BEOWULF'S CHILDREN

Cover illustration for Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes

Michael Whelan

Aug 11, 2024

With face dramatically lit, a middle aged man looks off panel while holding a swaddled baby. The barrel of a futuristic pump action gun with pistol grip rests on his opposite shoulder. Beside him stands a young woman with straight blonde hair. She's wearing a black leather jacket and is cocking her head to look past him directly into the camera. Opposite her stands a young man also staring forward but his vision is lost behind futuristic goggles. A coiled wire extends down to a pack strapped over his shoulder. The background landscape is decidedly alien, a grassland with shallow water winding through it. A weeping tree rises behind the trio. Bark loosely winds around its trunk as if frozen in motion. Wispy fronds of green vegetation, made of tiny fern-like leaves, dangle from its branches. In the foreground left, an alien lizard climbs the bare trunk of a tree. Its mouth opens in a hiss directed at a futuristic blimp floating in the dawn lit sky. — BEOWULF'S CHILDREN (1995), Watercolor and Acrylic on Board - 27" x 36"

This sequel to The Legacy of Heorot provided a fascinating opportunity to explore the alien ecology of Tau Ceti.

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Additional images from BEOWULF’S CHILDREN

LEFT: Detail from BEOWULF'S CHILDREN featuring a man holding a swaddled baby in one hand while resting a futuristic pump action shot gun on his opposite shoulder. He's flanked by a young woman with blonde hair and a young man wearing futuristic goggles. CENTER: Close detail from BEOWULF'S CHILDREN featuring a young woman with blonde hair and a young man wearing futuristic goggles. A coiled wire extends down to a pack strapped over his shoulder. The background landscape is decidedly alien, a grassland with shallow water winding through it. An alien lizard climbs the bare trunk of a tree. Its mouth opens in a hiss directed at a futuristic blimp floating in the dawn lit sky. RIGHT: Close detail from BEOWULF'S CHILDREN featuring a man holding a swaddled baby in one hand while resting a futuristic pump action shot gun on his opposite shoulder. Beside him stands a young woman with straight blonde hair. She's wearing a black leather jacket and is cocking her head to look past him directly into the camera. — Details from BEOWULF'S CHILDREN

*Beowulf’s Children* by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes (TOR)

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BEOWULF'S CHILDREN

Cover illustration for Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes

Additional images from BEOWULF’S CHILDREN

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