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annkniggendorf's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
phobis837's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
4.0
This is book four in a long-running science fiction series that began with Foreigner (1994) and currently numbers twenty-one books. I've greatly enjoyed the first four books and will begin with general remarks that apply to them collectively, before progressing to comments on book four in particular. Mild spoilers ahead.
Through Bren, the books conjure an intricate alien civilization, one in which words such as "friend" and "love" have no close equivalent, and in which there is an official, highly-respected Assassins Guild. Bren is a very sympathetic character, who finds himself in difficult situations where the stakes are high. I'm also very fond of several of the supporting characters, especially the assassins Banichi and Jago, and the elderly grande dame, Ilisidi. The plot builds from book to book, with developments from the small and personal to those of a sweeping political impact.
Somewhat less mild spoilers follow for book four. In book four, the scope widens to encompass a long-abandoned orbiting space station and the return of the humans who built it. The series has me helplessly in its grip. I feel the impending menace of a hostile alien species hovering in the background. I am entirely attached to Bren and his allies, most but not all of whom are alien. I particularly enjoyed Ilisidi's entry into the novel: she is a presence simultaneously formidable and wonderful.
Four out of five orbiting stars.
Update 12/14/2021: I re-read this in small chunks, usually when I had insomnia. Still very good, though less suspenseful since I remembered the principal events. I love Bren, Banichi, Ilisidi et al :-)
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
Spoiler
The series, at least thus far, centers on Bren Cameron, a human translator and mediator embedded in an alien civilization. Bren's thoughts are shown in a depth that I found fascinating and highly immersive. This careful meticulous detail reminds me of reading L. E. Modesitt, Jr., though Cherryh's themes are not Modesitt's. I note that some readers find the level of detail an annoyance and the pace slow. For myself, I was riveted to all but the beginnings of the books. (Book one has two introductory sections before moving to Bren; subsequent books were slowed down by recapping earlier material.)Through Bren, the books conjure an intricate alien civilization, one in which words such as "friend" and "love" have no close equivalent, and in which there is an official, highly-respected Assassins Guild. Bren is a very sympathetic character, who finds himself in difficult situations where the stakes are high. I'm also very fond of several of the supporting characters, especially the assassins Banichi and Jago, and the elderly grande dame, Ilisidi. The plot builds from book to book, with developments from the small and personal to those of a sweeping political impact.
Somewhat less mild spoilers follow for book four. In book four, the scope widens to encompass a long-abandoned orbiting space station and the return of the humans who built it. The series has me helplessly in its grip. I feel the impending menace of a hostile alien species hovering in the background. I am entirely attached to Bren and his allies, most but not all of whom are alien. I particularly enjoyed Ilisidi's entry into the novel: she is a presence simultaneously formidable and wonderful.
Four out of five orbiting stars.
Update 12/14/2021: I re-read this in small chunks, usually when I had insomnia. Still very good, though less suspenseful since I remembered the principal events. I love Bren, Banichi, Ilisidi et al :-)
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
lissajean7's review against another edition
5.0
Poor Bren is just too good at his job. The shuttles work now? Great. Bren, go up there and fix things. What? A mutiny? Sure... No problem.
ielerol's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t love Bren’s family drama, it’s mostly just repetitive and unpleasant, but everything else about this series is great, and I guess I can see how the family drama here played into the communications issues caused by the political drama I do enjoy.
essinink's review against another edition
4.0
Who am I to decide?
Most of all, what have I become, to like this? To gamble with the whole world's future?
Tabini. Tabini. Tabini, who's the only power fit to rule the world.
His own species calls him ruthless.
What do they call me?
You know that feeling when you binge through several good books in a very short window? Kind of a "brain-full" sense that's not bad but might be a small warning to slow down? I just hit that. But I really, really am enjoying this series. Hard to want to stop when you're invested in characters like these.
Precursor timeskips three years ahead. Bren is 30 now, and he and Jase have worked closely in this gap to make the atevi space shuttle functional. Deals are coming due, and that means negotiating with Mospheira's inconvenient space-faring relatives.
Much like in Cherryh's non-Foreigner works, Spacers are a unique lot. Big on order, schedules, security, heirarchy, and (underpinning it all) a convoluted network of kinship ties. Frictions between the three parties (Mospheira, the aishidi'tat, and the Ship) are high.
There is also the ongoing theme of Bren's personal life, and the many directions in which he is pulled. Human (and specifically Mospheiran) by birth, but so specifically acculturated to atevi at this phase that he has to remind himself of such. He's accumulated a great deal of power in atevi society, but that same power comes with a level of responsibility and obligation that undercuts his ability to navigate his own human family dynamic.
"We can't be the same as these ship-humans, but we don't need to be. We won't be." He caught himself using we, as he used it in his thoughts. "Atevi don't need to be. And atevi won't be."
No one is having a wonderful time here, honestly. It's a lot of cramped quarters and subterfuge, and power and helplessness/constraint in equal measure; it's a slow-rise of tension to the boiling point, alleviated by dry bursts of humor.
I have, in the last, only a single complaint, though I earnestly hate to make it.
Spoiler
Look, I ADORE Ilisidi. She's amazing. But she's also come swooping in with key information or resources in every single one of these last four books. Can we (just once) not have her be the key element? I know that's a lot to ask, because she's very important, and also fantastic. But... really now. Got to be careful with the formulas.What can I say, but on to the next book?
cathepsut's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Book #4 of the series, first book of the next trilogy, continuing three years after the last books. Shuttles have started to go up to the station, the Atevi have reached space. Relations with Mospheira have improved. Tabini unexpectedly sends up Bren with with his Atevi household and a Mospheiran delegation. They are not exactly welcome on the station, despite agreements to the contrary. Relations with the crew of the Phoenix prove more difficult than expected and go downhill quickly.
I have to confess that I could not fully relate to the action of the ship‘s captains and their motivations. Was this simply a powerplay? Why stall and antagonize the people that they asked for help and in fact need so badly?
Bren‘s family is still a pain in the neck, especially his mother. And Ilisidi is hilarious, as always.
I am finally, finally hooked. This book so far was the fastest moving, with the most action. I enjoyed this a great deal and will definitely continue. Great start for the next subplot and trilogy.