Customer Reviews

Pretender (Foreigner Universe)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pretender, the latest installment in the Foreigner series, picks up right where the previous book (Destroyer) left off. Because of this, and the the way it is written, it should only be read by those who are already up-to-date with the series; if you don't already know what happened after the rescue of Prakuyo and how Bren Cameron arrived at Tatisiegi's estate you just won't get much out of this book.

This is a fairly short book, and in a sense not much happens in it. Bren Cameron is the paidhi (human translator) assigned to the atevi (alien) ruler Tabini, who was recently driven from power. {CAUTION: the rest of this paragraph might be considered to contain some minor "spoilers"!} In this installment, Cameron travels with a rather large group from the embattled Atigeni country estate to the capital Shejidan, where Tabini recovers his position and Cameron delivers a report to the planetary legislature about the treaty he recently negotiated with the kyo (other aliens).



That's about it for plot. Along the way we mostly dwell in Cameron's head, as he continues his struggles to understand the significance of the movements of all the aliens around him, given that they are unable or unwilling to actually ever explain anything to him. I believe it is an aspect of the author's art here that we share the experience of the translator's incomprehension: much of the time the reader doesn't get it either, we are in effect also immersed in an alien culture and equally bewildered. This is indeed powerful and effective. A big problem, though, is that while Cameron has his "aha!" moments along the way, we don't necessarily share them. To paraphrase one example, he concludes something like "Oh, now I get it!" and later exchanges a meaningful glance and confirming nod with an alien associate, but just what he has concluded is never expressed, not in his thoughts or words or by the alien, and the prior evidence in the book on the particular subject at that point is not all that clear. In this Cherryh continues to appear to think we can read her mind, rather than just her words, and can leave a reader frustrated.

In Pretender, most of the "action" is small-scale and localized, there is a lot of what I call "motion", that is the positioning and posturing that is typical of a Cherryh novel. This continues to work well within the Foreigner series (even as it fails dismally in some of her other works), probably due to the deeply characterized alien culture that provides a basis for this behavior. And in Pretender there are cases where it seems the author is trying to be clearer, and there are also important developments in the relationships among some of the familiar characters. For that, and for the incremental movement of the overall series plot, it is clearly a must-read for series fans. Anyone who has not read all the earlier books would be wasting their time and money to start here, but would indeed be well-rewarded to go back to the start and read through this fascinating series of books.

I know Foreigner fans are zealous and I expect I'll pick up some spurious "not helpfuls" as an expression of displeasure with the fact that my review is not pure praise and not 5-star. Please realize that I too am a devoted, long-time fan of this series, have read each book as it came out and re-read the series several times, and am just trying to balance the picture with a bit of objectivity.

As always, this book was advance ordered so I did not have to wait to catch up on the latest happenings in the Atevi world. Pretender did *not* disappoint and was another great read in this engrossing series. The only bad thing was staying up all Friday night to finish it; now I can't have the joy of reading it new again. If you are new to the series, I recommend that you start at the beginning -- and I would envy you for the delight in finding a great series. I will not recapitulate the plot since other people have done that, but I will say that Cajeiri is growing up very well, Algini surprised me, and Banichi and Jago, well, they are the best salads ever.
Also, as of March 6 according to her blog, C J is about 2/3's finished with the next book in the series. Maybe next year by this time...

Eight books and ten years into the Foreigner Universe series, you'd think that it might be getting a little tired. However, I found this book and its predecessor in the third trilogy to be very well written and riveting reads.

I enjoyed the increased amount of Guild action in Pretender and it felt faster-paced overall relative to Destroyer, the first book in this trilogy.

Bren continues to wallow a bit in angst over whether he was to blame for the successful coup that deposed Tabini Aiji. However, events move far too quickly for an extended pity party and soon he's right back in the thick of the action with his Assassin's Guild bodyguards.

Cajeiri is moving from brat-hood to an interesting character who actually contributes to the storyline a bit more and the Dowager continues to delight yet again.

Very enjoyable!

Pretender is another wonderful addition to the Foreigner series.
I found myself smiling all week as I read this latest installment, feeling like I was on a visit to catch up with some of my favorite associates. Of course this would be no where to start reading, as Ms. Cherryh respects her readers enough to not rehash previous segments for the sake of those who don't want to read the whole story, so be advised, it is necessary to start at the beginning with Foreigner, and read all the way up to this installment to have the rewarding experience that I have had.
Now, that being said, this is one of the shortest, but most action packed segment to date. Non-stop fast paced, while remaining introspective, this story remains my all time favorite allegory about diversity, reminding the reader that egocentricity, and ethno-centricity, are not winning strategies, but any kind of homogenization should be entered into carefully, and methodically.
I can't wait until next year brings a new installment!

