Customer Reviews

The Chanur Saga

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Anyone who has read C. J. Cherryh's five-volume Chanur series should be made aware that this book is a reprint omnibus edition of three of those books, "The Pride of Chanur", "Chanur's Venture" and "The Kif Strike Back". According to the publisher there has been some editing and revising for "The Chanur Saga", but it is substantially a re-release of those three, an effort to bring a classic series from Cherryh's long backlist to the attention of new fans. (Disclaimer: the remainder of this review is based on the original editions.)

Here we meet Pyanfur Chanur, her niece Hilfy, and several other of their hani (lion-morph) crew members as they take on Tully, an human stowaway, and are led on a series of exciting adventures. There are no less than eight spacefaring races in this story, some of whom have competing factions among themselves, and at times I had difficulty keeping track of who was who. And Cherryh's writing style tends to be harsh and hard to digest at times. But despite some flaws, the Chanur books are quite enjoyable. The characters are well done, there is a lot of action and intrigue, and plenty to keep you thinking and wondering what is going to happen next.

One other note - "Chanur's Venture" and "The Kif Strike Back" were the first two of a three-part epic, of which the third part, "Chanur's Homecoming", is not included in "The Chanur Saga", and is currently listed as publisher out of stock; perhaps the publisher is hoping "The Chanur Saga" will generate enough new interest in this series to justify another printing of "Chanur's Homecoming". In the meantime, if you haven't read the series before, what are you waiting for?

Note that despite the mediocre votes, the reviews below rave about the books themselves: it's the omnibus packaging of only half the series that is drawing complaints. Ms. Cherryh herself explains on her web site that these bulk releases are the best way to get old material back on the shelf so booksellers will accept new books in the series. And a new Chanur book would be a very good thing! These books are a perfect intersection between Ms. Cherryh's insightful extra-anthropological works and straightout adventure, with the most convincing space battles I've encountered, station docksides that make the cantina from Star Wars look like a walk in the park, and aliens characters so engaging that the humans seem, well, alien. Buy it, vote it up, and hope the message gets to the publishers!

The Chanur series may be my most dearly loved books; if I had to choose one series to take to a desert island, the 5 Chanur books would top my list. I've read them repeatedly, finding them deeply satisfying time after time. I am, however, astonished at the publisher's including only 2 books of the 3-part set. The first book, Pride of Chanur, can be read alone. The next 3, however, together form one giant novel, as the 3 volumes of Lord of the Rings did, and it's very strange that the publisher did not include the final book of that set. I'd urge prospective readers to get this and advertise for Chanur's Homecoming, as well as getting Chanur's Legacy, the 5th book of the set. Some of Cherryh's fiction is too grim for me, but this series is some of the richest, most fascinating, and most upbeat fantasy I know.

C.J. Cherryh is every bit the equal of Heinlein, Asimov,
Brin and, yes, even Frank Herbert and J.R.R. Tolkien.
And from amongst an overwhelmingly creative and prolific
output of novels this Chanur series is, to my mind and
taste, her finest and most impressive achievement.

It is difficult to describe how thoroughly and yet how
effortlessly Cherryh evokes her alien races; their
psychological, mercantile and poltical twists and turns,
so subtle, so compelling and fascinatingly mature, woven
into plots that are both intriguing and fast-paced.
In other words: C.J. Cherryh offers the sophisticated
reader everything that Star Wars and Star Trek and all the
other rip-off drivel ought to be but rarely are!

Yes, she does make the reader work to get acclimated
to the complexities of this strange yet familiar universe,
but that effort pays off because her storytelling skills
are so full-bodied - with plenty of good, old-fashioned
space-opera action to boot!

The only drawback to this republication is that it omits the
first volume, The Pride of Chanur, (Chanur's Legacy is a follow-
up though not expressly a sequel), even though it has the
original cover to Pride (which is the poorest of Michael
Whelan's otherwise superb four!). It would have been
preferrable, and more respectful to the genuinely valuable,
though underrated and underappreciated, stature
of C.J. Cherryh's marvelous creation -
to have provided us with a nicely bound boxed set

instead of this lack-luster edition.

Nevertheless, I urge any and all true Science Fiction
enthusiasts to read the Chanur Saga as soon as possible.
Nearly beyond compare.

