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dunecello's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
amcintosh's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this one. It is a relatively quick read, at least as compared to Cyteen, and very classic Cherryh in the style. I enjoyed getting to know the new characters, as well as seeing a much younger version of an old character. I only recently read Finity's End and I think these two books really nicely bookend the Alliance side of the Alliance-Union story.
As I always warn someone picking up one of her Alliance-Union books, these are not action packed novels. They usually start with an idea, fully explore the universe around it, and then often end with a bit of a rush of action. Alliance Rising works in that way, though I found the tension very strong throughout and the action picking up sooner than I was expecting. It was also very interesting to see more of the hinder stars and how the universe works in the earlier days.
I'm really excited for the next book. This one doesn't really end with a cliffhanger, but certainly has a number of things set up for the future. I'm thrilled with the possibilities was what may be next (do we see Mazian's fleet? Do we see the story of Fletcher described in Finity's End?).
As I always warn someone picking up one of her Alliance-Union books, these are not action packed novels. They usually start with an idea, fully explore the universe around it, and then often end with a bit of a rush of action. Alliance Rising works in that way, though I found the tension very strong throughout and the action picking up sooner than I was expecting. It was also very interesting to see more of the hinder stars and how the universe works in the earlier days.
I'm really excited for the next book. This one doesn't really end with a cliffhanger, but certainly has a number of things set up for the future. I'm thrilled with the possibilities was what may be next (do we see Mazian's fleet? Do we see the story of Fletcher described in Finity's End?).
justiceofkalr's review
5.0
This was a great return to Cherry's Alliance-Union universe, set before any of the other books she's so far published. It's a really cool look at the Merchanter's Alliance forming and the days before the EC made it out from Earth. There's a lot of politics and economics talks regarding the stations and the ships that trade among them, but it never feels boring or bogged down despite that. There's plenty of plotting and maneuvering that keeps the plot moving forward. I'm really excited to see where she goes next with this!
olegx's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Что у Черри отлично получается (как минимум в этой вселенной), так это описывать полу-изолированные коммьюнити и их взаимодействия. Это более-менее политическая драма про два сорта космических торговцев и самую отдаленную космическую станцию из обслуживаемых ими. В основном набор разговоров в комнатах, и хотя персонажи не прям сияющие, прописаны они и их мотивы/цели/конфликты достаточно хорошо, что мне было нескучно.
mjfmjfmjf's review
4.0
Disappointing. This was definitely not as good as the books I remember from the series. Mostly due to the pacing. It was just too torturously slow. It did speed up for the ending and it was a good ending. And it was basically a prequel and prequels have their own difficulty. Still it was fun to revisit the world and might encourage some re-reading. After all I have 2 shelves of Cherryh's books, I might as well re-read some of them. 3.5 out of 5 with that extra .5 coming with the last tenth of the book.
essinink's review against another edition
3.0
(Review written 2 months late, and I lost my notes, so this is very abbreviated.)
As part of the Alliance-Union universe, this is an interesting bridge. As a standalone novel, it suffers.
There's a kind of claustrophobic despair common to AU books that's missing here, possibly because of the multiple PoV. The writing is also in multiple iterations of the same discussions. It would have been a tighter read if those discussions were restricted to the characters with the highest stakes.
As part of the Alliance-Union universe, this is an interesting bridge. As a standalone novel, it suffers.
There's a kind of claustrophobic despair common to AU books that's missing here, possibly because of the multiple PoV. The writing is also in multiple iterations of the same discussions. It would have been a tighter read if those discussions were restricted to the characters with the highest stakes.
wunder's review against another edition
Hard pass after just one chapter. The approaching mysterious ship could not have been less suspenseful. Basically, we watched the characters staring at the arrivals board. And there was a bar fight that didn't happen for any useful reason and where we didn't care who won. And lots of infodump. I'm not a fan of the informational prologue, but that would have been a huge improvement here.
The final straw was basic editing lapses. Fallon was described as "time-dilated as hell" on two consecutive pages, oops. But the ridiculous thing was describing how the time-dilation on the sublight runs had affected him. Excuse me! The fundamental point of Einstein time-dilation is that the time experienced in the frame of reference moving close to c is completely indistinguishable from time elsewhere. The time is exactly the same. Writers have had well over a century to get used to that. Special relativity was worked out 37 years before C. J. Cherryh was born.
I'm OK with fantasy physics and some bad plotting, but one chapter was enough to make it clear that this book does not respect the time and attention the reader is offering. I've read plenty of C. J. Cherryh, but this may be the last one I read.
The final straw was basic editing lapses. Fallon was described as "time-dilated as hell" on two consecutive pages, oops. But the ridiculous thing was describing how the time-dilation on the sublight runs had affected him. Excuse me! The fundamental point of Einstein time-dilation is that the time experienced in the frame of reference moving close to c is completely indistinguishable from time elsewhere. The time is exactly the same. Writers have had well over a century to get used to that. Special relativity was worked out 37 years before C. J. Cherryh was born.
I'm OK with fantasy physics and some bad plotting, but one chapter was enough to make it clear that this book does not respect the time and attention the reader is offering. I've read plenty of C. J. Cherryh, but this may be the last one I read.
rcriii's review against another edition
3.0
I like C. J. Cherryh, but this book was just so-so to me. Character development was thin, so it was hard to bring myself to care much about anyone person or faction. There are a couple of obvious bad guys, but no clear good guys here. All in all, a wasted opportunity, since there are a lot of good ideas.
colossal's review
5.0
Political intrigue and clashing mindsets at the beginning of the Alliance from Cherryh's mammoth future history.
