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The Art of John Harris: Beyond the Horizon Hardcover – May 27, 2014
Purchase options and add-ons
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.
- Print length160 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTitan Books
- Publication dateMay 27, 2014
- Reading age18 years and up
- Dimensions9.35 x 0.7 x 12.5 inches
- ISBN-101781168423
- ISBN-13978-1781168424
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Science-fiction fans, painters and artists looking to outer space and distant worlds for inspiration? Well then, make sure you check out The Art of John Harris: Beyond The Horizon." - Retrenders
"His new book provides a fantastic primer for that long and varied career, along with some great insight into his process." - The Verge
"Since Harris' work is imaginative and painted in interesting ways, this work is worth adding to collections of illustration art fans and those of painters in general." - Art Contrarian
"The striking paintings and illustrations of English artist John Harris imagine a brightly colored, haunting world beyond Earth and even beyond the stars." - Flavorwire
"A very handsome collection." - John Scalzi’s Whatever
"This is the perfect collection to adorn the coffee table of any science fiction fan." - Geek Art Gallery
"Do not miss this beautiful collection of timeless sci-fi artwork!" - MuggleNet
"As John Harris has strongly influenced my imagination over the years, I am pleased to see his work presented in a high quality volume at a price that everyone can enjoy." - SF Signal
"Titan Books has released another fabulous art book of a contemporary science fiction artist. The Art of John Harris, Beyond The Horizon is as beautiful as the images contained in it." - Tor.com
"Your favorite fantastical cover artist, even if you never realized it." - io9
"Breathtaking Paintings." - Paste
"For those who need to get lost in epic science fictions scenes that will capture your wonderment. 10/10." - Adventures in Poor Taste
"If you’re looking for something to set your mind wandering and spark some inspiration, I highly recommend a trip Beyond the Horizon – and take the kids, too." - Geek Dad
"This is definitely something that you should be proud to display on coffee table...You’ll spend hours thumbing through these pages." - Giant Freakin Robot
"Fantastic Sci-Fi art shows you a beautiful, bewildering future." - Wired.com
"Harris is one of the most recognizable figures in SF art. This book is beautiful!" - Buzzfeed Community
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Titan Books; Illustrated edition (May 27, 2014)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 160 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1781168423
- ISBN-13 : 978-1781168424
- Reading age : 18 years and up
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 9.35 x 0.7 x 12.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #107,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #102 in Art of Film & Video
- #292 in Pop Culture Art
- #792 in Sociology Reference
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the art in the book great and beautiful. They find the images mesmerizing and insightful, fueling their imagination and wonder. The book is described as worthwhile and worth the money.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the book's art work. They appreciate the beautiful studies of colors, textures, and shapes. The images look great on book covers and even better in this book. Readers find the process fascinating and inspiring.
"...“John’s artwork, like that of Richard Powers or Frank Kelly Freas, is iconic, and also Bookstore Iconic–which is to say you can see it from across a..." Read more
"...by walking up and down the SF/F aisles at Barnes and Noble, this beautiful and sturdy book provides a wealth of both his most popular artwork, and..." Read more
"...the treat of examining his more personal efforts as well, beautiful studies of just colors, textures and shapes...." Read more
"...It will last awhile and it looks good enough for a coffee table. There is plenty of narration and description for the images in these books." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and mesmerizing, inspiring creativity. They find it a welcome addition to their collection, featuring most of John Harris's best work and some surprises. The glimpse into the process is also appreciated, providing an inspiration boost.
"...In it, Scalzi touches on the inspirational power of works of art, giving the example of how John Harris’ painting chosen for the cover of The Ghost..." Read more
"...The conversation was fascinating and insightful, and, of course, left us all wanting more. Would you like more?..." Read more
"...This is worthy of study and especially appreciation by both SF readers and anyone looking for art that's grounded but still imaginative enough to..." Read more
"...Beautiful artwork. Interesting insights. Great organization." Read more
Customers appreciate the imagination of the book. They say it elevates fantasy and sci-fi art to the realm of fine art. The pieces feel like different worlds to explore, with new concepts but solid in an older style of sci-fi fantasy.
"...of each, or it could have more new concepts but it is solid in this older style scifi fantasy." Read more
"Breathtaking, mesmerizing, fuelling imagination and wonder. Amazing and distinctive artwork...." Read more
"Very cool scifi from the older generation. Highly recommend reading for those interested in concept art careers." Read more
"...Each piece feels like a different world to explore." Read more
Customers find the book a good value.
"...to see his work presented in a high quality volume at a price that everyone can enjoy." Read more
"...Worth every penny" Read more
"...You can't help but get caught up in the views. Definitely worth the money." Read more
"Seriously, this is a great purchase...." Read more
Reviews with images
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Amazing Art Book
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2014John 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.
John Scalzi provides the foreword to this collection of art, which is fitting given the volume of work Harris has created for John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series over the past decade, including 13 original works to go along with each chapter, released weekly in 2013, for The Human Division.
In it, Scalzi touches on the inspirational power of works of art, giving the example of how John Harris’ painting chosen for the cover of The Ghost Brigade, stirred his imagination at a time when he had hit a roadblock in the execution of that very novel.
John Scalzi states, “John’s artwork, like that of Richard Powers or Frank Kelly Freas, is iconic, and also Bookstore Iconic–which is to say you can see it from across a bookstore, and when you see it, you know what you’re going to get in the pages of that book: A damn fine read that takes you places you can’t go any other way.”.
I find that an apt description because, unlike some cover artists, John Harris is not creating a painting to illustrate specific scenes in a novel but is instead creating a work whose scope and scale evokes some sense of expectation and emotion. His paintings inspire daydreaming about the places they depict.
