Boxmaster by Lichtenberg

Some of you may remember author Jacqueline Lichtenberg, who was for many years a regular visitor to the now-gone "DarkoverCon." Jacqueline originated and wrote (or co-wrote) a series of books set in the "Sime-Gen" world, a post-apocalyptic era when humanity has separated into two phases, the vampiric Simes and the life-giving Gens. But Jacqueline has written much more than that, including genuine vampire stories, occult romances, humorous fantasy, and even some non-fiction about Jewish mysticism.

She ventured into "hard" science fiction with her proposed "Boxmaster" series, about a guild of spacefaring Earthmen who were psychically bonded with semi-sentient crystal shards (somewhat like the famous old "Lensmen"). The crystals, housed in special boxes, processed data and memories which the Boxmasters could transfer and interpret. Lichtenberg wrote one book as a sample, which she allowed me to read so I could produce illustrations. Unfortunately the "Boxmaster" series did not succeed in getting published so it remains with Jacqueline somewhere, with an excerpt online. 

This was my original cover for the book, which would have been available in magazine form rather than paperback. The style is different from my usual ink drawing; I was trying to imitate the etching and flat black style of mid-century SF magazines. You can see another image from my illustrations here. And also, a portrait of the alien partner of the human Boxmaster.

Ink on illustration board, 8 1/2" x 11", September 1994.