Illustration for “A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Proposed Trade-Offs for the Overhaul of the Barricade” by John Chu on Tor.com.

Synopsis: “Generation after generation, engineers have maintained the barricade, a shield that protects civilization against Turbulence, this strange force that destroys both minds and machines. As Turbulence grows ever more intense and the barricade begins to fail, can Ritter live up to the demands of his father, an engineer the equal of any hero in the Five Great Classical Novels, as they struggle to prevent this civilization from falling like every civilization has before it?”

It was tricky to figure out how to approach this illustration, but in the end it was lot of fun. I used Hexels Pro to do the isometric shapes in the background.

Many thanks to AD Irene Gallo!