C. J. Cherryh

I’m sure I’ve read at least one of C. J. Cherryh’s Chanur novels, but it was some time ago, and I can’t remember which one. The books that I have read recently were all good. Foreigner and its sequel, Invader, are both somewhat complicated, but well worth reading. They deal with a group of humans interacting with an alien race. The Goblin Mirror is a fantasy novel, and was also very good. The Sword of Knowledge trilogy is some of the best writting I've ever read.

Books I've Read by C. J. Cherryh

A FRAGMENT OF POWER Things weren’t right in the little kingdom of Maggiar, not right at all. So the princes Bogdan and Tamas set off to seek an answer to the kingdom’s troubles in the land over-mountain, a world they knew only from legends. And Yuri, the youngest prince, chafing at being left behind, soon followed them . . . But the land over-mountain was in turmoil, for the goblins had declared war. The kingdoms the princes had come to find had all been ravaged. No sooner had the brothers crossed out of Maggian than their party was ambushed. Bogdan was carried away to the fortress of the goblin queen herself. Yuri wandered lost through an evil wood, in search of his brothers. And Tamas was caught up in darkest sorcery, for he fell in with Ela, a witch’s apprentice . . . Ela possessed a shard of the goblin queen’s magic mirror. With that single sliver of the queen’s great power, she planned to challenge the goblin queen herself. And Tamas would be the focus of her battle . . . (book description)

Foreigner

Arc 1
1. Foreigner (Paperback edition) or (Hardcover edition)

   It had been nearly five centuries since the starship Phoenix had become lost in space and had encountered the world of the atevi. On this world where law was kept by registered assassination, war between the humans and atevi was inevitable. Now, 200 years after that conflict, the sole human allowed into atevi society is marked for an assassin’s bullet . . . . (book description)

2. Invader (Paperback edition) or (Hardcover edition)

   SECOND CONTACT Nearly two centuries after the starship Phoenix disappeared into the heavens, leaving an isolated colony of humans on the world of the atevi, it unexpectedly returns to orbit overhead, threatening the stability of both atevi and human governments. With the situation fast becoming critical, Bren Cameron, the brilliant, young paidhi to the court of the atevi is recalled from Mospheira where he has just undergone surgery. But his sudden and premature return to the mainland is cause for more than mere physical discomfort. For in his brief absense, his government has sent in his paidhi—successor, Deana Hanks—representative of a dangerous archconservative faction on Mospheira who hate the atevi. And though she should depart when Bren is once again able to fill his post, no recall order comes. Cut off from his government and haunted by the continuing threat of assassination, Bren realizes his only hope may be to communicate directly with the Phoenix as the spokesman of the atevi—an action which may cut him off for good with his own species. Yet if he doesn’t take this desperate and illegal action, he may be forced to helplessly bear witness to the final destruction of the already precarious balance of world power. (book description)

3. Inheritor (Paperback edition) or (Hardcover edition)

   Six months have passed since the reappearance of the starship Phoenix—the same ship which brought humans to the world of alien atevi nearly two hundred years ago, leaving a small and vulnerable colony to struggle for survival in a hostile environment. During these six months, the alien atevi have striven to reconfigure their fledgling space program in a breakneck bid to take their place in the heavens alongside humans. But the return of the Phoenix has added a frighteningly powerful third party to an already volatile situation, polarizing political factions in both human and atevi societies, and making the possibility of all-out planetary war an even more likely threat. On the atevi mainland, human ambassador Bren Cameron, in a desperate attempt to maintain the peace, has risked alienation from his own people by communicating with the staff of the Phoenix as spokesman for the atevi, and has arranged for one human representative from the Phoenix to take up residence with him in his apartments, and for another to be stationed on Mosphiera, humanity’s island enclave. Now, Bren has the difficult task of indoctrinating Jason Graham, a young man who has never before set foot on a planet, in the intricate, delicate, and potentially lethal maneuverings of the human-atevi interface. And this at a time when, thanks to the assassination of an atevi lord who had been one of Bren's primary adversaries, and the near-collision of Bren’s personal plane with a jet manned by an unknown pilot, the relationship between atevi factions is becoming more strained by the minute. (book description)

Arc 2
4. Precursor (Paperback edition) or (Hardcover edition)

   INTO SPACE . . . Over three years have passed since the reappearance of the starship Phoenix—the same ship which two centuries before left an isolated colony of humans to fend for themselves on the world of the volatile atevi. Since that time, humans have lived in exile on the island of Mosphiera, using a single diplomat, the paidhi, to trade advanced technology for the continued peace and safety of its people. But the unexpected return of the Phoenix has shattered forever the fragile, carefully maintaned political balance of these two nearly incompatible races. For the captains of the Phoenix offer the atevi something the Mospheiran humans never could—access to the stars. For three breakneck years the atevi labor to build a space shuttle which will bear their representatives to the Phoenix, to strengthen connections with their new human allies and retain their bid for control of their world. But as soon as the shuttle proves spaceworthy, the captains of the Phoenix suddenly recall their planetary delegates, breaking diplomatic contact and initiating a vicious bid for political dominance. But the powerful head of the atevi’s Western Association is not to be outmaneuvered, and he sends his own paidhi, Bren Cameron, into space to negotiate. Thrust into a political maelstrom with almost no preparation, Bren is empowered to use any means at his disposal to achieve the atevi’s aim. But can Bren gain control of the station and political supremacy for the atevi without sparking a three-sided interspecies war? (book description)

