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Foreigner #17
Visitor
The seventeenth novel in Cherryh’s Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences…
The human and atevi inhabitants of Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, have picked up a signal from an alien kyo ship telling them that the ship is inbound toward Alpha. Five thousand of the inhabitants of Alpha are human refugees from the now derelict Reunion Station. They have seen this scenario before, when a single kyo ship swooped into the Reunion system and, without a word, melted a major section of Reunion Station with a single pass. These refugees, who were rescued through the combined efforts of an allied group of humans and atevi and brought to safety at Alpha, are now desperate with fear.
Bren Cameron—brilliant human emissary of Tabini-aiji, the powerful atevi political leader on the mainland below, and also the appointee of the human president of the island nation of Mospheira—is the obvious choice of representative to be sent up to deal with both the panicked refugees and the incoming alien ship.
As a member of the spacefaring delegation who rescued the refugees, Bren has talked to kyo before—and even won their trust by saving one of their kind from a Reunioner prison. Because of his remarkable diplomatic and linguistic abilities, Bren managed to communicate with that grateful kyo individual on a limited basis, and he has evidence that that same kyo is on the ship heading to defenseless Alpha Station.
But no one can predict what an alien race might do, or what their motivations could be.
And Bren Cameron, the only human ever to be accepted into atevi society, is now the one individual with a hope of successfully interacting with the crew of the incoming ship. But Bren knows it will take putting himself in the hands of the kyo.
Can Bren count on the gratitude of one individual alien to save his life and the lives of thousands on Alpha Station?
The human and atevi inhabitants of Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, have picked up a signal from an alien kyo ship telling them that the ship is inbound toward Alpha. Five thousand of the inhabitants of Alpha are human refugees from the now derelict Reunion Station. They have seen this scenario before, when a single kyo ship swooped into the Reunion system and, without a word, melted a major section of Reunion Station with a single pass. These refugees, who were rescued through the combined efforts of an allied group of humans and atevi and brought to safety at Alpha, are now desperate with fear.
Bren Cameron—brilliant human emissary of Tabini-aiji, the powerful atevi political leader on the mainland below, and also the appointee of the human president of the island nation of Mospheira—is the obvious choice of representative to be sent up to deal with both the panicked refugees and the incoming alien ship.
As a member of the spacefaring delegation who rescued the refugees, Bren has talked to kyo before—and even won their trust by saving one of their kind from a Reunioner prison. Because of his remarkable diplomatic and linguistic abilities, Bren managed to communicate with that grateful kyo individual on a limited basis, and he has evidence that that same kyo is on the ship heading to defenseless Alpha Station.
But no one can predict what an alien race might do, or what their motivations could be.
And Bren Cameron, the only human ever to be accepted into atevi society, is now the one individual with a hope of successfully interacting with the crew of the incoming ship. But Bren knows it will take putting himself in the hands of the kyo.
Can Bren count on the gratitude of one individual alien to save his life and the lives of thousands on Alpha Station?
376 pages, Hardcover
First published April 5, 2016
77 people are currently reading
767 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Cherryh
292 books3,559 followersCurrently resident in Spokane, Washington, C.J. Cherryh has won four Hugos and is one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed authors in the science fiction and fantasy field. She is the author of more than forty novels. Her hobbies include travel, photography, reef culture, Mariners baseball, and, a late passion, figure skating: she intends to compete in the adult USFSA track. She began with the modest ambition to learn to skate backwards and now is working on jumps. She sketches, occasionally, cooks fairly well, and hates house work; she loves the outdoors, animals wild and tame, is a hobbyist geologist, adores dinosaurs, and has academic specialties in Roman constitutional law and bronze age Greek ethnography. She has written science fiction since she was ten, spent ten years of her life teaching Latin and Ancient History on the high school level, before retiring to full time writing, and now does not have enough hours in the day to pursue all her interests. Her studies include planetary geology, weather systems, and natural and man-made catastrophes, civilizations, and cosmology…in fact, there's very little that doesn't interest her. A loom is gathering dust and needs rethreading, a wooden ship model awaits construction, and the cats demand their own time much more urgently. She works constantly, researches mostly on the internet, and has books stacked up and waiting to be written.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
January 11, 2018
And we're back with the three-way theme, but this time we're fully into the linguistics issues again.
I don't know about any of you, but linguistics and communications problems are where this series SHINES. :) The new alien species introduced so many books ago is back and it's a full feature this time. *giddy dance*
It helps that we're relying on Bren almost full-time to get this diplomacy party started. Or continued, as the case may be.
