CALYPSO
by Oliver Langmead
published by Titan Books, 2 April 2024
Rochelle wakes from cryostasis to take up her role as engineer on the colony ark, Calypso. But she finds the ship has transformed into a forest, populated by the original crew’s descendants, who revere her like a saint.
She travels the ship with the Calypso’s creator, the enigmatic Sigmund, and Catherine, a bioengineered marvel who can commune with the plants, uncovering a new history of humanity forged while she slept.
She discovers a legacy of war between botanists and engineers. A war fought for the right to build a new Earth – a technological paradise, or a new Eden in bloom, untouched by mankind’s past.
And Rochelle, the last to wake, holds the balance of power in her hands.
These internal illustrations were designed in collaboration with the author and were intended to integrate directly with the reading of the poem.
The initial image shows designs which span four pages of the book. The inset flora design begins surrounded by the text but then grows to fill the entirety of the page, choking the printed text.
The second image shows the chapter header designs, representing the various narrators of the poem. The designs incorporate visual motifs; symbolic of the various aspects of the characters.
Below these are unused concepts which were designed and composed in 3D software and Photoshop and intended to be used as reference for paintings. The images depict various key scenes within the poem.
