C. J. Cherryh

1. The Chanur Saga
2. Chanur's Homecoming
3. Chanur's Legacy

Hilfy Chanur has taken on the role of merchant-captain on her own vessel, following in the footsteps of Pyanfar's career. But the shadow of her former captain is always visible, and intrigue never far off.

The Pride of Chanur

This is an introductory novel to the universe, capable mostly of standing alone. In it, the reader is introduced to the Hani, a race of spacefaring, vaguely humanoid felines, and the Chanur, a powerful family of hani; also to the kif, vaguely-humanoid nocturnal predators; the mahendo'sat, vaguely-humanoid and difficult to characterize; and Tully, a lone human trying to survive in interstellar space. As is typical for Cherryh, this is a first-contact novel from the inside out, with the viewpoint resting squarely upon the hani, providing a view of humanity from alien eyes. The Compact races, including all of the above except humans, are thrust into a first-contact situation themselves by the arrival of Tully.

Tully, of course, is a valuable commodity, as the only available representative of a new spacefaring race capable of trade. But after he escapes from his kif captors and sneaks aboard the Pride of Chanur, the hunt is on. Can he trust the hani? Who can the hani trust as allies?

Chanur's Venture

Following the adventure of the prior novel, the Pride of Chanur has just barely gotten itself back on its feet, but still has debts to pay. So they are understandably wary when Goldtooth offers them a present in the form of Tully, the human who brought them so much trouble the first time around. But the lure of trade is enough to overcome reluctance, and once more the chase is on.

If The Price of Chanur is an introductory novel, this is the first novel of a trilogy, and it shows: problems go unresolved and the whole thing ends on a cliffhanger. But it's an exciting roller-coaster ride nonetheless, and as usual, Cherryh somehow manages to deliver a high level of tension with a minimum of shooting. We begin to catch glimpses of hani politics, mahendo'sat menuverings, and kif psychology, as the hani are drawn deeper into the intrigues they had previously ignored.

The Kif Strike Back

In The Kif Strike Back, we learn that the kif have no intention of allowing their opponents to dictate the rules of the game. Quite the opposite, in fact. With Tully and Hilfy held captive to force Chanur's hand, one faction of kif seek to corrupt another ship as before they corrupted Tahar's Moon Rising. The only way out for the Pride of Chanur is to go deeper in, to learn the intricate web of kifish politics, and hope to learn fast enough to win back their crew and their escape. And the mahendo'sat continue to plot in the background, manipulating events to their own ends.

Although all three books do not hold the complete story, this compilation volume is an excellent introduction to the universe and will surely leave little doubt about picking up the fourth novel, Chanur's Homecoming.

Hammerfall is set in a desert world where the low-tech populace is completely ignorant of their interstellar origins and of the conflict between (alien?) races that is about to engulf them. The book largely consists of the intricacies of desert travel in a world where the nanotech-enforced scavengers have gotten a little out of control. Several of the primary characters are 'mad', they receive visions that direct them to a certain place and warn of an incomprehensible impending disaster. One of these, a former prince of the independent desert tribes, is sent by the enigmatic and seemingly immortal ruler to investigate the cause of the madness; however, she knows far more than she's willing to tell the mad prince.

Beyond simply being a fantasy-esque trip through the desert with a few fleshed-out characters, there's not a lot to this book. The low-tech characters' views of the strange technologies they encounter is slightly interesting but could have been done a lot better - more mysterious, creepier, more wonderous, something. This book might be an opener for a series, I don't know; as a standalone the interstellar implications of the story are vague and uninteresting, and those implications are supposed to be the driving force of the plot.

1. Foreigner
2. Invader
3. Inheritor
4. Precursor
5. Defender
6. Explorer

The series follows a human paidhi (a diplomatic specialist in alien cultures) in his career as liason between a colony of humans and the native race of the planet, the Atevi, who are undergoing a dramatically accelerated transition from the beginning of their industrial period to a human-guided space age. Although a certain initial investment is required, the tale rapidly becomes engrossing. The paidhi's unenviable status as the sole human permitted in close contact with the Atevi, with responsibility for interperting all contact between their cultures, embroils him in labyrinthine politics that threaten his life as well as planetary war.

The Atevi are rendered both tauntingly humanlike and deeply alien, with characters and personalities quite distinct from one another even within the overall strangeness of the race. The humans have their own depth of character. It is, in many ways, a remarkably well-written series. Rarely can I be induced to sit still for 6 books of politicing where the end goal is always a peaceful resolution of differences -- even if that ideal is not always perfectly met.

Cherryh isn't the type of author who hits emotional home runs when the bases are loaded. This is a tale well-told; it does not aspire to greatness, but instead matter-of-factly excels at entertaining and engrossing.

"The Paladin" is the tale of an aging swordmaster, living in reclusion, trying to deal with a prospective student who wants him to return to the world and deal with the Evil Usurper. The plot is hardly original, although there are a few interesting twists. Even so, the story is well told and thoroughly enjoyable. It's worth noting that it dates from a time when fantasy novels could be simple, straightforward, and well-written; that was enough. These days it can be a little more complicated.