Are the Atevi and Humans going to be dragged into some interstellar conflict? How about getting wiped out with a few shots now? Oh, diplomacy has never been needed more than it is now. :)
God, I love this stuff. Cherryh is masterful at worldbuilding and politics, but she is best with focusing on communications. :) Right now, it's all about space stations, starships, and major pitfalls.
It's seriously a grand treat to dive into these novels.
It's been a long road but still manages to remain as fresh as ever.
I don't know about any of you, but linguistics and communications problems are where this series SHINES. :) The new alien species introduced so many books ago is back and it's a full feature this time. *giddy dance*
It helps that we're relying on Bren almost full-time to get this diplomacy party started. Or continued, as the case may be.
Are the Atevi and Humans going to be dragged into some interstellar conflict? How about getting wiped out with a few shots now? Oh, diplomacy has never been needed more than it is now. :)
God, I love this stuff. Cherryh is masterful at worldbuilding and politics, but she is best with focusing on communications. :) Right now, it's all about space stations, starships, and major pitfalls.
It's seriously a grand treat to dive into these novels.
It's been a long road but still manages to remain as fresh as ever.
Read
April 5, 2016There's not many series where it suddenly gets brilliant again in volume 16.
And I loved this one even more, because it did something I absolutely was not expecting.
And I loved this one even more, because it did something I absolutely was not expecting.
September 2, 2024
Oh my! As much as I enjoyed book 16, this one takes it to another level, making it one of my favourite of the series (with book 6).
The Station political mess has been partially seen to, enough so to allow Bren, Ilisidi and Cajeiri to deal with the Kiyo. And it is glorious! We’re back in diplomacy and linguistics. Not only this, Cherryh throws one major ‘curve ball’ in the narrative that I was not expecting, and which will have some huge repercussions! Knowing the author, we won’t see it for a while and there is still the question of the human refugees to sort out... of course.
The Station political mess has been partially seen to, enough so to allow Bren, Ilisidi and Cajeiri to deal with the Kiyo. And it is glorious! We’re back in diplomacy and linguistics. Not only this, Cherryh throws one major ‘curve ball’ in the narrative that I was not expecting, and which will have some huge repercussions! Knowing the author, we won’t see it for a while and there is still the question of the human refugees to sort out... of course.
May 2, 2020
Wow. Cherryh surprised me the first time through this book. All the assumptions her characters had built over years were radically changed with the news that Bren and company receive in this, can you believe it, seventeenth installment of this series.
The Kyo arrive at Alpha, and Bren, Ilsidi and Cajeiri are critical to the meetings with Prakuyo and the, hopefully, cementing of the peace between the Atevi and the Kyo.
As this is my second reading of this story, the curve Cherryh throws readers wasn't as shocking, but it still leaves me wondering what the heck does this mean long term for the humans and Atevi on the Atevi homeworld.
As always, I remain impressed with the constant diplomatic and political efforts Cherryh describes Bren putting in every day to keep the two hundred year-old peace, but I was also fascinated by his linguistic preparation for his meetings with the Kyo.
The Kyo arrive at Alpha, and Bren, Ilsidi and Cajeiri are critical to the meetings with Prakuyo and the, hopefully, cementing of the peace between the Atevi and the Kyo.
As this is my second reading of this story, the curve Cherryh throws readers wasn't as shocking, but it still leaves me wondering what the heck does this mean long term for the humans and Atevi on the Atevi homeworld.
As always, I remain impressed with the constant diplomatic and political efforts Cherryh describes Bren putting in every day to keep the two hundred year-old peace, but I was also fascinated by his linguistic preparation for his meetings with the Kyo.
September 27, 2024
Mind blown. Haven’t had a shock like that since Phoenix appeared.
May 2, 2016
"We are oil and humans are water. We do not need to be other than what we are to exist in the same vessel."I've been wanting to try Cherryh's series for a while, and I'm thrilled to have finally had the opportunity. Cherryh is an intriguing writer, and the world she creates is fully-fleshed and complex. Long ago, a human spaceship found itself transposed a multitude of lightyears from Earth, orbiting the planet of a non-space-faring species called the atevi. Some of the humans onboard leave to create a colony on the atevi homeworld, and for centuries, the humans and atevi live together on the planet in a state too tense to be called "peace." Bren Cameron, a human born on the atevi homeworld, acts as the paidhi-aiji of the atevi court, a translator and mediator who acts as a tenuous bridge between two cultures. Now Cameron must step outside his experience to negotiate with the enigmatic, powerful, and frighteningly alien kyo, and failure could spell doom to human and atevi alike.
