A review by manuphoto
Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh

adventurous dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

First off, be warned, this is a loooong book. Not so much because of the page count, around 700 pages is not that bad per se, but the novel is very dense. It took me more time than average to go through each page. Not any fault of the book or the writing, there is just a lot per page.

That being said, I found the experience worth it. Cyteen is an incredibly rich and enthralling novel. The character development and interactions are amongst the strongest in any sci-fi novel I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot by now), the plot is complex and riveting, the universe is deep and rewards attentive reading.

Despite the density and the complexity, it is not a slog at all. A lot happens! I actually recommend to read it in one block (don’t stop for a week or two reading something else) as you need a relatively fresh memory of previous details to fully appreciate what is going on.

This novels deals a lot with psychology, biology, ethics and sexuality. There are layers upon layers to discover here. The pacing makes it fairly digestible, but this is no light reading. We’re dealing with rape, psychological abuse and other violent acts. 

Nevertheless, it is all done in a brilliant way that makes one think about all those elements in a relevant way. The novel is not written to be scandalous or provocative, but reflective. Cherryh manages a real tour de force here, as it could very easily have gone off the rails. It never does.

It’s not the most entertaining Hugo Award winner I’ve read, but it’s certainly one of the deepest, if not THE deepest. It explores the complexities of the human mind using sci-fi elements in ways that few have even tried. 

All this to say that I’d recommend this novel to sci-fi veterans, people who are relatively well versed in the genre, so that they can appreciate all the human elements without being put off by the complex science-fictional elements of the book. Overall a superb novel, one that will stay with me for quite some time.