The Rise Of The Terran Empire cover (see image) shows authentic Ythrians. They look as if they have wings and legs but no arms. However, what we see are wings and arms.
"What [Hirharouk] stood on was his wings, which spanned five and a half meters when unfolded. Turned downward, they spread claws at the angle which made a kind of foot; the backward-sweeping alatan surface could be used for extra support. What had been legs and talons, geological epochs ago, were arms and three-fingered two-thumbed hands."
-Poul Anderson, "Lodestar" IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 631-680 AT p. 646.
Ythrians are awkward afoot and awesome aloft.
See An Ythrian On The Wing.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
So what looked like legs in that illustration were the arms used by the Ythrians. Hitherto I had been unsure of the accuracy of that cover illustration when depicting Ythrians--but I see now it's one of the better covers used by Baen Books for its republishing of the Technic series.
That other flying race we see in the Technic stories, the Diomedeans, looked very different!
Sean
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