If you've read any of my reviews before, you're probably aware that I routinely start series out of order, sometimes at the halfway point or later. So when I say that Visitor is not a good book to start the series with, take it from an inveterate series-order-ignorer and start somewhere else--and no, I can't tell you where. Why? Well, the story assumes the reader is already familiar with the backstory--and there's apparently quite a lot of backstory to be familiar with-- but the sensation of being transported into the middle of a vivid history is one of the many reasons I enjoy reading series out of order.
The real reason why you shouldn't start the series with this book is that it is, indisputably, what I'd term a "payoff book," and payoff books work best when you've actually paid for them by navigating the story arc's slow build. It's the reason why you shouldn't start with Deathly Hallows or Night Watch or Memory: the power of those books comes from the history, from the experiences, from the characters' pasts and the ways they've changed. In Visitor, most of the characters appear to be drawn from previous stories, and in this book, the background politics are put aside as Cameron's friends and allies rally around to support him. I got the sense that such camaraderie should be poignant and touching, but without understanding the base state of conflicts, I missed out on the grand effect. The plot, too, is primarily centered on the repercussions of previous books. Without experiencing what Cameron and his allies went through at Reunion, without seeing their previous confrontations with the kyo, I think the book just can't have the same punch that it would have for the series regular. And this is a good enough story that it's worth doing it right.
The plot is an unusual change of pace from your standard space opera. Don't go into this story expecting battles or heists or daring escapes. It's a book of secrets and repercussions, of breathless waiting and slow-burning tension, of strained negotiation. It's a book about understanding humanity, or, since most of the characters are nonhuman, whatever one calls that core sense of self and civilization. Previous interactions with the kyo involved a lot of mistakes, and now only care and goodwill on both sides can save them all from disaster. Cherryh approaches the conflict she sets up thoughtfully, yet with an endearing optimism. As Cameron puts it, bridging two cultures is all about "Work[ing] until they understand what the person meant, rather than investing in winning." While this may not be the perfect starting book for the series, but for those who are already fans, know you've got something to look forward to. As for me, I've finally been galvanized to put Foreigner on my to-read list.
~~I received this ebook through Netgalley from the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group, in exchange for my honest review. Quotes were taken from an advanced reader copy and while they may not reflect the final versions, I believe they speak to the spirit of the novel as a whole.~~
Cross-posted on BookLikes.
May 15, 2016
Enjoyed this - I’m always glad to spend more time with these characters. However, the entire first half of the book consists of talking and recapping. The second half is mostly talking, too, but at least a new subject is introduced when the Kyo make their anticipated arrival, and bring a surprise.
The book is tightly focused on Bren, with only a few sections from Cajeiri’s point of view. The other characters exist mostly to tell Bren what a great job he’s doing. I was pretty disappointed that his aishid says nothing except “yes” (even if it's that cool "yes" affirmation that the atevi do) and “Will you rest now, Bren-ji?”. Even the aiji-dowager does little except approve of the paidhi’s efforts.
This is the middle book of a story arc, so I expect the next book to be rather more exciting. I was glad to see our characters on the space station, but I missed the shoot-outs and the frantic bus rides, and it felt odd that Cajeiri didn’t need to be rescued a single time.
The book is tightly focused on Bren, with only a few sections from Cajeiri’s point of view. The other characters exist mostly to tell Bren what a great job he’s doing. I was pretty disappointed that his aishid says nothing except “yes” (even if it's that cool "yes" affirmation that the atevi do) and “Will you rest now, Bren-ji?”. Even the aiji-dowager does little except approve of the paidhi’s efforts.
This is the middle book of a story arc, so I expect the next book to be rather more exciting. I was glad to see our characters on the space station, but I missed the shoot-outs and the frantic bus rides, and it felt odd that Cajeiri didn’t need to be rescued a single time.
April 6, 2016
Well now I can't wait for the next one. This series is the most delightful ongoing story of a human who learns to negotiate between species as he represents the native species on his adopted planet. Great characters, richly imagined world.
October 10, 2024
Seamless continuation of the previous book, straight into the action and the next chapter. Up in the heavens, the preparations for the arrival of the Kyo are progressing at top speed. There is also quite some cleanup from their much earlier trip with the Phoenix and all its repercussions.
Words, language, context and associations. Communication is king in this.
Tea cakes, please! This felt quick and there was never a dull moment. Looking forward to the next one.
Words, language, context and associations. Communication is king in this.
Tea cakes, please! This felt quick and there was never a dull moment. Looking forward to the next one.
