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THIS ALIEN SHORE

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THIS ALIEN SHORE

Cover Illustration for C.S. Friedman

Michael Whelan
Nov 15, 2024
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THIS ALIEN SHORE

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In a busy spaceport, a young redheaded woman wearing a glittering gold mini skirt and loose long sleeve top stops to lean against a metal support pillar. Discreetly, she holds a thin horseshoe shaped device with the head of a serpent and a green glowing eye. Behind her, the background is split into two levels. The upper deck is tinted purple while the lower level is bathed in gold. Wearing black cloaks, humanoids with disfigured faces are sprinkled among the panoply of alien lifeforms. Some fight through the press of bodies toward the girl
THIS ALIEN SHORE (1998) Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 30" x 20”

A novel about an unusually talented outcast girl trying to make her way through a complex, hostile universe full of bizarre aliens and double-dealing humans. I played up the "everyone is out to get me" aspect of the story and enjoyed creating the offbeat characters in the background.

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Additional images from THIS ALIEN SHORE

LEFT: Detail from THIS ALIEN SHORE featuring a young woman in a shimmering gold miniskirt. Her belt hangs diagonally across her hips. The buckle is a shiny red orb with the lower deck of the spaceport. She leans against the wall with fingers curled as one hand rests against the surface while her other hand crosses her body pointing right. The c-shaped gadget she holds directs the eye to a man in black robes. His face is disfigured with a pattern of lines like a maze. Below the stairs, a cast of alien figures are bathed in warm light. CENTER: Detail from THIS ALIEN SHORE featuring the view past the young woman to the winding stairs, purple tinted facade of the spaceport interior, and a tall arched window with a view of a rotating space station beyond. A cast of alien characters occupy the stairs including an ogre-like couple. The man stops, craning his long neck as his wife grabs his elbow and says something to him. Three men in black cloaks with a pattern of lines on their faces point to the main character. RIGHT: Closer detail from THIS ALIEN SHORE featuring a close look at the cast of alien characters loitering on the stairs. A seedy looking alien drapes his elbow over the railing and glance over to the main foreground left. Next to him an attractive female with white shoulder length hair anchors at the ledge with arms wide and palms down as she gazes down to the right. Her arms are covered with ringed metal that flourishes at the round of her shoulder in shorter protrusions. Behind her, three men, whose faces are disfigured with a maze-like pattern, stand out in black robes. As they converge scanning the crowd in different directions, one points to the main figure in the foreground left. A mechanized man with human face and robot body—the bottom half with oversized—can be seen from behind. On what should be his trunk is etched the artist's sigil, the letters M and W combining inside a circle.LEFT: Detail from THIS ALIEN SHORE featuring a young woman in a shimmering gold miniskirt. Her belt hangs diagonally across her hips. The buckle is a shiny red orb with the lower deck of the spaceport. She leans against the wall with fingers curled as one hand rests against the surface while her other hand crosses her body pointing right. The c-shaped gadget she holds directs the eye to a man in black robes. His face is disfigured with a pattern of lines like a maze. Below the stairs, a cast of alien figures are bathed in warm light. CENTER: Detail from THIS ALIEN SHORE featuring the view past the young woman to the winding stairs, purple tinted facade of the spaceport interior, and a tall arched window with a view of a rotating space station beyond. A cast of alien characters occupy the stairs including an ogre-like couple. The man stops, craning his long neck as his wife grabs his elbow and says something to him. Three men in black cloaks with a pattern of lines on their faces point to the main character. RIGHT: Closer detail from THIS ALIEN SHORE featuring a close look at the cast of alien characters loitering on the stairs. A seedy looking alien drapes his elbow over the railing and glance over to the main foreground left. Next to him an attractive female with white shoulder length hair anchors at the ledge with arms wide and palms down as she gazes down to the right. Her arms are covered with ringed metal that flourishes at the round of her shoulder in shorter protrusions. Behind her, three men, whose faces are disfigured with a maze-like pattern, stand out in black robes. As they converge scanning the crowd in different directions, one points to the main figure in the foreground left. A mechanized man with human face and robot body—the bottom half with oversized—can be seen from behind. On what should be his trunk is etched the artist's sigil, the letters M and W combining inside a circle.LEFT: Detail from THIS ALIEN SHORE featuring a young woman in a shimmering gold miniskirt. Her belt hangs diagonally across her hips. The buckle is a shiny red orb with the lower deck of the spaceport. She leans against the wall with fingers curled as one hand rests against the surface while her other hand crosses her body pointing right. The c-shaped gadget she holds directs the eye to a man in black robes. His face is disfigured with a pattern of lines like a maze. Below the stairs, a cast of alien figures are bathed in warm light. CENTER: Detail from THIS ALIEN SHORE featuring the view past the young woman to the winding stairs, purple tinted facade of the spaceport interior, and a tall arched window with a view of a rotating space station beyond. A cast of alien characters occupy the stairs including an ogre-like couple. The man stops, craning his long neck as his wife grabs his elbow and says something to him. Three men in black cloaks with a pattern of lines on their faces point to the main character. RIGHT: Closer detail from THIS ALIEN SHORE featuring a close look at the cast of alien characters loitering on the stairs. A seedy looking alien drapes his elbow over the railing and glance over to the main foreground left. Next to him an attractive female with white shoulder length hair anchors at the ledge with arms wide and palms down as she gazes down to the right. Her arms are covered with ringed metal that flourishes at the round of her shoulder in shorter protrusions. Behind her, three men, whose faces are disfigured with a maze-like pattern, stand out in black robes. As they converge scanning the crowd in different directions, one points to the main figure in the foreground left. A mechanized man with human face and robot body—the bottom half with oversized—can be seen from behind. On what should be his trunk is etched the artist's sigil, the letters M and W combining inside a circle.
Details from THIS ALIEN SHORE
Book cover for THIS ALIEN SHORE by C.S. Friedman, published by DAW Books
This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman (DAW)

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THIS ALIEN SHORE

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Debra Sanders
Debra’s Substack
Nov 15

Oh my -- so much to see; what an imagination is behind all those characters. Very curious what the head of the furry guy looks like... or perhaps he doesn't have one. The girl has a Celtic or Viking torque? LOVE THIS!

Thank you so much, Dear Michael.

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