The title of John Harris’ first art book is Mass, and it is a fitting title given that so much his work centers on great hulking ships, buildings, and planets and how these massive elements exist in relation to one another. In this new collection, Harris talks about how scientific concepts of mass and gravity and spatial relationships are important to him in his work and yet he will at times bend, or violate, those concepts in one way in order to promote them in another.
The Art of John Harris: Beyond the Horizon covers some thirty-five plus years of his career and showcases not only paintings used as cover images for a variety of science fiction novels, but also works he has created over the years for an ongoing story in images that he regularly adds to, as well as paintings inspired by NASA images of Earth from space and other non-book-related works.
While the look Harris achieves is accurately defined as “iconic”, this book shows the full range of his work, including some of the early roughs and pastel sketches that provide the foundation for his finished paintings. This glimpse at the process is insightful, especially as those roughs are also small works of art in and of themselves.
I became aware of the work of John Harris at an early age and have been a fan from the first time I laid eyes on one of his book covers. His work for authors like Ben Bova, Orson Scott Card, John Scalzi and Jack McDevitt cover many years of creative effort and he continues to provide cover work for these authors today. I personally value cover art consistency across book series and I give kudos to the book companies and their creative directors who continue to employ John Harris to create beautiful art.
When I think back to what attracted me to science fiction as a child, and what continues to spark my interest today, it is the sheer enormity and vastness of space. Our solar system is enormous, and that is but a speck of dust in comparison to the greater universe. John Harris captures that sense of the awesomeness of space and does so with rich, sometimes strikingly colorful images. Titan Books has created a wonderful tribute to John Harris’ career to date; it is a lovely volume worth adding to any collection of art books. The release of the book is timely given that John Harris is on the shortlist for Best Professional Artist at this year’s Hugo Awards in London. The May 27th release provides a gorgeous visual reminder of his talent and several of his eligible works from last year are included in this volume. As John Harris has strongly influenced my imagination over the years, I am pleased to see his work presented in a high quality volume at a price that everyone can enjoy.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2014I am not an artist. I’m an English teacher, and I love science fiction, and I love the art of John Harris - I could stare at his paintings for hours.
Imagine my delight then, when last fall, my students and I were given the opportunity to interview John Harris about his career as a science fiction artist. For an hour we picked his brain about his upbringing, his inspiration, his techniques, and his relationships with publishers and writers. Harris told us about growing up in an English countryside littered with the rotting and rusting artifacts of World War II; he told us about how he draws on nature to create images; and he talked at length with us about two pieces in particular, Quiet Night and Cleaning the Ducts (both of which receive full spreads in this book). The conversation was fascinating and insightful, and, of course, left us all wanting more. Would you like more? Then I give you The Art of John Harris: Beyond the Horizon.
While it’s true that a lot of Harris’s artwork can be seen on the internet, or indeed by walking up and down the SF/F aisles at Barnes and Noble, this beautiful and sturdy book provides a wealth of both his most popular artwork, and paintings that I have never seen before. In addition to the finished paintings, Harris has also included numerous pastels and sketches. These were my favorites, as, to my brain, the small colored sketches crackle with life and energy.
But what this book provides, most importantly, is context. Harris explains over several pages that much of the work in this book is of a single world and culture, created in his head, just so he could paint it. As he explains, he imagines himself on a donkey, traveling into a world that humans have not seen before, and, rather than having the luxury of something as mundane as a camera, he paints what he sees as though he were going to return to humanity to show us for the first time exotic peoples, locations, architecture, cultures, and myths that inhabit the dark ares on the map. I’m having a hard time doing this concept justice - it seems corny when I read my explanation, but trust me, the depth of knowledge that Harris has created to pull from rivals the imagination of any science fiction writer.
Almost every reader of science fiction knows Harris’s art and style, but, tragically, few readers know his name. Hopefully, this book will start to change that.
The Art of John Harris: Beyond the Horizon is 150 pages of stunning paintings, sketches, and reflections pulled from over 40 years of work. Each vision that comes from the brain of John Harris is a masterpiece, and each image in this book personifies the awe, the grandeur and the mystery that made us all fall in love with science fiction in the first place.
Top reviews from other countries
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Sem dúvida um achado sem igual para qualquer artista.Reviewed in Brazil on January 18, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Artbook de respeito
Do vintage ao futuro… referências para todo artista que como eu ama o estilo
- ChrisAReviewed in Canada on September 7, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired
I grew up reading books with his cover art and often because of his cover art. His work is inspiring and the book is beautifully printed.
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SMFReviewed in Italy on December 30, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Un pittore
Libro illustrato. Soggetti fantastici riprodotti quasi interamente con tecnica pittorica. Colori vivaci in perfetto equilibrio con atmosfere suggestive che in qualche caso ricordano la pittura di Turner.
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KannenmannReviewed in Germany on November 9, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Tolles Buch / geniale Kunst ! Ich liebe es !!!!
Tolle Art und eine absolute Bereicherung meiner Sammlung ! Sehr empfehlenswert !
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Cliente AmazonReviewed in Spain on May 22, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Precioso
Me ha encantado. No conocía al artista pero sí he visto diseños suyos precisamente en novelas/libros de ciencia ficción. Me he quedado con ganas de más.
La calidad del papel y las imágenes perfectas. La maquetación también es muy buena.
Llegó envuelto en papel celofán de plástico, por tanto mejor protegido.
Para quienes quieran conocer el trabajo del autor, los ejemplares 1 y 2, son una muy buena introducción