept art and highly recommended for everyone even remotely interested in the subject。 I enjoyed this art book on a tremendous level :） Impressionistic as Science Fiction at it's best。 John Harris artwork immediately hits you with an immense sense of scale。 The spaceships are humongous， and the planets these crafts are set against manage to dwarf them！ A great accomplishment in sci-fi concept art and highly recommended for everyone even remotely interested in the subject。 I enjoyed this art book on a tremendous level :） 。。。more
Kevin Kelsey
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Posted at Heradas ReviewJohn Harris is hands down my favorite Science Fiction cover artist。 I’m a simple man: I see his artwork on a book， I pick it up。 Every single time。 There’s just something about his work that is instantly recognizable and always draws me in。 His covers have become so highly sought after that their inclusion on a book has become a personal indicator for me that a publisher has faith in that book。 It’s a certain mark of quality， or almost a seal of approval。 It says: “This b Posted at Heradas ReviewJohn Harris is hands down my favorite Science Fiction cover artist。 I’m a simple man: I see his artwork on a book， I pick it up。 Every single time。 There’s just something about his work that is instantly recognizable and always draws me in。 His covers have become so highly sought after that their inclusion on a book has become a personal indicator for me that a publisher has faith in that book。 It’s a certain mark of quality， or almost a seal of approval。 It says: “This book lives up to the John Harris cover”。If you’ve read any Samuel Delany， Frederik Pohl， John Scalzi， Ann Leckie， Jack McDevitt， Ben Bova， Jack Vance， Orson Scott Card， Arthur C。 Clarke， Isaac Asimov， Allen Steele， John Barnes， etc， then you’re most likely familiar with his artwork。His paintings are absolutely dripping with massive scale， temperature， atmospheric motion， “otherness”， a marriage of the alien and the recognizable， and far future antiquity。 He provides a real aged quality to everything he paints。 Everything feels old and lived in: ancient ships， xeno-archaeological remnants， etc。 He provides just enough detail to spark your imagination， but he leaves the edges blurred， ambiguous and almost out of focus， so you have to fill in the mental blanks yourself。 It all has a photographic feel to it， although no one would confuse his painting for photographs。 How he manages to do this with a paintbrush is beyond me。 It’s like he thinks through a lense and paints it with a brush。 Just like reading a story， you meet the artwork halfway with your own imagination and fill in the blanks。I immensely enjoyed this collection because it not only had most of his gorgeous cover artwork， it also had earlier iterations and sketches of them， as well as sections of writing by John Harris describing his process and a little bit of his own history。 John mentions playing as a child in the post-war wreckage around rural England。 He guesses that this probably had an effect on his artistic output， and I have to agree。 You can see it in his art， the giant fuselages， war machines， airplanes， etc。 Pieces that would certain look alien in a rural English landscape。I was thrilled to discover that for many of his images， he has also written a rough history or story to correspond。 He has imagined a whole world that we only glimpse a single moment of。 He is able to show us this history and story with just a still image。 It’s such perfect art to be paired with novels。I’d highly recommend picking this up if you’re a fan of SF artwork。 。。。more
Alexander
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I first encountered the art of John Harris as a child， when my family bought a ZX Spectrum。 His paintings adorned the cover of the manuals that came with the computer， and spoke of a hazy， complex， monolithic future。 Years later I started looking for who had made those paintings， and was delighted to discover all of his other works。 This book is great， with fabulous full colour prints of some wonderful art。
Nathaniel
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The Art of John Harris is a an art book full of illustrations and with very little in the way of text。 If you love John Harris' iconic cover art the way that I do， then this book is kind of a necessity。 I was first captivated by the covers he did for Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead when I was a kid picking out used books to read during summer vacation in my granddad's used book store。I'm still a total sucker for any book with a John Harris illustration。 It's what first got me to pick up Ol The Art of John Harris is a an art book full of illustrations and with very little in the way of text。 If you love John Harris' iconic cover art the way that I do， then this book is kind of a necessity。 I was first captivated by the covers he did for Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead when I was a kid picking out used books to read during summer vacation in my granddad's used book store。I'm still a total sucker for any book with a John Harris illustration。 It's what first got me to pick up Old Man's War， and Harris has continued to do the illustrations for John Scalzi's subsequent novels and short-stories in that universe。 I also picked up Ancillary Justice in large part due to the Harris cover， and that didn't turn out so well。 So for me: this book was a must have。I've been reading through the text as well， including a foreword by John Scalzi and notes by John Harris。 Some of it is interesting， some of it less so。 You can never tell when artists are actually going to be usefully articulate about their own creative process， and--especially with visual artists in my experience--the predominant sense you often get from their writings is that they are odd people。 It's always weird to me that a person's art can resonate so powerfully， and yet their own assessment of that art can be neutral or even off-putting。 That's the case here， from time to time， although some of Harris's recollections （such as exploring the decrepit old World War II bunkers around his London home as a boy in the 1950s） are haunting and actually do give insight into his work。But hey: most people aren't buying this book for the text。 They're buying it for the art。 And you can't go wrong with John Harris artwork。 。。。more
