Customer Reviews

Inheritor: Foreigner 3

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a huge fan of C.J. Cherryh's science fiction works; she is my favorite author despite my not being a science fiction reader. Next to Cyteen and Finity's End, this series is my favorite of Cherryh's science fiction work.

That said, the first time I picked up Inheritor, I had recently finished reading the first books in the series. As other reviewers note, Bren's point of view and overanalysis can be claustrophobic. His agonizing over small details is obsessive and the habit builds, one detail on top of the next, until it begins to seem almost humorous, and at the same time worthy of the reader's pity (for Bren, not the author). When yet another book in the series started along the same thread, I couldn't take much more. I put it down after the first two chapters, and took a break from the series.

I still retained a fondness for Bren, though, and recently I read Cherryh's newest in the series, Defender. I decided to go back to Inheritor and see what I had missed (particularly after one of Cherryh's writing colleagues, Jane Fancher, encouraged me to do so), and to my surprise, when I had finished it I found it to be my favorite novel in the Bren series.

First, this novel was the deepest of all the Bren novels in terms of human interaction. Jase doesn't drop from the skies, marvelously close to Bren's age, and fit right into the expected "friendly companion" role. They disagree. They miscommunicate. Bren isn't always dealing with a full set of informational cards when he tries to interpret Jase; Jase can't fathom Bren's atevi-habits, even when spoon-fed these mannerisms in plain language. It's one thing to understand something from the mind, another to understand it in the gut.

Which leads to the most outstanding feature of the book... Jase's role as perfect foil for Bren. Jase brings out that which Bren worries over in himself, and shows Bren's knowledge and experience off to advantage. As another reviewer points out, we only see this world through Bren's eyes. An author at Cherryh's level would be hard put to use that tired device, "Bren looked into the mirror and noticed he had blond hair, and that his face seldom had any expression." (Having a constant poker face in this society ensures one's survival, a fact made plain in previous novels in the series.) Instead, during an argument with Bren, Jase brings subtleties like Bren's lack of facial expressions into the light for the reader to notice more closely: Jase understandably can't read Bren well without facial expressions to go on, and understandably Jase doesn't believe that a person without facial expressions really cares about him or his adjustment difficulties.

A side note: One oddity which had me bemused upon reading the first book of the series, and which continued into subsequent books including Inheritor, later won me over. This oddity is the astonishing similarity, technology-wise, of this alien world to today's Earth. Imagine! So far away in the galaxy that no one on the planet knows where they are in relation to Earth, so far into the future that man is folding space as easily as a t-shirt, on a distant planet... they are using windshield wipers. These windshield wipers are on the windshields of cars just like ours, and the rain that falls is just like the rain falling outside my window now.

Later, though, I began to appreciate this tendency of Cherryh's (it appears in Cyteen as well) deeply. Why? Because when one reads other science fiction novels, one spends a great deal of concentration just trying to figure out what the heck that device is in the character's hand, and in what kind of facility is the character standing? Much of one's focus is, by necessity, on decoding just the basic surroundings and tools of the era. By using technology, tools, and settings familiar to us, Cherryh puts the spotlight squarely on the characters and the subtlety of their thoughts and interactions -- what she does best, and exactly where the spotlight should be.

Readers of the first two books in the series will find this one pretty familiar. The strength of the series has always been character and setting - the culture and politics of an alien race and its effect on a human protagonist caught in the middle of it all. This remains true in this book, where it's all thrown into sharp relief through the arrival of another human - this one an ambassador from space with no background in the race or culture who struggles to learn on the job as best he can. Though Bren remains the protagonist, the complex and baffling nature of atevi society is highlighted once more through the eyes of the newcomer, and the effect of Bren's immersion in atevi culture on his relationships with humans becomes increasingly apparent. All good stuff, and if you enjoyed it in the earlier books you'll enjoy it this time as well.

I did feel that the book had a couple of weak points. The first is Bren's tendency to analyze everything endlessly, including himself - often several pages will be taken up simply with a conversation happening inside Bren's head. Apart from frequently slowing things down a lot, this (in my opinion) takes away some of the subtlety and depth from the writing. Any subtext won't remain sub- for long, as Bren will notice it soon enough and agonize over it. I understand that this is a stylistic thing, and that this device may be necessary to some degree to establish the level of setting and character detail that the book requires. Still, after recently reading 'The Left Hand Of Darkness' (Ursula Le Guin) in which profound details of society, culture and character emerge from the most mundane conversations and actions, it's hard not to feel a bit shortchanged by this approach.

The second weakness, in my opinion, was the plot, which is becoming rather predictable and formulaic as the series progresses. The endings in particular all seem very similar and involve similar plot devices every time, to the point where they become little 'machimi plays' of their own based on established conventions. At the end of this book I kept feeling that I was re-reading one of the other two.

I enjoyed the first two books, and I enjoyed this one as well. However, after finishing it I did feel somewhat less inclined to keep following the series.

An accelerated pace and 3 months have passed since the end of "Invader".

Jase has settled in, the emissary from the orbiting space ship "Phoenix" which, like the bird of legend, returned from the unknown & unexplored reaches of deep space.

For a little history:
Cherryh sets her world with imposing aliens(Atevi) who are united by a single ruler, the aijii, under whom lords & council govern. Humans, lost on a space colonization mission, have settled on the Atevi world and exist in an uneasy truce, co-operating & trading only through one diplomat; Bren Cameron.

