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2011 books: Cherryh
Dec. 17th, 2011 11:49 amBecause I was traveling, I took two previously read books with me, but only read one of them. I also grabbed thrashed 3rd copies so I could toss them. Anyway, I read C.J. Cherryh's Chanur's Legacy. This is a loose sequel to The Pride of Chanur (which was followed by Chanur's Venture, The Kif Strike Back, and Chanur's Homecoming) focusing on Hilfy Chanur, the cousin of Pyanfar Chanur. Pyanfar is now President of the Amphictony, mekt-hakkikt, etc. That is, overall leader of a loose conglomeration of species. Hilfy had been juniormost on the "Pride of Chanur" in the earlier books, but then kicked off to take over leadership of the Chanur clan.
The hani are lion-based aliens. The females do all the public issues, while men are coddled and titular clan heads. When boys get too old, they're kicked out into preserves where they fight and die until they can try to challenge existing clan heads. A notable curse is "May you have sons!"
NOTE: May be slightly spoilers for early events in the book below.
At the beginning of Chanur's Legacy, Hilfy has taken over captainship of a new ship, forcing her aunt Rhean to become acting clan head. Pyanfar is out in space trying to keep the peace and not allowed to set foot on the hani worlds. Hilfy gets a offer of a contract that's too good to be true--it could clear the debt on this recently built ship and put the clan on better financial footing.
The contract is to take some sort of religious/cultural object between two stations, and between the heads of the stations who are of the stsho. The stsho are 'grass-eaters,' herd-minded and non-confrontational. Very much tempted, Hilfy takes the contract, and agrees to ferry a male hani and try to reunite him with his ship. Hallan Meras shipped with another trade ship (not a Chanur ally) and was left in the station jail after getting into a bar fight. Hilfy would rather just leave him, but her honor won't allow her to abandon any hani.
Meanwhile a mahendo'sat (a another alien species) is nosing about trying to get information on Hilfy's cargo. Craziness ensues from every angle as the Legacy bounces from port to port trying to fulfill the contract.
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I'm a huge fan of Cherryh's books, with a particular fondness for the Compact books. I feel that they're some of the more accessible books as well. Cherryh has a unique writing style that some people dislike and she often obfuscates information so you have to work to figure out what the heck is going on. There are always political shenanigans, alliances, double- and triple-crosses happening. Because of this, her books often reward a second (or more) read as you pick up more clues.
I think ou could read Legacy without reading the earlier books, but there are a lot of references to the earlier books, and subtleties in the character interactions which would be lost without information from the earlier books.
If you do read the earlier books, make sure you have access to books 2-4 as they end on cliff-hangers.
The hani are lion-based aliens. The females do all the public issues, while men are coddled and titular clan heads. When boys get too old, they're kicked out into preserves where they fight and die until they can try to challenge existing clan heads. A notable curse is "May you have sons!"
NOTE: May be slightly spoilers for early events in the book below.
At the beginning of Chanur's Legacy, Hilfy has taken over captainship of a new ship, forcing her aunt Rhean to become acting clan head. Pyanfar is out in space trying to keep the peace and not allowed to set foot on the hani worlds. Hilfy gets a offer of a contract that's too good to be true--it could clear the debt on this recently built ship and put the clan on better financial footing.
The contract is to take some sort of religious/cultural object between two stations, and between the heads of the stations who are of the stsho. The stsho are 'grass-eaters,' herd-minded and non-confrontational. Very much tempted, Hilfy takes the contract, and agrees to ferry a male hani and try to reunite him with his ship. Hallan Meras shipped with another trade ship (not a Chanur ally) and was left in the station jail after getting into a bar fight. Hilfy would rather just leave him, but her honor won't allow her to abandon any hani.
Meanwhile a mahendo'sat (a another alien species) is nosing about trying to get information on Hilfy's cargo. Craziness ensues from every angle as the Legacy bounces from port to port trying to fulfill the contract.
--------
I'm a huge fan of Cherryh's books, with a particular fondness for the Compact books. I feel that they're some of the more accessible books as well. Cherryh has a unique writing style that some people dislike and she often obfuscates information so you have to work to figure out what the heck is going on. There are always political shenanigans, alliances, double- and triple-crosses happening. Because of this, her books often reward a second (or more) read as you pick up more clues.
I think ou could read Legacy without reading the earlier books, but there are a lot of references to the earlier books, and subtleties in the character interactions which would be lost without information from the earlier books.
If you do read the earlier books, make sure you have access to books 2-4 as they end on cliff-hangers.
