Cobra Gamble by Timothy Zahn (Cobra War Trilogy, Book 3)

Secret Djinn base

Cobra Smitty climbing a snake trail

Merrick destroying the jormungand (a giant armored snake)

Cuckoo's Egg by C.J. Cherryh

Presenting the stones -- Hatani test

     Often, I am content to make a few simple little sketches after reading a book. Sure, I'd love to make complete illustrations, but to at least do SOMETHING is okay... it's enough.
But then there's some books for which I can hardly stand to make even those few simple sketches -- not because the book is uninteresting or hard to visualize, but because it's a story that is particularly engaging to me, and it bothers me not to be able to represent it with a genuinely GREAT picture.

Cuckoo's Egg is one of those books.

  I wish I could give you a beautiful, fully rendered painting (or two, or three). Then you could really see, could *feel*, this story. But alas, I have neither the skills nor the time to make anything beyond a couple rough sketches

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 One narrator knows nothing; the other knows everything but reveals very, very little. Something huge is going on. Something desperate. Chaos descends over a world, and we have only a few speed-blurred glimpses of it, barely understood through Thorn [the protagonist]'s eyes:
...A shuttle, poised against the smoke-stained sky. On the horizon, a red sun burst, and swelled, and faded...
   

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Thorn -- Hatani solution

 Cuckoo's Egg has a good, satisfying ending, and yet... it's left so wide open. It's like the story's only getting started! But... copyright 1985, and no sequel in sight. Oh well.

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Cobra Guardian by Timothy Zahn (Cobra War Trilogy, Book 2)

Lorne leaps over the streets of occupied Capitalia

Lorne launching Nissa up to the Tlossie ship

Freylan protecting Jody from the tree wolves