Michael Whelan

DRAGONQUEST (1978)
Acrylic on Masonite - 20" X 30"



The primary menace to the planet Pern is "Thread," a corrosive and devastating alien life form which falls from the Red Star and burrows its way into the soil, destroying all life and making the soil unusable. Only the dragons who are able to burn the Thread out of the sky can save the inhabitants. 1/3

#sciencefiction #illustration #annemccaffrey #pern #dragon #delreybooks

1:57pmWeb
Show threadMichael Whelan9h ago
This seemed like a great scene to illustrate and it made an exciting cover, but I found out later that I goofed. Anne visualized Thread falling as straight strands of spaghetti, whereas I painted it as squirming ribbon-like things descending in clumps and tangles. 2/3
Show threadMichael Whelan9h ago

Cover illustration for DRAGONQUEST by Anne McCaffrey (Del Rey)

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/dragonquest/

Show threadKatzedecimal8h ago

@MichaelWhelan
Well, she described the Threads as doing just that, in later stories, & it led to a few plot points, so she took inspiration from your goof.

Pern was another of the "series I got into because of a Michael Whelan cover" 😄

Show threadNazo5h ago
@MichaelWhelan Given that "strings" were supposed to be a sort of fungal-like thing ejected from another planet that were to work their way in deep and grow in even incredibly hostile conditions, I would say some form of movement both from air currents/etc and perhaps even a tiny bit from the strings themselves wouldn't be unexpected anyway.
Show threadJoelBarr9h ago
@MichaelWhelan I absolutely bought that book for the cover when I was young.