You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
As near a perfect sci-fi book as you can get. Loved every single moment of it; and it's so long, too, it's any highlighting will necessarily miss some.
That being said:The rape scene, and Justin's narrative voice in general; the contrast between Ari's extremely fun voice and her horrid, horrid actions; the constant parallelisms of manipulation, design, and control; Grant and Justin's relationship, and it's simultaneous emotional weight and moral quandary; and the fundamental question: we all manipulate each other, and society, so where do we draw the line (certainly, before we get to brainwashed slaves)
That being said:
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Finished" does not describe what I did. "Abandoned", sadly, does. I have simply not been able to get into this book at all. I find the Jordan/Justin naming confusing; I've been confused about what an 'azi' actually is; I don't understand what these people are doing and whether I shoulda actually care. Since I started this book I've read about six others, which is a really bad sign.
My big question now is whether to actually abandon the book - physically remove it from the house - or whether to put it back on the shelf and think that I might actually get to it Some Other Time.
My big question now is whether to actually abandon the book - physically remove it from the house - or whether to put it back on the shelf and think that I might actually get to it Some Other Time.
Your is by far the most messed up thing I've read this year, and I've read a TON of horror.
Spoilers ahead!
I try to read every Hugo Award nominee. For a reason I don’t remember, I never read Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh when it was nominated in 1989. Maybe my library didn’t have a copy; maybe I was intimidated by the length of the book (680 densely packed pages) (or I didn’t have enough time to finish); or perhaps I had read stuff by Cherryh before and had been underwhelmed. Whatever the reason, I recently decided to give Cyteen a try after I read a blog post extolling its virtues. In fact, the blogger claimed to have read Cyteen over 40 times! That’s almost twice a year, every year since it’s been published. I can only name a handful of books I’ve read twice, and I’ve read only one or two books three times—ever. So when someone takes the time to read a 680-page book twice a year, I figure there must be something worthwhile to it.
It took two months (not every day, to be sure), but I finally finished slogging through Cyteen. I can say that it’s a perfectly fine book, and probably worthy of the Hugo Award versus the other nominees that year: Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card, Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold, Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling, and Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson.
Cyteen is part of Cherryh’s Alliance-Union future history into which most of her books fall. Cyteen is a world that has become the center of the Union, a far-future federation of human space colonists who have left the Earth behind. Reseune is a scientific facility on Cyteen that is devoted to human cloning. The most influential person in Reseune is the powerful and domineering Ariane Emory, a genius whose political and scientific manipulations have created many enemies. Cyteen tells the story of Ari’s life, death, and rebirth.
Rejuv treatments allow humans to live to be well over 100 years old, perhaps as much as 200. The first quarter of the book chronicles Ari’s life as the 120-year-old Councilor for Science, the de facto leader of Cyteen’s ruling body. Then Ari is found dead, and the authorities rule it murder. Ari’s former research partner, Jordan Warrick, is the prime suspect. He initially denies it, but is eventually coerced into confessing under an agreement to let himself be exiled to another facility and for Justin, his clone “son,” to be left at Reseune. The Cyteen authorities go along with the deal because Jordan is a “Special,” a genius of unparalleled abilities that the government needs to continue working.
When Ari died, she had been working on setting up a project to clone herself. The authorities decide to accelerate the program because they need her expertise to continue the biological research she was involved with. Apparently, they felt no one, not even Jordan, could understand and extend the research, and were willing to wait 20 or more years for Ari’s clone to mature.
The remainder of Cyteen recounts Ari II’s first 20 years. To make sure she is as close to Ari I as possible, Ari II undergoes psychogenetic manipulation: every facet of her childhood is strictly controlled to be as close to Ari I’s as possible, including having her surrogate mother “die” when Ari II is seven. Because Ari I had been planning to clone herself anyway, she had compiled a massive library of interactive computer files that she could use to impart her wisdom to Ari II.
