Devil to the Belt [Paperback]

C.J. Cherryh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2000

C. J. Cherryh's upcoming new science fiction novel Hammerfall (Avon Eos, 7/01), is the perfect opportunity to revisit this author's strong backlist, including the latest book, Devil to the Belt (Warner, 12/00). Ranging from Earth to the asteroids and beyond, the acclaimed novels first published as Heavy Time and Hellburner are knife-edged thrillers of deadly intrigue in an era of dangerous transition. In the future world of the Merchanters and the Alliance, emerging new forces, including the Union and the Fleet, are challenging the strangle-holds of global governments and world-spanning corporate cartels. But it will be ordinary people -- the innocent and the unlucky -- who are trapped in the turmoil when interstellar powers collide.

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Aspect; First Edition edition (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446676535
• ISBN-13: 978-0446676533
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,269,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've written sf and fantasy for publication since 1975...but I've written a lot longer than that. I have a background in Mediterranean archaeology, Latin, Greek, that sort of thing; my hobbies are travel, photography, planetary geology, physics, pond-building for koi...I run a marine tank, can plumb most anything, and I figure-skate.

I believe in the future: I'm an optimist for good reason---I've studied a lot of history, in which, yes, there is climate change, and our species has been through it. We've never faced it fully armed with what we now know, and if we play our cards right, we'll use it as a technological springboard and carry on in very interesting ways.

I also believe a writer owes a reader a book that has more than general despair to spread about: I write about clever, determined people who don't put up with situations, not for long, anyway: people who find solutions inspire me.

My personal websites and blog: http://www.cherryh.com
http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore
http://www.closed-circle.net

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite series by Cherryh, December 12, 2000

By 

Eric Picard (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil to the Belt (Paperback)

I own the original classic novels that this combines in one volume, Heavy Time and Hellburner. Cherryh is great at putting believable characters in crisis, surrounding them with a hard-science SF environment, and showing us what it is to be human. These two books are excellent examples of her work.

Paul Dekker is an amazingly talented pilot. His partner is killed to hide illegal activity by a large corporation. His mind is fractured by his near fatal attempt to save her. He ends up being rescued by a young 'belt born' navigator, and his aging earth born pilot - a pair of miners in the asteroid belt.

This raises the interesting emotional/pshychological differences in humans raised on earth, those raised in a hypothetical 'space station' environment, and amazing ethical questions. What happens when human culture starts dealing with time dilation between vast distances? Does the culture fracture?

Should these two miners 'take' Dekker's ship as salvage, which would finally get them financially ahead of the mining company that is slowly driving them to indentured servitude, or should they stand by him and support him when the company is trying to bury him?

These books are full of intigue, action, science, psychology, and an amazing description of skill. Two for one! Highly recommended! If you like this, try Tripoint, Merchanter's Luck, Finity's End, Downbelow Station, Cyteen, etc... She's extremely prolific, so if you give a try and enjoy it, you'll have dozens of novels to read down the road.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone must own these two novels., October 5, 2002

By 

T. Kephart - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil to the Belt (Paperback)

Normally I don't like Omnibus paperbacks... they tend to be too thick to read without destroying the binding in the process. But these two novels are from the 80,000 word novel era (newer ones tend to be 120,000+ words) and two older novels (instead of three... i.e. The Chanur Saga) still fit comfortably in this paperback.

This omnibus collection contains the books Heavy Time and Hellburner. This is where the Alliance/Union universe all starts.

C.J. Cherryh is a master at telling the story of her characters while still sneaking in a description of a universe that is so realisitic you'll forget its fiction.

Although this omnibus is just the first two novels in the Alliance/Union universe, they are also a complete set. You can stop after reading this omnibus collection, but you would be a fool not to read any Cherryh you can get your hands on, and if you are new to Cherryh, this is the best place to start... at the beginning.

For detailed reviews, check out the reviews for individual books in this omnibus collection.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good to see these back in print., January 8, 2001

By 

S Smyth (Belfast, Co Antrim United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devil to the Belt (Paperback)

Bundling Heavy-Time and Hellburners like this is a great idea because, unlike the majority of C.J. Cherry's Spacer/Alliance-Union stories, these two books are best read in the correct order so as to get the best out of them. When I read them first I unknowingly started with Hellburners, which wasn't too much of a problem as it was fairly self contained. Even so, I always thought it would have been better to have them combined - like she is doing with her Chanur books. The new title is rather intriguing, too.