5. Defender (Paperback edition) or (Hardcover edition)

   In the sequel to Precursor, the isolated human colony has led a precarious existence on the hostile world of the alien atevi, until the return of the starship Phoenix threatens to shatter the precarious balance of power as the atevi enter into the precarious world of space travel and their human negotiator becomes caught in the middle of a mutiny. (book description)

6. Explorer (Mass Market Paperback) or (Hardcover edition)

   C.J. Cherryh’s second trilogy set in her Foreigner Universe comes to a thrilling conclusion with Explorer—a new hardcover published simultaneously with the paperback release of book two, Defender. The final installment to this sequence of the Hugo Award-winning author’s most successful series, Explorer follows a human delegate trapped in a distant star system facing a potentially bellicose alien ship. (book description)

Arc 3
7. Destroyer (Mass Market Paperback) or (Hardcover edition)

   The first book in the new Foreigner trilogy from the Hugo Award-winning author C.J. Cherryh, one of the most prolific and acclaimed science fiction writers in the world, now delivers the seventh book in her Foreigner series and the first book in the new Foreigner trilogy—the epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft who crash-land on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient race. From its beginnings as a human-alien story of first contact, the Foreigner series has become a true science fiction odyssey. (book description)

8. Pretender (Mass Market Paperback) or (Hardcover edition)

   C.J. Cherryh delivers the eighth book in her Foreigner series and the second book in the new Foreigner trilogy—the epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft who crash-land on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient race. From its beginnings as a human-alien story of first contact, the Foreigner series has become a true science fiction odyssey. (book description)

9. Deliverer (Paperback edition) or (Hardcover edition)

   From its beginnings as a human-alien story of first contact, the Foreigner series has become a true science fiction odyssey. The ninth book in the epic series, and the third book in the third Foreigner trilogy, Deliverer is a worthy contribution to Cherryh’s magnum opus that is destined to be a classic. (book description)

The Gene Wars

1. Hammerfall (Mass Market Paperback) or (Hardcover edition)

   One of the most renowned figures in science fiction, C.J. Cherryh has been enthralling audiences for nearly thirty years with rich and complex novels. Now at the peak of her career, this three-time Hugo Award Winner launches her most ambitious work in decades, Hammerfall, part of a far-ranging series, The Gene Wars, set in an entirely new universe scarred by the most vicious of future weaponry, nanotechnology. In this brilliant novel—possibly Cherryh’s masterwork—the fate of billions has come down to a confrontation between two profoundly alien cultures on a single desert planet. "The mad shall be searched out and given to the Ila’s messengers. No man shall conceal madness in his wife, or his son, or his daughter, or his father. Every one must be delivered up." —The Book of the Ila’s Au’it Marak has suffered the madness his entire life. He is a prince and warrior, strong and shrewd and expert in the ways of the desert covering his planet. In the service of his father, he has dedicated his life to overthrowing the Ila, the mysterious eternal dictator of his world. For years he has successfully hidden the visions that plague him—voices pulling him eastward, calling Marak, Marak, Marak, amid mind-twisting visions of a silver tower. But when his secret is discovered, Marak is betrayed by his own father and forced to march in an endless caravan with the rest of his world’s madmen to the Ila’s city of Oburan. Instead of death, Marak finds in Oburan his destiny, and the promise of life—if he can survive what is surely a suicidal mission. The Ila wants him to discover the source of the voices and visions that afflict the mad. Despite the dangers of the hostile desert, tensions within the caravan, and his own excruciating doubts, Marak miraculously reaches his goal—only to be given another, even more impossible mission by the strange people in the towers. According to these beings who look like him yet act differently than anyone he has ever known, Marak has a slim chance to save his world’s people from the wrath of the Ila’s enemies. But to do so, he must convince them all—warring tribes, villagers, priests, young and old, as well as the Ila herself—to follow him on an epic trek across the burning desert before the hammer of the Ila’s foes falls from the heavens above. Written with deceptive simplicity and lyricism, this riveting, fast-paced epic of war, love, and survival in a brave new world marks a major achievement from the masterful C.J. Cherryh. (book description) Personal note: This was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I found myself staying up late into the night because I didn’t want to stop reading. I’m really looking forward to reading the second book in this series.