In the universe of Cyteen, there are different classes of clones. Ari II, being the product of a Special, is a PR, or Personal Replicate, considered to be a CIT, or citizen, and is raised by human guardians. Other clones, known as azi, are genetically engineered, have no legal standing, and learn everything from tapes tailored to their specific positions in life—they are essentially slaves. Ari II has two azi companions that are raised alongside of her to simulate Ari I’s azi companions. Florian and Catlin are Ari II’s confidants and bodyguards. Justin has an azi, Grant, whom he loves and lives with. Cyteen’s central question revolves around the ethics of human cloning and whether nature or nurture determines the essence of humanness. It’s also an in-depth study of how powerful individuals are created and to what extent that power is innate. The book is also an allegory about slavery, although that message largely eluded me, since the azis seen most often, Florian, Catlin, and Grant, are essentially treated as equals by their masters.
The writing style is very good. Cherryh's future history is rich and deep. It's realistic and explores serious human issues. Cyteen is a fascinating society, a virtual utopia for CITs and a virtual prison for azis. One of the amazing feats of the book is how it manages to turn a very unsympathetic character like Ari I into the sympathetic and relatable Ari II.
I found a number of drawbacks to the novel. Ari II was developed very well, Ari I and Justin to a lesser extent, but almost everyone else was a cipher. There were so many secondary characters that it was hard to keep track of who was simply background and who was significant. There were dense pages of infodumps explaining the history and nature of the society and its castes, but these were hard to follow for someone not familiar with Cherryh’s universe. The many schemes and hidden agendas that people had were hard to keep straight. Perhaps if I had had more attachment to the characters, it would have been easier to follow. The book is also filled with page after page of dry politics—lots and lots of talk, not a lot of action.
The central mystery of who killed Ari I is not resolved, either. It is clear even at the beginning that Jordan is innocent and is being played for political purposes. Evidence revealed at the end of the book completely exonerates him. My guess is that it was either an accident or suicide; we learn that Ari I knew she had terminal cancer that even rejuv treatments could not overcome, and it would be within character for her to manipulate her second coming by framing her rival. Supposedly, the sequel to Cyteen, Regenesis (2009), answers the mystery, but at this point I don’t think I really care that much.
On the whole, I’m glad I read Cyteen, but I won’t be rereading it.
I try to read every Hugo Award nominee. For a reason I don’t remember, I never read Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh when it was nominated in 1989. Maybe my library didn’t have a copy; maybe I was intimidated by the length of the book (680 densely packed pages) (or I didn’t have enough time to finish); or perhaps I had read stuff by Cherryh before and had been underwhelmed. Whatever the reason, I recently decided to give Cyteen a try after I read a blog post extolling its virtues. In fact, the blogger claimed to have read Cyteen over 40 times! That’s almost twice a year, every year since it’s been published. I can only name a handful of books I’ve read twice, and I’ve read only one or two books three times—ever. So when someone takes the time to read a 680-page book twice a year, I figure there must be something worthwhile to it.
It took two months (not every day, to be sure), but I finally finished slogging through Cyteen. I can say that it’s a perfectly fine book, and probably worthy of the Hugo Award versus the other nominees that year: Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card, Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold, Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling, and Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson.
Cyteen is part of Cherryh’s Alliance-Union future history into which most of her books fall. Cyteen is a world that has become the center of the Union, a far-future federation of human space colonists who have left the Earth behind. Reseune is a scientific facility on Cyteen that is devoted to human cloning. The most influential person in Reseune is the powerful and domineering Ariane Emory, a genius whose political and scientific manipulations have created many enemies. Cyteen tells the story of Ari’s life, death, and rebirth.
Rejuv treatments allow humans to live to be well over 100 years old, perhaps as much as 200. The first quarter of the book chronicles Ari’s life as the 120-year-old Councilor for Science, the de facto leader of Cyteen’s ruling body. Then Ari is found dead, and the authorities rule it murder. Ari’s former research partner, Jordan Warrick, is the prime suspect. He initially denies it, but is eventually coerced into confessing under an agreement to let himself be exiled to another facility and for Justin, his clone “son,” to be left at Reseune. The Cyteen authorities go along with the deal because Jordan is a “Special,” a genius of unparalleled abilities that the government needs to continue working.
When Ari died, she had been working on setting up a project to clone herself. The authorities decide to accelerate the program because they need her expertise to continue the biological research she was involved with. Apparently, they felt no one, not even Jordan, could understand and extend the research, and were willing to wait 20 or more years for Ari’s clone to mature.
