He details a variety of alien lifeforms such as 'Gyrosprinters', 'Arrowtongues', 'Grovebacks', 'Daggerwrists', 'Skewers', 'Emperor Sea Striders', and 'Eosapiens'. When an uncrewed Yma probe discovers evidence of alien life on Darwin IV, the titular 'expedition' is sent to investigate.īarlowe presents his findings in a collection of paintings, sketches, field notes, and diary entries from his explorations of Darwin IV. Aided by a benevolent and technologically superior alien race, the Yma, humanity begins to repair their ravaged world while simultaneously learning more about the universe around them. Most of the remaining fauna, with the exception of humans themselves, have suffered horrible mutations and can only be found in zoos.

In the 24th century, the exploitation of the Earth's ecosystem has created an environment so toxic that mass extinctions have wiped out nearly most of its nonhuman animal population.

Barlowe served as the design consultant and one of the executive producers of the adaptation.Įxpedition is written as though it is published in the year 2366, five years after Barlowe partook in a crewed expedition to the planet Darwin IV. In 2005, Expedition was adapted into a TV special for the Discovery Channel titled Alien Planet. Several reviewers also criticized the life forms, finding some of them to be implausible or doubting that Darwin IV could actually function as an ecosystem. Various sources of inspiration were used for the creature designs, including dinosaurs, modern beasts and different types of vehicles.Įxpedition garnered very favorable reviews, being praised particularly for its many illustrations and for the level of detail in the text, which serves to maintain the illusion of realism. None of Darwin IV’s wildlife have eyes, external ears, hair, or jaws, and they bear little resemblance to Earthlings. The extraterrestrial or alien organisms of Darwin IV were designed to be 'truly alien', with Barlowe having grown dissatisfied with the common science fiction trope of alien life being similar to life on Earth, especially the notion of intelligent alien humanoids. Written as a first-person account of a 24th-century crewed expedition to the fictional planet of Darwin IV, Expedition describes and discusses an imaginary extraterrestrial ecosystem as if it were real. Voyage to Darwin IV is a 1990 speculative evolution and science fiction book written and illustrated by the American artist and writer Wayne Barlowe. Expedition: Being an Account in Words and Artwork of the 2358 A.D.

Wayne barlowe's expedition