Synopses & Reviews
The first book in C.J.Cherryh's eponymous series,
Foreigner, begins an epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft who crash-land on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient alien race. From its beginnings as a human-alien story of first contact, the
Foreigner series has become a true science fiction odyssey, following a civilization from the age of steam through early space flight to confrontations with other alien species in distant sectors of space. It is the masterwork of a truly remarkable author.
Six months have passed since the reappearance of the starship Phoenixthe same ship which brought a colony of humans to the hostile environment of alien atevi nearly two hundred years ago. During these six months, the atevi have reconfigured their fledgling space program in a bid to take their place in the heavens alongside humans. But the return of the Phoenix has added a frighteningly powerful third party to an already volatile situation, polarizing both human and atevi political factions, and making the possibility of all-out planetary war an even more likely threat.
On the atevi mainland, human ambassador Bren Cameron, in a desperate attempt to maintain the peace, has arranged for one human representative from the Phoenix to take up residence with him in his apartments, and for another to be stationed on Mosphiera, humanity's island enclave. Bren himself is unable to return home for fear of being arrested or assassinated by the powerful arch conservative element who wish to bar the atevi from space. Desperately trying to keep abreast of the atevi associations, how can Bren possibly find a way to save two species from a three-sided conflict that no one can win?
The long-running Foreigner series can also be enjoyed by more casual genre readers in sub-trilogy installments. Inheritor is the 3rd Foreigner novel. It is also the 3rd book in the first subtrilogy.
Review
"The human-alien tensions that marked
Foreigner and
Invader peak in this
sophisticated conclusion to the trilogy. Through her hallmark ability to craft nonhuman languages as the basis for alluring alien psychologies, Cherryh superbly resolves this epic trilogy's multifaceted conflicts, dramatizing again the idea that people can't truly know their own language—nor others, nor themselves—until they master at least one other tongue." —
Publishers Weekly
"A good look at an alternative civilization where humans are not dominant, this nicely concludes a series but can stand on its own. Highly recommended." —Library Journal
"This is the kind of anthropological SF of which [Cherryh] is an acknowledged master." —Booklist
"A[n] impressive and more or less self-contained swirl of political intrigue, filtered through a memorably alien consciousness." —Kirkus
"As is always the case with C.J. Cherryh, the detailed exploration of the alien culture is outstanding. Yet, the personal conflicts and passions tearing the characters apart are not lost...The plot remains suspenseful, with a satisfactory payoff at the end. Highly recommended." —Starlog
Review
"Cherryh tantalizes our minds...captures our hearts and involves us completely...a consistently thoughtful and entertaining writer."
Publisher's Weekly "Satisfying and rewarding."Analog
Review
"C.J. Cherryhs splendid Foreigner series remains at the top of my must-keep-up reading list after two decades. Number 14, Protector, does not disappoint.... And then theres grownup political intrigue and gunplay for the icing." Locus (for Protector)
Review
"One of the best long-running SF series in existence.... Cherryh remains one of the most talented writers in the field." Publishers Weekly
Review
"My favorite science fiction series is C. J. Cherryh's Foreigner universe. Cherryh deftly balances alien psychology and human vanities in a character caught between being human and part of an alien race." Denver Post
Review
"A seriously probing, thoughtful, intelligent piece of work, with more insight in half a dozen pages than most authors manage in half a hundred." Kirkus
Review
"Cherryh superbly crafts complex intrigues and alien races possessed of integrity, as well as a sense of otherness." Library Journal
Review
"A large new Cherryh novel is always welcome...a return to the anthropological science fiction in which she has made such a name is a double pleasure.... Superlatively drawn aliens and characterization." Chicago Sun-Times
Synopsis
The sixteenth novel in Cherryh's Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences...
It's been a year of upheaval, since Bren Cameron's return from space--a year when he and the aiji-dowager, one of his most powerful atevi allies, returned home from their two-year interstellar mission to find the government over-thrown and their world in chaos.
Now, at last, things are calming down; the Assassins' Guild is functioning again, working out its internal difficulties, and Bren is settling back into his routine: not as Lord of the Heavens; not--to his regret--as Lord of Najida peninsula, where his leisure estate is located; but as paidhi-aiji, an official in the atevi court.
His current ambition is to keep himself and his bodyguard out of harm's way, and to shepherd the aiji-dowager's daring new trade agreement through the appropriate legislative committees. Combined with Tabini-aiji's recent appointment of his young son Cajeiri as his official heir, Bren's workload is challenging, but at least things on the atevi world seem to be on the right track.
Something is coming, however, quietly, stealthily, just the first ominous twinkle of a new star in the heavens....
Synopsis
A legend among sci-fi readers,
C. J. Cherryh's Union-Alliance novels, while separate and complete in themselves, are part of a much larger tapestrya future history spanning 5,000 years of human civilization.
Here is the 20th anniversary edition of Downbelow Station, the book that won Cherryh a Hugo Award for Best novel in 1982. A blockbuster space opera of the rebellion between Earth and its far-flung colonies, it is a classic science fiction masterwork.
Synopsis
Tracker is the sixteenth installment of CJ Cherryh's acclaimed Foreigner series.
About the Author
C. J. Cherryh planned to write since the age of ten. When she was older, she learned to use a type writer while triple-majoring in Classics, Latin and Greek. At 33, she signed over her first three books to DAW and has worked with DAW ever since. She can be found at cherryh.com.