The remainder of Cyteen recounts Ari II’s first 20 years. To make sure she is as close to Ari I as possible, Ari II undergoes psychogenetic manipulation: every facet of her childhood is strictly controlled to be as close to Ari I’s as possible, including having her surrogate mother “die” when Ari II is seven. Because Ari I had been planning to clone herself anyway, she had compiled a massive library of interactive computer files that she could use to impart her wisdom to Ari II.
In the universe of Cyteen, there are different classes of clones. Ari II, being the product of a Special, is a PR, or Personal Replicate, considered to be a CIT, or citizen, and is raised by human guardians. Other clones, known as azi, are genetically engineered, have no legal standing, and learn everything from tapes tailored to their specific positions in life—they are essentially slaves. Ari II has two azi companions that are raised alongside of her to simulate Ari I’s azi companions. Florian and Catlin are Ari II’s confidants and bodyguards. Justin has an azi, Grant, whom he loves and lives with. Cyteen’s central question revolves around the ethics of human cloning and whether nature or nurture determines the essence of humanness. It’s also an in-depth study of how powerful individuals are created and to what extent that power is innate. The book is also an allegory about slavery, although that message largely eluded me, since the azis seen most often, Florian, Catlin, and Grant, are essentially treated as equals by their masters.
The writing style is very good. Cherryh's future history is rich and deep. It's realistic and explores serious human issues. Cyteen is a fascinating society, a virtual utopia for CITs and a virtual prison for azis. One of the amazing feats of the book is how it manages to turn a very unsympathetic character like Ari I into the sympathetic and relatable Ari II.
I found a number of drawbacks to the novel. Ari II was developed very well, Ari I and Justin to a lesser extent, but almost everyone else was a cipher. There were so many secondary characters that it was hard to keep track of who was simply background and who was significant. There were dense pages of infodumps explaining the history and nature of the society and its castes, but these were hard to follow for someone not familiar with Cherryh’s universe. The many schemes and hidden agendas that people had were hard to keep straight. Perhaps if I had had more attachment to the characters, it would have been easier to follow. The book is also filled with page after page of dry politics—lots and lots of talk, not a lot of action.
The central mystery of who killed Ari I is not resolved, either. It is clear even at the beginning that Jordan is innocent and is being played for political purposes. Evidence revealed at the end of the book completely exonerates him. My guess is that it was either an accident or suicide; we learn that Ari I knew she had terminal cancer that even rejuv treatments could not overcome, and it would be within character for her to manipulate her second coming by framing her rival. Supposedly, the sequel to Cyteen, Regenesis (2009), answers the mystery, but at this point I don’t think I really care that much.
On the whole, I’m glad I read Cyteen, but I won’t be rereading it.
1988! EIGHTY-EIGHT. Absolutely nothing dates this book, there are no cringe fashion moments, no ridiculous formerly high tech gadgets. There's just concrete character building, like.. her characters are morally gray, but these books cause YOU to have a moral dilemma. (Or several actually.)
The world! The politics! The absolute lack of sexism, two of the main relationships are homosexual, the other relationship is RIDICULOUSLY complicated with NO ROMANTIC cop outs. Jesus Christ.
1988!
These books are just so SATISFYING.
The world! The politics! The absolute lack of sexism, two of the main relationships are homosexual, the other relationship is RIDICULOUSLY complicated with NO ROMANTIC cop outs. Jesus Christ.
1988!
These books are just so SATISFYING.
Hugo Award winning Cyteen by CJ Cherryh, is by no means an easy read. At times I felt I was missing some vital pieces of information (either intentionally or due to my own negligence). Cyteen is as much a political thriller as a work of science fiction, and therefore a double whammy of intrigue fueled mystery and in-universe jargon, which may explain why I felt I was left partially in the dark concerning some plot points or concepts. Nevertheless it's clear that Cyteen is a tour de force from Cherryh, and has peaked my interest in her other works. It is certainly not a book I would recommend for any causal reader of science fiction, as it is a character driven thriller at its core. The main concepts of cloning and genetic engineering are backdrops for the political drama, and little ethical or moral, or even philosophical, discussion are made around those topics.