2. Forge of Heaven (Mass Market Paperback) or (Hardcover edition)

   One of today’s bestselling and most critically acclaimed writers of science fiction and fantasy, C. J. Cherryh has been entertaining readers for more than thirty years with beautifully imagined, complex novels of intrigue and adventure. With Hammerfall she began an entirely new universe—her first in three decades—and an enthralling tale of mystery and survival on a desert world devastated by nanotechnology. Now she returns to the captivating universe of The Gene Wars in a brilliant, visionary story that reaches from the desert to the stars. Forge of Heaven At the far edge of the galaxy, tiny Concord Station holds a unique place in the universe—the one place where humans from Earth, the strange Outsider worlds, and the extremely powerful, alien ondat all coexist, bound together to the fate of the fragile world below. Scarred by vicious nanotechnology unleashed by the powerful ondat, this lone desert planet acts as the crucible to determine whether there can be peace between the far-spanning empires of the universe, or unending, unstoppable war to rival even the cataclysmic Gene Wars that once devastated untold galaxies. Born the son of a desert prince, Marak Trin Tain knows all too well the knife edge between diplomacy and disaster. Centuries ago he was caught in the battle between the terrorist First Movement and Earth, and the resulting destruction when the ondat sent planet-crushing missiles to prevent contagion from uncontrolled nanotechnology. Now, immortal but not invulnerable, he shepherds the evolving world and its brave inhabitants toward a new future. But this utopia is hardly idyllic, and a journey of discovery becomes one of desperation when a violent act of nature threatens even Marak’s own survival. High above on Concord Station, intrigues and alliances from every faction of Earth and the Outsider colonies fight for influence, while the implacable ondat pursue their own unfathomable goals. In the midst of dangerous collusion, all the watcher Procyon wants is to record the miracles of the planet evolving below, sharing in the undreamed-of wonder of watching a new world grow. But the surprise arrival of a ship from Earth upsets the delicate balance of power on the station, and a deadly attack becomes the opportunity for rebellion. Caught up in a web of danger and intrigue, Procyon will step far beyond his comfortable life into a nightmare of dangers, as plot within plot unravels with disastrous consequences. For the fate of one man could decide the future of human and alien alike . . . and the ondat are watching. (book description) Personal note: Wow. As much as I liked the first book in this series, I liked this one even better. I even revised my rating of Hammerfall to do Forge of the Gods justice. Forge of the Gods tells the story from a number of different perspectives, but mainly focuses on Procyon, a man living in Concord Station, orbiting the planet now called Marak's World. I really hope C.J. Cherryh continues this series.

The Sword of Knowledge Universe

The Sword of Knowledge (Paperback edition) or (Hardcover edition)
(by Nancy Asire, C.J. Cherryh, Leslie Fish, and Mercedes Lackey)

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME FOR THE FIRST TIME The Empire of Sabis is falling, besieged by the army of a more powerful empire and by hostile wizards. A small group of philosopher-scientists could reverse the tide if they could convince the rulers of Sabis to build the deadly new weapon that they have invented: the cannon. But when the rulers prove too short-sighted and Sabis falls, the scientists flee, disguising their knowledge under the cover of religion. Though centuries will pass and the Sabirn race will be oppressed and persecuted, the powerful knowledge will be preserved by the Order. And the time will come when only one thing stands against the destruction by a ruthless and invincible barbarian horde: THE SWORD OF KNOWLEDGE (book description) This book is a reprint of A Dirge for Sabis, Wizard Spawn, and Reap the Whirlwind.

1. A Dirge for Sabis (Mass Market Paperback) (by C.J. Cherryh and Leslie Fish)

   It is a grim time for the Empire of Sabis. The barbarian hordes are invading, yet no one in the capital city wants to believe the growing danger. No one, that is, except the philosopher-scientist, Sulun, and his followers. (book description)

2. Wizard Spawn (Mass Market Paperback) (by C.J. Cherryh and Nancy Asire)

   It is 500 years since the fall of the Sabrin Empire, an empire whose rulers sealed their fate by refusing to countenance the development of weapons that could have saved them from the barbarians. Now the Sabirn have fallen on hard times indeed, & lie supine beneath the boot of the Ancar, laboring in mines & fields & streets at work no member of a "higher" race would touch. But rumors abound that among the Sabirn are some who retain occult knowledge, & use it in secret rites aimed at the overthrow of the new master race. The Ancar say this is justification for genocide. The Sabirn say genocide is justification for anything; The Sword of Knowledge cuts both ways. (book description)

3. Reap the Whirlwind (Mass Market Paperback) (by C.J. Cherryh and Mercedes Lackey)

   THE FALL ACCORDING TO C.J. CHERRYH The Roman Empire. Imagine its fall. Now imagine that warring time with cannon—and a working system of magic. C.J. Cherryh did. In The Sword of Knowledge Cherryh has explored the fall of empires and the impact of technological knowledge, while replacing the repressed religion of the Christians with a Church of Knowledge. In A Dirge for Sabis we saw the Sabirn Empire fall to barbarians because the rulers were too inflexible to make use of the technology available to them. Wizard Spawn opens centuries later, with the Sabirn empire a blighted memory, and the barbarians established as the new and oppressive rulers. Now another half millennium has passed, and new barbarians are on the rise. It will be a battle of barbarian vigor vs. The Sword Of Knowledge in REAP THE WHIRLWIND (book description)