Alpha Station is the closest jump point to Earth and something of a backwater. It's under a lot of stress because for decades all its resources have gone into a bold Earth Company plan: a gigantic ship built from blueprints stolen from Pell Station, a powerful political center of human space. It appears to be built as a military ship with a mission to enforce Earth Company will on the Beyond. After the giant ship Rights of Man performs poorly in testing the whole station is shocked when Finity's End, the giant ship who's plans Rights was built from, arrives spectacularly in-system in a show of maneuvering that terrifies everyone. But what is one of the largest ships in human space doing in a backwater like Alpha?
I've been a huge fan of Cherryh and her Alliance-Union books for a very long time, but after the disappointment of [b:Regenesis|3689197|Regenesis (Cyteen, #4)|C.J. Cherryh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1316469120s/3689197.jpg|8754115], I was a little worried about what I'd be reading here. However, this was brilliant and a triumphant return to her future history in its most well known period, or at least close to it. [a:Jane S. Fancher|283894|Jane S. Fancher|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422929505p2/283894.jpg] is co-credited here and I think her contribution is clearly a positive one, but given these two have been together for a very long time, I always wondered if more of Cherryh's books had a silent co-author.
You don't need prior knowledge of the Alliance-Union universe to pick this one up, but like most of Cherryh's books, it's still fairly dense and doesn't coddle the reader. It is set earlier than any other book in this series though, and reading it knowing where a lot of these events end up certainly adds something to the story, but it's entirely accessible (or as accessible as Cherryh gets) without all the foreknowledge.
The Alliance-Union series is an amazing future history and I thoroughly recommend it. It's probably notable that this book will put the whole series in contention for the Best Series Hugo in 2020, something I really hope it wins.
Alpha Station is the closest jump point to Earth and something of a backwater. It's under a lot of stress because for decades all its resources have gone into a bold Earth Company plan: a gigantic ship built from blueprints stolen from Pell Station, a powerful political center of human space. It appears to be built as a military ship with a mission to enforce Earth Company will on the Beyond. After the giant ship Rights of Man performs poorly in testing the whole station is shocked when Finity's End, the giant ship who's plans Rights was built from, arrives spectacularly in-system in a show of maneuvering that terrifies everyone. But what is one of the largest ships in human space doing in a backwater like Alpha?
I've been a huge fan of Cherryh and her Alliance-Union books for a very long time, but after the disappointment of [b:Regenesis|3689197|Regenesis (Cyteen, #4)|C.J. Cherryh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1316469120s/3689197.jpg|8754115], I was a little worried about what I'd be reading here. However, this was brilliant and a triumphant return to her future history in its most well known period, or at least close to it. [a:Jane S. Fancher|283894|Jane S. Fancher|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422929505p2/283894.jpg] is co-credited here and I think her contribution is clearly a positive one, but given these two have been together for a very long time, I always wondered if more of Cherryh's books had a silent co-author.
You don't need prior knowledge of the Alliance-Union universe to pick this one up, but like most of Cherryh's books, it's still fairly dense and doesn't coddle the reader. It is set earlier than any other book in this series though, and reading it knowing where a lot of these events end up certainly adds something to the story, but it's entirely accessible (or as accessible as Cherryh gets) without all the foreknowledge.
The Alliance-Union series is an amazing future history and I thoroughly recommend it. It's probably notable that this book will put the whole series in contention for the Best Series Hugo in 2020, something I really hope it wins.
tome15's review
4.0
Cherryh, C. J., and Jane S. Fancher. Alliance Rising. The Hinder Stars No. 1. Daw, 2019.
Fans of C. J. Cherryh’s early work have been waiting a long time to her to return to world of Finity’s End, Merchanter’s Luck, and Downbelow Station. The new Hinder Stars trilogy is set at a very early period when the Alliance that will become a major player in the Company Wars is just being formed. We get the back story on the first great merchant ships and the conflict between Earth Company and earth’s first interstellar stations. There is a little adventure, a moderate amount of romance, and a lot of talk about economics. I know how that sounds, but the drama is tense—even in the economics talk. Even though this is a prequel, it is not where I would recommend a new reader to start the merchanter books. Downbelow Station is still the best starting place. Note that most of Cherryh’s merchanter stories can be read as stand-alone works. FYI: Jane Fancher is Cherryh’s longtime partner, and I wonder whether she as been a silent collaborator on any of the earlier works. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
Fans of C. J. Cherryh’s early work have been waiting a long time to her to return to world of Finity’s End, Merchanter’s Luck, and Downbelow Station. The new Hinder Stars trilogy is set at a very early period when the Alliance that will become a major player in the Company Wars is just being formed. We get the back story on the first great merchant ships and the conflict between Earth Company and earth’s first interstellar stations. There is a little adventure, a moderate amount of romance, and a lot of talk about economics. I know how that sounds, but the drama is tense—even in the economics talk. Even though this is a prequel, it is not where I would recommend a new reader to start the merchanter books. Downbelow Station is still the best starting place. Note that most of Cherryh’s merchanter stories can be read as stand-alone works. FYI: Jane Fancher is Cherryh’s longtime partner, and I wonder whether she as been a silent collaborator on any of the earlier works. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.