''Nightmares in the Sky: Gargoyles and Grotesques'' is a

coffee table book A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and from which it can serve to inspire convers ...

about architectural

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry wa ...

s and grotesques, photographed by f-stop Fitzgerald with accompanying text by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

, and published in 1988. An excerpt was published in the September 1988 issue of '' Penthouse''. Some of the images in the book were used as textures in the video games ''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

'' and ''

Doom II ''Doom II'', also known as ''Doom II: Hell on Earth'', is a first-person shooter game by id Software. It was released for MS-DOS computers in 1994 and Macintosh computers in 1995. Unlike the original ''Doom'', which was initially only available ...

''.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' found some King's text took a "teen stance" occasionally, but that it "evokes the weight and brooding presence" of gargoyles, coming to a possibility to their purpose quoting King, "venting the waste material of our own hidden fears". However, it was the stark photographs from f-stop Fitzgerald that truly stood out to the reviewer.

References

1988 non-fiction books Architecture books Non-fiction books by Stephen King Coffee table books Grotesques {{art-book-stub