I entirely blame the publisher for the bad rating I'm giving this book. The story and the writing are both excellent. However, putting these three stories in one book and saying "Now in one magnificient omnibus edition" is a crime. The first story, "The Pride of Chanur," naturally stands alone. It should have been left as a stand-alone book. The other two stories, "Chanur's Venture" and "The Kif Strike Back," should never have been sold as separate books in the first place: each requires the other. However, the biggest problem is that "The Kif Strike Back" requires (at least) one more book, "Chanur's Homecoming" to tie things up. So, don't expect this "magnificent omnibus edition" to complete the story. You'll definitely have to buy at least one other book.

My apologies to Cherryh on this. Her writing is excellent. It's just her publisher that [is bad].

I'll keep it short, as this is more of a "vote" than a "review". I've been fruitlessly waiting for additional "Chanur" novels for years. Sure wish the publishers would get a clue and work with Cherryh for more of these gems! They are addictive, as, I find, are the novels of the "Foreigner" Universe.

I rate all Chanur books 5+, however this compilation is lacking a very important item -- the last book of the center trilogy! If you buy this, be sure to buy "Chanur's Homecoming" as well. I really cannot understand how the publisher could have made such a mistake!
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*Note added later - the publisher released the other two books together as Chanur's Endgame after I originally wrote this review. That should fix it for those that have none of these. They truly are 5 star books. When I reviewed this, the other editions were still available for purchase and this edition was fairly pointless. Now it seems to be the only readily available choice along with the Endgame companion to complete it.
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"The Pride of Chanur" stands alone and complete in itself (at the beginning of these books) very successfully. "Chanur's Venture", "The Kif Strike Back", and "Chanur's Homecoming" are three parts of one story and should be read together, despite C.J. Cherryh's formidible talents at finding a reasonable pausing place for each. "Chanur's Legacy" is complete in itself (but should be read after the other 4). This particular edition contains stand-alone Pride, then starts the trilogy with Venture and Kif, but it stops there - incomplete.

If this set is ever republished as an omnibus book, at a minimum the 3 center books MUST be in it. "Pride" and "Legacy" could be included, or printed as stand-alones, with no problems either way. (I hope the publisher is listening, though I doubt I am the first to point this out.)

This book represents the first half of one of the best stories around. The most interesting twist for the reader is you are so immersed in the alien culture that the one human in the story is the dialog that has to be translated. The incredibly original idea of the cultures. What if Lions were the evolved species on a planet... What would they be like, what would their values be etc. To try to compare this work to any other author would be pitiful for example the Nivens stories about the Tiger men (Man Kizn Wars)pullleezz! No other author is in the same league when it comes to world building, and making plausible cultures and belief systems.
Another amazing thing is Ms. Cherryh is able to keep her many books to the same universe. All the stories can eventually be patched to an understanding in another. This book is also a great essay into the aspect of lonlines of responsibility, and of being culturally alone. If you have not read this series you are in for a treat!

The Chanur books are among my all-time favorites. From the cover art, I expected them to be kind of silly, but in fact they are poignant, exciting, sometimes hilarious, fast-paced, and just generally fun to read. (Except that they do contain a few "adult" situations and a lot of mild profanity.) I recommend all of them to anyone who likes science fiction that focuses more on character than high-tech gadgets.

The story mostly revolves around a man from Earth, who finds himself stranded among several races of aliens who have never seen a human before. Some of the aliens shelter him aboard their spaceship, while other aliens keep trying to grab him so they can make him show them how to find Earth and conquer it.

The five books in this series are:
The Pride of Chanur
The Kif Strike Back (#1 in a trilogy)
Chanur's Venture (#2 in a trilogy)
Chanur's Homecoming (#3 in a trilogy)
Chanur's Legacy

The Chanur Saga is a reprint of the first three books in the series. The big problem is that it doesn't contain the entire story ... it leaves out the third book of the trilogy, which is the end of that part of the adventure. If you buy this book, plan on also buying at least the final book in the trilogy, Chanur's Homecoming. Or better yet, buy the new volume that contains both the 4th and 5th books: Chanur's Endgame (Chanur).

There is really no need to review this publisher's mistake. Though it is noted that there were some revisions in this edition, they are minor, and unnoticeable and in no way make up for the lack of Chanur's Homecoming. C. J. Cherryh said that Chanur's Venture, The Kif Strike Back, and Chanur's Homecoming actually make up one book, and were broken by the publisher into three parts. To print only part of a book and call it a Saga is lying to the public. My recommendation is to pass this up and buy the whole series on the used market. You will be happier.