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Summary
Summary
"A large new Cherryh novel is always welcome." --Chicago Sun-TimesOne of science fiction's most highly respected writers, C.J. Cherryh impressed critics and fans alike with the Foreigner trilogy--the epic story of a lost human colony struggling to survive on the world of the alien atevi.Now, in Precursor, both human and atevi return to space to rebuild and rearm the ancient human space station and starship, and make a dsperate bid to defend their planet against alien attack.
Author Notes
A multiple award-winning author of more than thirty novels, C. J. Cherryh received her B.A. in Latin from the University of Oklahoma, and then went on to earn a M.A. in Classics from Johns Hopkins University. Cherryh's novels, including Tripoint, Cyteen, and The Pride of Chanur, are famous for their knife-edge suspense and complex, realistic characters.
Cherryh won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1977. She was also awarded the Hugo Award for her short story Cassandra in 1979, and the novels Downbelow Station in 1982 and Cyteen in 1989.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In the fourth volume in her widely praised Foreigner series (Inheritor, etc.) Cherryh sends diplomat and translator Bren Cameron into space to conduct a tense three-sided negotiation among the Pilot's Guild on the recently returned human starship Phoenix, the ateviÄthe planet's indigenous sentient species, whom Bren now servesÄand the Mospheirans, the human colonists whom the starship long ago abandoned in the atevi's world. Although there are beings of good will on all three sides, xenophobia, cultural preconceptions, factionalism and old animosities roil the situation, as do deteriorating conditions on the long-abandoned space station where the negotiators meet. Worse, a presumably hostile third intelligent species is lurking in the galactic neighborhood and may be in the process of tracking down the Phoenix. Making things even more difficult for Bren is his complicated relationship with his mother, who is driving him to distractionÄvia electronic mailÄwith her insistence that he reestablish a relationship with his recently injured former girlfriend and with her refusal to take seriously the danger she's in at the hands of Mospheirin factions hostile to Bren's mission. The novel features well-developed characters, Cherryh's trademark sophisticated political negotiations and strong prose. Of particular note is the author's ongoing exploration of the atevi, one of the more fascinating alien cultures ever imagined. Taken as a whole, this series, which promises to consist of six volumes when complete, represents mainstream SF at its very best. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Addition to Cherryh's superior alien-contact series (Inheritor, 1996, etc.) about the humanoid-alien ``atevi'' and the colony of castaway humans they've graciously permitted not only to survive but flourish on their planet. Atevi society, composed of jostling clans and factions and prone to violence, is bound together by instinctive loyalty but little else. A pro-human atevi faction, led by the powerful Tabini, sponsors Bren Cameron as human translator/technical liaison and has appointed two loyal atevi, Banichi and Jago, as Bren's bodyguards. But the starship that originally brought the colonists has returned from deep space with news of hostile aliens in the offing. So the ship's representative, Jase Graham, is working with Bren in releasing technology to the atevi and helping them build spaceships in order to enlist them as allies. Certain atevi factions, however, oppose all this. Another intriguing human/alien struggle: the tiny, intricate plot wheels hum, even if the big picture changes hardly at all.
Booklist Review
Cherryh's new trilogy set in the universe of her Foreigner trilogy begins three years after the events of Inheritor (1996). The starship Phoenix has returned, offering the humans marooned for two centuries on the planet of the atevi a way back. That way is, however, beset by an alien invasion that menaces humans and atevi alike. So two peoples wind up competing to influence the Pilots' Guild and the Phoenix. Loyalties become thoroughly divided, cultures clash in a realistically complex web of political intrigue, and Bren, paidhi (something of a grand vizier and chief eunuch, responsible but not entirely one's own master) to the head of the Western Association, is in the middle of all the machinations. The pace is rather leisurely, but Cherryh's excellent world building and masterful depiction of humans occupying a subordinate position and being seen through nonhuman eyes and in a less-than-favorable light stand her in good stead. --Roland Green
Library Journal Review
Abandoned by the starship Phoenix, the human colony on the island of Mospheira has learned to exist with the alien atevi who occupy the rest of the planet. When the unexpected return of the Phoenix opens up the possibility of space travel to the atevi, Bren Cameron, a human trained in the art of atevi relations, is assigned to handle the delicate negotiations between humans and aliens. Trouble arises, however, from a third species whose presence may spark a three-sided conflagration unless Cameron succeeds in his difficult task. Cherryh continues to explore the rich culture portrayed in the Foreigner trilogy with this first novel in a new series. Combining hard sf with realistically complex characters, this blend of adventure and intrigue in the far reaches of space belongs in most sf collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.