Author: Weta Workshop, Daniel Falconer
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Harper Design
Release Date: December 13, 2013
Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars
Peter Jackson is my hero, period. I love his vision for “The Lord of The Rings”. The films are amazing and I always wanted more. When he stepped back into that world with “The Hobbit”, I was excited for another film but then that one film turned into another trilogy. Last year, I was thrilled to have received “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design”, which was easily one of my favorite books of the year. Then earlier this year I received “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles II – Creatures and Characters”, which was a fantastic companion to the film. Both of these really captured the making of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and I was dying to see what they had planned for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”. Well I was left 100% satisfied, this book is a must own!
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles: Art & Design” takes a really deep look into the second film in Peter Jackson’s second trilogy from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The film follows Biblo’s and the dwards travels to reclaim the lost realm of Erebor from the Dragon Smaug. Like the first book in this series, it dives into the design and development of the environments in the film, as well as the different cultures, creatures, and artifacts that are found in the film. Be prepared to be wowed since there are over one thousand stunning images, that’s 1,000 images, consisting of conceptual art, photographs, all wrapped around amazing commentary from the film’s cast and crew.
This book was overseen by Weta Workshop’s senior concept designer Daniel Falconer. You can tell that it is a real labor of love for the team since it is not a cop out of a art book, there is a lot of detail and love that went into this book and if you are a fan of these films you will be eating up every single word and gorgeous image provided. I thought that they couldn’t get any better after “Creatures & Characters” but I was wrong since this one outdoes them all. Also as a super cool bonus, only available with this book, there is a special fold-out replica of the portrait of the Master of Lake-town, played by Stephen Fry in the film. If you want more keep an eye out for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles – Cloaks & Daggers” which drops on July 8, 2014.