 Wilkes also praised the "striking" illustrations by Philip Hood, particularly that of the "vacuumorph", though noted that some of his artwork was somewhat anatomically questionable and that some aspects of the book's science and technology "raised questions too involved to introduce here".He concluded that the greatest strength of the work was its ability to "compel empathy with such strange creatures".Writing for the magazine "The Skeptic", British critic and author David Langford stated that the book was a "superior coffee-table production", but found it "illuminating and fun" rather than realistic.