May 11, 2020
From it's first publication near my birthday in 1994, I have eagerly awaited the next installment of the Foreigner series. This novel #17 and 22 years later is one of the best of the series, perhaps the best. That is really hard to say as so much of this novel depends on the prior 16. They have all been necessary for us to understand and appreciate this partial denouement. I can only say WOW! I am further impressed, that even though I have only read each novel once, that I remember so much that so much has stuck with me. Bren in Visitor does help us by reprising important threads from the entire series here.
Bren Cameron has been a hero of mine since the beginning, someone I wish I were like. He reaches a peak in his abilities, all his efforts are rewarded and all the trust others place in him are realized in his negotiations with the Kyo and his counterpart Prakyuo. Bren has essentially saved the entire Atevi Earth from destruction. That is success.
Cherryh well demonstrates her mastery of human-alien interactions in Visitor. One human, alone interacts with not one, but 2 alien, non-human snetients, the Atavi and the Kyo. These are not simply other cultures, the subject of most literature, but entirely alien, from their physiology to their brain and body structures, to their sensory and motor abilities, their entire histories etc. This is Cherryh's well-known forte. It all comes together here.
Near the end of the novel, while Bren is teaching Cullen, Bren lectures us about diplomacy, about using words instead of violence and war to deal with conflict. Though the specifics relate to the Human-Atavi-Kyo conflict, his words are a must read for anyone interested in solving the modern conflicts on our own Earth. They are the basis for diplomacy which every one of us would benefit from for dealing with all of our interpersonal and intercultural interactions. Listen to and understand Bren. Make his words active in your lives.
My big question is where do we go from here. I can imagine a lot of directions, new conflicts, changes on the Atevi planet and the various human groups, growth of the young characters... I hope both Cherryh and I live long enough to more fully explore this universe.
10 of 10 stars
Bren Cameron has been a hero of mine since the beginning, someone I wish I were like. He reaches a peak in his abilities, all his efforts are rewarded and all the trust others place in him are realized in his negotiations with the Kyo and his counterpart Prakyuo. Bren has essentially saved the entire Atevi Earth from destruction. That is success.
Cherryh well demonstrates her mastery of human-alien interactions in Visitor. One human, alone interacts with not one, but 2 alien, non-human snetients, the Atavi and the Kyo. These are not simply other cultures, the subject of most literature, but entirely alien, from their physiology to their brain and body structures, to their sensory and motor abilities, their entire histories etc. This is Cherryh's well-known forte. It all comes together here.
Near the end of the novel, while Bren is teaching Cullen, Bren lectures us about diplomacy, about using words instead of violence and war to deal with conflict. Though the specifics relate to the Human-Atavi-Kyo conflict, his words are a must read for anyone interested in solving the modern conflicts on our own Earth. They are the basis for diplomacy which every one of us would benefit from for dealing with all of our interpersonal and intercultural interactions. Listen to and understand Bren. Make his words active in your lives.
My big question is where do we go from here. I can imagine a lot of directions, new conflicts, changes on the Atevi planet and the various human groups, growth of the young characters... I hope both Cherryh and I live long enough to more fully explore this universe.
10 of 10 stars
September 1, 2020
You should definitely read #16, TRACKER, first. As Jo Walton noted, there aren't many series that suddenly get brilliant again in volume 16.
I just re-read Russell Letson's great review at Locus: https://locusmag.com/2016/06/russell-... -- and you should too.
Here are some excerpts from his, which I will use in place of writing another:
"For those who are up to date, or who need a nudge to re-enter this world, here are some teasers, carefully crafted to avoid spoilers."
"... Cameron puzzles over the behavior of present and former Phoenix captains, station administrators, and the kyo, who may have been observing human and atevi activities for longer than anyone thought. On the human side, critical information has been lost, destroyed, or concealed. Most crucially, with whom are the kyo at war? What else lurks out among the stars where the atevi have not gone? Such questions give Bren literal nightmares – and when he does get some answers, the stakes are raised very high indeed.
Once Cameron and the kyo get down to brass tacks, the book is absolutely riveting ..."
Indeed. Don't plan anything else for then! My rating: 4.5 stars, rounded up.
I'm looking forward to #18, which awaits me on the library hold shelf.
I just re-read Russell Letson's great review at Locus: https://locusmag.com/2016/06/russell-... -- and you should too.
Here are some excerpts from his, which I will use in place of writing another:
"For those who are up to date, or who need a nudge to re-enter this world, here are some teasers, carefully crafted to avoid spoilers."