Anthony Ryan
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If you've read the major sci-fi novels of the past twenty years the chances are at least one had a cover by John Harris。 A visual feast demonstrating a remarkable talent to make the unreal real。 If you've read the major sci-fi novels of the past twenty years the chances are at least one had a cover by John Harris。 A visual feast demonstrating a remarkable talent to make the unreal real。 。。。more
Joel
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John Harris is the artist behind the cover painting of dozens of science fiction books。 His style is recognizable at a glance - vivid but indistinct， the line work blurred and yet the whole is understood at once。This coffee table sized book is a treasure。 Although ably introduced by John Scalzi and with commentary by Harris himself， the real joy of the book is the massive spreads， in full color， that allow the reader to examine in minute detail， sans text or markings， the images that have graced John Harris is the artist behind the cover painting of dozens of science fiction books。 His style is recognizable at a glance - vivid but indistinct， the line work blurred and yet the whole is understood at once。This coffee table sized book is a treasure。 Although ably introduced by John Scalzi and with commentary by Harris himself， the real joy of the book is the massive spreads， in full color， that allow the reader to examine in minute detail， sans text or markings， the images that have graced so many iconic covers。Of particular note is the 'Works by Author' appendix， which displays several illustrations side by side， all the better to see how they work as a whole over the course of a given series。 For myself， who came to Harris' artwork through Scalzi's 'Old Man's War' series， to see several illustrations from the books laid out together was both a chance to re-examine the paintings together， as well as an opportunity to reflect on a series of books I thoroughly enjoyed。This is the kind of over-sized book I like to have out where I can leaf through it again and again， letting new details and revelations catch me where they may。 I also hope that this volume paves the way for a standalone Art of Old Man's War book at some point in the future。Highly recommended。 。。。more
Michael Alexander
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While browsing on Amazon I was drawn to this book by it's cover。 The name John Harris meant nothing to me but the art on the cover was from "The Human Division" by John Scalzi， part of series I very much enjoyed。 Looking closer I saw the words "Foreward by John Scalzi" on the cover and decided to pick it up。 I'm glad I did。From reading the book I found out John Harris has been painting since the 1970's and his art has been on the covers of books by authors such as Isaac Asimov， Arthur C。 Clarke， While browsing on Amazon I was drawn to this book by it's cover。 The name John Harris meant nothing to me but the art on the cover was from "The Human Division" by John Scalzi， part of series I very much enjoyed。 Looking closer I saw the words "Foreward by John Scalzi" on the cover and decided to pick it up。 I'm glad I did。From reading the book I found out John Harris has been painting since the 1970's and his art has been on the covers of books by authors such as Isaac Asimov， Arthur C。 Clarke， Orson Scott Card， and Ben Bova。 In 1984 he was invited to Cape Kennedy to witness a Space Shuttle launch and record it in a painting。 That painting hangs in Kennedy Space Centre and is part of the Smithsonian Collection。The works in this book are fantastic and would be a delight for any fan of science fiction。 Nearly every work instills you with a feeling of awe and wonder and would look amazing framed on your wall。Now I know who John Harris is。 。。。more
Matt McLean
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Just great stuff。 His style really suits the sci-fi subject matter。 There's a dream-like fuzziness to it， like looking through the lens of what could be。 Coupled with the visual stories he tells with vistas and equipment alike， this really emphasizes the mystery， excitement， and sheer size of the effort of exploring and living in space and on other planets。 Just great stuff。 His style really suits the sci-fi subject matter。 There's a dream-like fuzziness to it， like looking through the lens of what could be。 Coupled with the visual stories he tells with vistas and equipment alike， this really emphasizes the mystery， excitement， and sheer size of the effort of exploring and living in space and on other planets。 。。。more
Carl V。
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John Harris and his iconic paintings have been a part of the science fiction community for nearly four decades。 He brings an impressionistic sensibility to his bold， massive space landscapes that make each piece stand out as a distinct work of art。 Generations of readers have discovered his work because of the science fiction novels graced with his creations。 Harris continues to be a prolific creator whose work resides on the covers of some of the biggest names in SF literature。 This new retrosp John Harris and his iconic paintings have been a part of the science fiction community for nearly four decades。 He brings an impressionistic sensibility to his bold， massive space landscapes that make each piece stand out as a distinct work of art。 Generations of readers have discovered his work because of the science fiction novels graced with his creations。 Harris continues to be a prolific creator whose work resides on the covers of some of the biggest names in SF literature。 This new retrospective is a welcome body of work and should be added to your collection the moment it is released。For a full review with many examples of the gorgeous images found within this book， please visit SF Signal here:http://www。sfsignal。com/archives/2014。。。 。。。more
Neil Hepworth
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