The Fantastic Kingdom (1974) — David Larkin (Pan/Ballantine)
ISBN: 9780330242219 • Condition: Good • Seller: Crappy Old Books
Welcome to the nation-state of “Ooh, look at that,” population: you. The Fantastic Kingdom is the coffee-table passport you didn’t know you needed—an illustrated grand tour through dragons that have clearly unionised, castles that moonlight as weather systems, and forests where the mushrooms are suspiciously well-lit. Curated (with a knowing grin) by David Larkin, it’s a parade of fantasy art that remembers when illustration meant ink stains, paint under the fingernails, and a deadline that smelled faintly of pipe smoke.
Open anywhere and you’ll find creatures that have perfected the side-eye, knights who regret reading the small print on their quests, and landscapes that appear to have been landscaped by thunderstorms. Here be griffins, fauns, queens with unflappable hair, and goblins who have learned the power pose. The styles swing from storybook delicate to poster-on-your-bedroom-wall dramatic, with occasional detours into “did the artist just invent a new mineral?” It’s an album of what-ifs arranged by someone who understands that the only thing better than a map is a map with a sea serpent on it.
Larkin’s captions (and selections) are the quiet host at the gallery opening: helpful, amused, and a touch enabling. The artists—whether stalwarts of the golden age or 20th-century dream-cartographers—get room to breathe and to brood. Some images nudge you; others seize you by the lapels and insist on a quest. Either way, your inner eight-year-old and your outer art snob shake hands politely and agree to share the sofa.
About our copy: graded Good by Crappy Old Books—our name, not our standards. Translation: a handsome, well-kept Pan/Ballantine wanderer with just enough shelf-rub to show it has lived among mortals. Corners with character, a spine that stands to attention, and pages that lie flat like well-trained carpets (possibly flying). No fluorescent vandalism, no coffee cataclysm; just the dignified patina of a book that has been opened with gasps rather than guilty crumbs.
Why this kingdom deserves diplomatic immunity on your shelf:
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A treasure-chest survey of fantasy illustration, from misty glades to unapologetic thunder.
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Perfect “leave it out and people start conversations” energy.
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Inspires drawing, daydreaming, and the occasional ill-advised attempt at heraldry.
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Works on all audiences: children, artists, nostalgists, and visiting skeptics who pretend not to look and then do.
Buy it for the pictures. Keep it for the places they take you. File it between Myth & Magic and that sketchbook you’re definitely going to use, and enjoy the way the room gains a slightly enchanted draft. If anyone asks what’s inside, say “urban planning for dragons.” Then hand it over and watch them apply for citizenship. At Crappy Old Books, we specialise in volumes that turn coffee tables into portals and Tuesdays into quests.