For what it is Cyteen is excellent, and I struggle with my personal rating, as it deserves four stars. Sure it is a bit too long, with the middle dragging a bit, and I expected some sort of greater conclusion to the novel, which never came. So perhaps more a 3.5 for me, but closer to a 4.
For what it is Cyteen is excellent, and I struggle with my personal rating, as it deserves four stars. Sure it is a bit too long, with the middle dragging a bit, and I expected some sort of greater conclusion to the novel, which never came. So perhaps more a 3.5 for me, but closer to a 4.
I read this first in my early teens--a little young for the book in some ways, but I was so enraptured with the density of ideas, the sensawonda, and above all with young Ari that it became a firm favorite. I've read it a few times since then, and found myself, on my first reading in a decade or so, reading it with as much pleased nostalgia as pleasure in the book itself. The political manoeuvrings are positively Byzantine, some of the setup slightly unbelievable, and the ending rather aggravating (growlf! I'm glad I only re-read now that there's a sequel, as I've grown more sensitive to Unfinished Story as I get older), and it's still among the best SF novels out there.
For the longest time I was going to give this just three and a half stars. As well written and ingeniously constructed as it is, it wasn't compelling to me. It took me ages to wade through it. The last third became more compelling as Ari grew up, but the ending felt cut off and left me dangling.
Cyteen was the winner of the 1989 Hugo Award. It is about neither cyborgs nor teenagers nor cyborg teenagers, despite the name; Cyteen in the name of a planet. Cyteen takes place in the same universe as Downbelow Station in a different culture and time. Like Downbelow Station, this is a book that requires patience up front, but offers great rewards. Cyteen is 750 pages of intricate scheming and counter-scheming, supported by interesting and conflicted characters.
Cyteen is the capital planet of the Union, one of a few major political entities in a future where humans have drifted amongst numerous stars with faster-than-light travel. The economy of Union is largely supported by the production of a cloned working force called “azis”, who are psychologically trained to serve in various capacities. All azis are produced in a research lab/city called Roseune. The book opens with power struggles between the forces of Roseune, the military, and another faction. A murder follows this initial conflict, which weakens the status of Roseune and fundamentally alters the lives of the characters. The continuing power struggles are described through the individuals trying to survive them at Roseune.
My biggest complaint: the book takes too long to develop. The first 20 pages are textbook-style background. Even after that, my progress was slow. It took a while to figure out a lot of the politics, and I didn’t understand what azi were for at least a hundred pages. Additionally, it read slowly, constantly packed with intricacy and detail on each large page of text. I very much enjoyed this book, but it is not light reading. Read this one when you have a solid block of time to set aside.
I would recommend Downbelow Station over Cyteen, although I prefer the characters in Cyteen. Despite a shared universe, the styles of the two books differ substantially. Downbelow Station is a smart space opera, threaded with politics. Cyteen is a personal drama, saturated with politics. If you enjoy hard science fiction and you are patient, you will probably enjoy both of them.
Cyteen is the capital planet of the Union, one of a few major political entities in a future where humans have drifted amongst numerous stars with faster-than-light travel. The economy of Union is largely supported by the production of a cloned working force called “azis”, who are psychologically trained to serve in various capacities. All azis are produced in a research lab/city called Roseune. The book opens with power struggles between the forces of Roseune, the military, and another faction. A murder follows this initial conflict, which weakens the status of Roseune and fundamentally alters the lives of the characters. The continuing power struggles are described through the individuals trying to survive them at Roseune.
My biggest complaint: the book takes too long to develop. The first 20 pages are textbook-style background. Even after that, my progress was slow. It took a while to figure out a lot of the politics, and I didn’t understand what azi were for at least a hundred pages. Additionally, it read slowly, constantly packed with intricacy and detail on each large page of text. I very much enjoyed this book, but it is not light reading. Read this one when you have a solid block of time to set aside.
I would recommend Downbelow Station over Cyteen, although I prefer the characters in Cyteen. Despite a shared universe, the styles of the two books differ substantially. Downbelow Station is a smart space opera, threaded with politics. Cyteen is a personal drama, saturated with politics. If you enjoy hard science fiction and you are patient, you will probably enjoy both of them.