As the only contact between two species, Cameron is constantly protected by an extraordinary security force but his family is not so fortunate.
In a turbulent political climate on the human governed island, Camerons' family is endangered by radical factions & Yolanda Mercheson, the ships emissary has been threatened.

Against this background he must somehow train (Jase)the new Atevi ship-human diplomat in the tangled Ragi tongue, which has no word for trust, or love or even like. Yes, human and Atevi are biologically different, and a man alone in an alien culture must constantly rethink his most basic suppositions.

Jase & Cameron have made little headway after the initial friendliness of their contact & arrangements, but luckily Cameron's Atevi security have become his family.

Against the backdrop of the stars, and one alien homeplanet where HUMANS are the alien threat, the `space opera' plays out.

Well written, fast paced & enjoyable, an increasingly involving series. .

Kotori ojadis@yahoo.com

Cherryh has managed to create in this trilogy a fascinating yet thoroughly alien race - just close enough to human to be familiar, yet different enough to tantalize. The concepts of honorable assasination, different emotion "hardwiring" and the only word in the languange for like/love equating to a preference for a particular salad certainly keep one just enough off-balance that you can't stop reading - because you just want to find out just how Bren will make that true connection with the atevi, and one lovely woman in particular. Even if she is 7 feet tall, has pointed ears, yellow eyes and is a trained assassin! A must read for those who truly appreciate the creation of an alien race who are not just humans who dress differently or have an extra limb or eye. Hopefully there will be more forthcoming in this series.

In a period of a little over six months Bren Cameron has been catapulted from a fairly relaxed routine of Paidhi (interpreter), researcher, and intermediary to one in which atevi and human resources are geared toward an accelerated space programme. A space programme that had been little more than an exercise in atevi-human co-operation until the spaceship Phoenix had suddenly appeared and docked at the long ago abandoned space-station high in orbit above the atevi's planet. Ordinarily only one human is allowed onto the atevi mainland. But now there are three. Bren Cameron; Bren's stand-in, Deanna Hanks, who has joined factions opposed to Tabini and his allies; and Jason Graham, the Phoenix's representative, Bren's student and direct responsibility. Bren Cameron now has plenty to occupy his mind: possible assassination, inter-atevi aggression, inter-human aggression, atevi-human aggression, attempted sabotage of the space programme, and keeping his new charge, Jason Graham, from making any, to himself, life threatening faux pas. As well as all this, Bren Cameron wonders why the Phoenix has returned in the first place...

The first time around this book seems to be much slower paced than Foreigner and Invader because it tends to dwell on scenes that are necessary for the development of the plot more than would seem reasonable. But when read again, the whole thing fairly zips along, which was surprising.

The first reading of this instalment - of what for me is my favourite Cherryh series so far - was like going on a long trip and wondering when I was going to get there, it taking a re-read of the first two in the series, and the second time around with this one to find it wasn't as drawn out as it seemed to be the first time. Foreigner is revisited by way of Bren being conscious of Jase's difficulties to assimilate with Atevi thinking and expectation. And the ongoing Jago - Bren relationship adds an element of romance to the proceedings, which is well used towards the end of Invader. An Alliance - Mosphei versus Union - Atevi element is also present, the political and social structure of the Atevi adding a further fantasy angle to it all. That's why I like this series so much, it's a well written and thought out mix of sci-fi and fantasy. Looking forward to the new one.

I loved this book - this is her best series yet, and I am eagerly awaiting those next three books that her webpage hints at. This one elaborated on the brilliant world of the atevi, had magnificently interwoven plots and sub-plots, and some fascinating characters. There was only one thing I was disappointed in ...... there was very little of Damiri, Tabini's influential consort, who looked promising in Invader. Damiri aside, this is an elegant, suspenseful, beautifully-written book, the type that is very, very, very hard to put down. An absolute must-read for all fans of intelligent sci-fi.

The entire trilogy is first-rate and one gets hooked very fast. Plots and subplots come thick and fast. There's no way to anticipate them, yet they never seem contrived once they arrive. Characters are deep and realistic, strange yet eerily familiar.

One complaint: the first 100 pages or so are a waste for those who have read the first two volumes. It seems that Cherryh is simply trying to bring new readers into the story. This is not only boring for those who are already hooked but also somewhat futile for others: there's no way to capture adequately what happened in vols. 1-2 without reading them. This concerns not only plot but also, even moreso, the character development at which Cherryh excels. Fortunately, after this initial letdown the book picks up and quickly reaches the pace and intensity of the others. Let's hope the author doesn't do *this* again in any sequels. (I'm hoping for at least one more follow-up!)

Cherryh makes us care about the characters -- something all authors try for and few achieve.

We know much about Bren's feelings for his atevi companions; perhaps in the next volume Cherryh will explore how they, especially Jago, feel about him.

I think Cherryh does something I've seen only one other author (McCaffrey) do: Sucessfully mix Gothic romance and SF

The third novel in the Foreigner universe well lives up to the standards set by the first two. Not only does the book introduce new characters, it also elaborates on old ones, and relationships. For those that wish a well written book that always keeps you guessing what's going to happen I strongly recommend this book.
Thank you,
Thomas Hopkin