Hardware is not a perfect book. The binding, while sturdy, struggles slightly with the two-page spreads of his most famous panoramic paintings (a common curse of the format). Additionally, a few of the earliest commercial pieces feel like filler compared to the majesty of the space art.
For anyone who grew up in the 1970s or 80s with a stack of dog-eared science fiction paperbacks, the name Chris Foss isn't just a footnote—it's a primal trigger. Before CGI, before concept art for Star Wars became ubiquitous, there was Foss’s airbrushed vision of the future: mile-long starships crusted with primary-colored hull plates, enigmatic alien city-ships drifting through nebulae, and impossible geometries rendered in glossy, fetishistic detail. Hardware- The Definitive SF Works of Chris Foss
However, don't expect a detailed biography. Foss remains a slightly enigmatic figure; the book focuses on the what and the how of the art, not the why of the man. For some, this is a strength—the art speaks for itself. For others, a deeper dive into his reclusive later years would have been welcome. Hardware is not a perfect book
Let’s be clear: the core of this book is the art. Foss’s signature style—airbrushed gradients, stark lighting, and that unforgettable use of industrial yellow, crimson, and deep space black—is reproduced here with stunning fidelity. Unlike the muddy, low-res covers of vintage paperbacks, these images pop. You can finally see the rivets on a Dorsai dreadnought and the subtle wear on a hull plate of the SS Giotto . For anyone who grew up in the 1970s
Art books often suffer from overly academic or painfully sparse text. Hardware strikes a smart middle ground. The foreword by Foss himself is surprisingly humble and technical, detailing his move from graphic design to airbrush art. The chapter introductions are written by sci-fi author and critic Jonathan McCalmont, who provides historical context without getting bogged down in theory.
What elevates Hardware beyond a simple art collection is its curation. The editors have dug deep into the archives. You get the expected classic covers for Isaac Asimov, E.E. "Doc" Smith, and A.E. van Vogt, but you also get the weird stuff: his conceptual designs for the unmade Dune movie (imagine a Lynchian Guild Heighliner drenched in Foss’s candy-apple red), his advertising illustrations for car manufacturers, and his strange, surrealist personal pieces.
But these are minor quibbles. If you own a single Foss poster, you need this book. If you are a concept artist, a model-maker, or a writer of space opera, this belongs on your reference shelf. And if you are simply a fan of that specific, glorious era when science fiction promised a future of vast, colorful, slightly dangerous machinery, then Hardware will feel like coming home.
