A review by lian_tanner
Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh

4.0

I swear that Cherryh creates the BEST aliens! In all her books, they're not just there for the convenience of the humans, but have a whole life and culture of their own. It's the same in 'Downbelow Station', which I found in some ways more accessible than some of the author's later books. It's not that I don't love the later books - I do - but I probably love them in spite of the long internal musings that her characters go through rather than because of them. This book has no such lengthy passages. It's full of tension, right till the last. Great characters with lots of moral ambiguity. Great aliens. And a terrific story.