I have been a C. J. Cherryh fan for many years, and have read each of the Foreigner books as they came out. This one builds, in a very exciting way, on the previous books. It was truly a page turner, and hard to put down. Ms. Cherryh keeps things moving quickly right to the last page. I agree with one reviewer who said it would be a hard place to start as it is a continuation of the Foreigner series. I can certainly recommend that one enjoy the entire series from the beginning. It would be a worthwhile effort. I am one who enjoys extended series such as this, and am already looking forward to the third book in this third sequence. I hope she moves on to a fourth sequence as well.

Civil war has devastated the Western Association and leaders like Tabini-aiij of the atevi home world are either dead or exiled and in hiding. Murini-aiij looks as if he will take over as ruler of the sector, but humans and other races will probably be eradicated under his xenophobic leadership.

Human paidhi Bren Cameron, diplomat to Tabini, knows his atevi friend is the only hope to stop the hostilities and to prevent a subsequent slaughter as outside hostile races are heading to this galaxy. Tabini realizes he must regain control of the atevi government because he believes Bren is telling the truth about the upcoming invaders while Murini scorns humans; with the help of Bren and his grandmother LLsidi they join forces with loyalist Tatiseigi. First civil war, then the invaders; atevi and human are in trouble in this space sector.

The latest Foreigner science fiction thriller, PRETENDER is a fabulous entry that showcases C.J. Cherryh at her best with the clever Machiavellian political maneuvers between the atevi with Bren used by Murini as a culpable pawn. The action augments the posturing for control as Tabini and Murini seek allies with the former thinking in terms of a two step war and the latter of just vanquishing his atevi rival. This is a great addition to one of the better outer space series of the last decade.

Harriet Klausner

The characters are interesting, and the story suspense driven, not to mention alot of fun!

However, if you are new to the series, I would very strongly suggest that you read the rest of the series first or you will not get as much out of this book. The previous books give you character histories, personalities, and 'world' politics that help make this book so good.

So start at the beginning and enjoy the ride! It is an excellent series, and this book is an enjoyable part of it. And as usual, leaves you wanting more!

Getting down near the end of this epic, now -- at least, the end of the nine volumes so far published. Recently returned from two years in deep space, Bren Cameron, the paidhi-aiji (and now Lord of the Heavens, whether he likes it or not), has found the atevi world in an uproar, a usurper having attempted to oust Tabini, the aiji of most of the world. His boss has gone into hiding to raise a counter-revolution. At the end of the previous book, Bren and the aiji's dowager grandmother (an intimidating old lady with razor-sharp political skills and a devoted following), as well as the aiji's very young heir, have survived an attempt to eliminate them by dissident members of the Assassins Guild and have finally met up with Tabini. This eighth volume is taken up with the journey, partly by commandeered bus, partly by rail, to the capital at Shejidan, where the aiji intends to take back his position. They gather forces as well as momentum -- the ultimate road trip, in a way -- and by the time they hit the palace gates (or, rather, underground train station), the usurper has fled the city. There's quite a bit of action this time out, but also considerable in-depth discussion of the concept of man'chi, which isn't "loyalty," exactly, but a hardwired atevi sense of belonging to the herd, being subject to its instinctive hierarchy. As long as he's been immersed in atevi society, Bren still doesn't quite understand his hosts' psychology, not instinctively. An absorbing and illuminating episode in the ongoing saga. (A small complaint, however: Michael Whelen has provided the cover paintings for the first seven books, and he's generally done a good job. But this time, for some reason, the painting is by Donato Giancola, and it's really pretty poor.)

Bren finds himself in the midst of a civil war. Under threat in the mansion of aging Lord Tatseigi, Bren and his security are forced to flee across country to the capital where Aiji Tabini (the deposed ruler) will attempt to regain his power. Will their attempt succeed or will Bren and his friends become the latest victims of evil Lord Murini and the assasin's guild?

I enjoyed this installment in Cherryh's renowned Foreigner series. Bren was endearing as usual, and I enjoyed the heir apparent Cajeiri. I did feel that there wasn't really enough going on in this book to justify a 5 star rating... They pretty much spent most of their time travelling. As usual, Cherryh pulls even this off with flair. I have nothing really to criticize. It was good... Just not totally awesome.

I also think this cover makes Bren look terrible and Jago look like she has no chin.

Overall, a solid, but not spectacular read.

I had saved up all three of the last books in this series for a Bren orgy (Destroyer, this one and Deliverer) and a nasty summer cold seemed just the right occasion to lock myself up with cold remedies, kleenex and books by C. J. Cherryh.

I've been a fan from the start so I was having a great time with Banichi, Jago, Ilsidi and the rest of the Atevi cast when it occurred to me that very likely if I had started this series with this book I would be incredibly lost. And the further I read the more I decided that new readers would need a "Companion" volume to figure everything out.

So if you have read previous books this one is a good read, if you haven't-- go back and start with Foreigner (and I envy you the chance to read the series for the first time.)