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doodlefox's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lleullawgyffes's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
mbs1236's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
essinink's review against another edition
3.0
Not quite 4 stars...
As Cherryh goes, this is remarkably accessible. A merchant encounters an alien stowaway and makes the impulse-decision not to hand him back to his captors, sparking off galactic conflict in the process. The trick, of course, is that the alien in question is a human man named Tully, and the merchant is Hani (a leonine species.)
The plot is straightforward, with most of the detail going to the interactions of the various Compact Species. And let me say: Cherryh does aliens well in this book. These species may trade together, but they definitely don't understand each other, and all it takes to tip the balance is one unknown variable. (In this case, a lost human).
Although Tully fits into Cherryh's "pale, sweaty man" archetype, the lack of his direct PoV prevents it from morphing into the claustrophobic trauma-fest that sometimes happens in Cherryh's books. Instead, we are treated to a swashbuckling, high-stakes adventure filled with semi-comprehensible politics. And that's probably the weak point, because with the various species not really understanding each others' motives, the reader doesn't really get them either, and it can all feel a bit random.
Still, call it 3.5/5, for being an enjoyable and fairly lightweight read.
As Cherryh goes, this is remarkably accessible. A merchant encounters an alien stowaway and makes the impulse-decision not to hand him back to his captors, sparking off galactic conflict in the process. The trick, of course, is that the alien in question is a human man named Tully, and the merchant is Hani (a leonine species.)
The plot is straightforward, with most of the detail going to the interactions of the various Compact Species. And let me say: Cherryh does aliens well in this book. These species may trade together, but they definitely don't understand each other, and all it takes to tip the balance is one unknown variable. (In this case, a lost human).
Although Tully fits into Cherryh's "pale, sweaty man" archetype, the lack of his direct PoV prevents it from morphing into the claustrophobic trauma-fest that sometimes happens in Cherryh's books. Instead, we are treated to a swashbuckling, high-stakes adventure filled with semi-comprehensible politics. And that's probably the weak point, because with the various species not really understanding each others' motives, the reader doesn't really get them either, and it can all feel a bit random.
Still, call it 3.5/5, for being an enjoyable and fairly lightweight read.
lian_tanner's review against another edition
3.0
I love the world Cherryh has built in this series - the cat-like hani with their matrilineal world and their males who are seen as too emotional for the serious business of space flight. The arrival on the scene of the naked and frightened human is fascinating too. I found it a little less accessible than Cherryh's other books - part of the problem for me was the very realistic but often difficult to understand dialogue between species, where mechanical translators and space-pidgin create highly ambiguous wordings. And the politicking - which is obviously Cherryh's great interest (it pervades all her books) - is even more tortuous than usual. But it held my interest enough to read the next two books in the series, and I will look out for the final ones.
thinde's review against another edition
3.0
I reread this book 20 years after my first read, and it's not quite as good as I remember. It was a brave choice to tell the story exclusively from the alien perspective, despite a human being right there. I think it worked.
The politics were sufficiently back-biting and dark, although the Kif seemed to get away with an amazing amount of violence.
There's just something missing. It's hard to put a finger on it. I didn't feel fully connected with any of the characters. It was like watching a movie while you're concentrating on making dinner. I wasn't fully immersed.
The politics were sufficiently back-biting and dark, although the Kif seemed to get away with an amazing amount of violence.
There's just something missing. It's hard to put a finger on it. I didn't feel fully connected with any of the characters. It was like watching a movie while you're concentrating on making dinner. I wasn't fully immersed.
hartd's review against another edition
4.0
Between three and four stars. I didn't really enjoy listening to this book, but it's an interesting first-contact story and I'm glad to have read it.
It's totally in the point-of-view of a catlike alien, Pyanfar, who is the captain of a trading ship. She takes in a human stowaway, Tully, and protects him from an evil alien species. Eventually, Pyanfar and her crew are able to communicate with him in a limited way, but not to the extent that they get to know him as an individual. So, he's more like a nexus around which most of the action revolves than he is a character. I thought this was a neat way to tell a story of this kind, but I also kept wanting the book to get back to what was happening with Tully.
Pyanfar's race, the hani, are not that dissimilar from humans, except that only females are allowed to work outside the home. They believe animal needs control men, who live on hani planets and fight amongst themselves for dominance. There's a subplot about this kind of fighting late in the book. I'm sure this all caused quite a stir in 1982, especially because the hani males and females are so similar to human gender stereotypes. It is still interesting now, without feeling like it's retreading trite ideas. But it isn't really the focus of the book, more like part of the worldbuilding.
The book's major flaw, for me, is that large parts of it are really boring. You are with Pyanfar constantly; there aren't any elisions of time. So if she takes a shower, or docks the ship, or ponders events, you experience every moment along with her. I didn't skip anything, but I didn't like this writing style. However, I did like that we only saw her perspective. Most of the older SFF I've read has lots of PoV shifts.
This is the start of a series and I may continue it at some point. I'll definitely keep thinking about the plot and the concepts it introduced.
It's totally in the point-of-view of a catlike alien, Pyanfar, who is the captain of a trading ship. She takes in a human stowaway, Tully, and protects him from an evil alien species. Eventually, Pyanfar and her crew are able to communicate with him in a limited way, but not to the extent that they get to know him as an individual. So, he's more like a nexus around which most of the action revolves than he is a character. I thought this was a neat way to tell a story of this kind, but I also kept wanting the book to get back to what was happening with Tully.
Pyanfar's race, the hani, are not that dissimilar from humans, except that only females are allowed to work outside the home. They believe animal needs control men, who live on hani planets and fight amongst themselves for dominance. There's a subplot about this kind of fighting late in the book. I'm sure this all caused quite a stir in 1982, especially because the hani males and females are so similar to human gender stereotypes. It is still interesting now, without feeling like it's retreading trite ideas. But it isn't really the focus of the book, more like part of the worldbuilding.
The book's major flaw, for me, is that large parts of it are really boring. You are with Pyanfar constantly; there aren't any elisions of time. So if she takes a shower, or docks the ship, or ponders events, you experience every moment along with her. I didn't skip anything, but I didn't like this writing style. However, I did like that we only saw her perspective. Most of the older SFF I've read has lots of PoV shifts.
This is the start of a series and I may continue it at some point. I'll definitely keep thinking about the plot and the concepts it introduced.
camam4's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25