"... Cameron puzzles over the behavior of present and former Phoenix captains, station administrators, and the kyo, who may have been observing human and atevi activities for longer than anyone thought. On the human side, critical information has been lost, destroyed, or concealed. Most crucially, with whom are the kyo at war? What else lurks out among the stars where the atevi have not gone? Such questions give Bren literal nightmares – and when he does get some answers, the stakes are raised very high indeed.
Once Cameron and the kyo get down to brass tacks, the book is absolutely riveting ..."
Indeed. Don't plan anything else for then! My rating: 4.5 stars, rounded up.
I'm looking forward to #18, which awaits me on the library hold shelf.
April 22, 2016
As far as I know none of my friends are reading this series. And since this is the 17th (!) book in that series, I can't urge them to pick it up and give it a go. Sigh. This book is so well done, so many threads lightly traced books ago come knotted together here. Some of the painstakingly detailed and slow sections of earlier books pay off here. Bren is a cultural interpreter and advisor. The books all portray the difficulties of communication -- whether between factions, between two different intelligent species on one planet, or between completely alien cultures and individuals. In this book we have the most precise and at the same time exciting portrayal of what it takes to achieve understanding, confidence, and agreement when the starting point is shrouded in speculation and assumptions.
Well done, Ms. Cherryh. Fascinating book, gripping events with very high stakes, and at once a culmination of the 16 books before and an opening up of surely (hopefully!) a whole new dimension.
Well done, Ms. Cherryh. Fascinating book, gripping events with very high stakes, and at once a culmination of the 16 books before and an opening up of surely (hopefully!) a whole new dimension.
August 21, 2016
When the author took to spinning out a novelette's worth of plot into 400-450 pages through repetition and endless explication, I went from loving her work to merely appreciating it. This episode is no different in that respect from the dozen or so preceding it---I found it readable only through dint of much skimming and skipping. Its bones are just fine, scant as they are.
I do see hints here that she may be finishing at last with the Atevi and moving on to work out another alien society. More power to her. I just wish she had a stronger editor, who could make her do it more economically.
I do see hints here that she may be finishing at last with the Atevi and moving on to work out another alien society. More power to her. I just wish she had a stronger editor, who could make her do it more economically.
September 25, 2021
When I started Visitor I thought it was a standalone novel by Sci-Fi author C.J. Cherryh. It turns out that it's the 17th book in her Foreigner series. That does explain why, at times, I was in the middle of something rather than just starting out fresh. Having said that, it didn't ultimately matter as the story is excellent in its own right. There is an ongoing back story but I don't know if it's covered in any of the previous books.
So, basically (yeah, right, like there is a basically in this rich, excellent story), there is a planet called Earth (not our human earth) populated by the atevi, and also by a human race, the Mospheiran. They arrived on a star ship, '200' years ago? and built a space station (Alpha station). Their star ship departed and the humans asked the atevi if they could live on the planet. I gather there was friction and even a major war, but they seem to have reconciled; both share the space station and the planet, with the atevi sort of in ascendance, due to numbers and it being their world.
The Phoenix, this is the star ship, built another space station (Reunion) above another planet and got into a war with another race, the kyo. (Got it so far?) The atevi and mospheirans went on Phoenix to work out a peace agreement between the humans and the kyo. One kyo, Prakuyo, had been held hostage at the space station for 5 or 6 years and he was released. So the agreement was that the Phoenix would carry the remaining Reunioner humans back to Alpha Station. This has caused much friction between the Reunioners, the crew of the Phoenix, the humans on Alpha, etc. and now the atevi have taken it over with the Mospheirans. (Still with me?)
Now the kyo are on the way to 'talk'. Bren, a human, a translator, who works for the atevi is tasked to talk with the kyo, along with the atevi leader (well, his mother the dowager) and accompanied by her son... Oh my, this is getting difficult. The story is many faceted as you can well imagine, but very thoughtful, the main theme is communication. Bren must play off the many races, organizations and figure out what the kyo want and ultimately try to arrange a peace. (psst. There is a neat twist in the last part of this fantastic, entertaining story).
I can't say there is a lot of action, but it seems as though there is (does that make sense). People trying to figure out how to communicate without causing more friction or war. It's fascinating. As Bren says at one point,
"There are some very bad types that are clever with words. But they make up their own meanings ... and in situations like this made-up meanings don't get you very far. Good types work until they understand what the other person meant, rather than investing in winning." (Remind you of anything?)
It's a fascinating story, rich characters, a beautifully crafted universe & intelligent story and dialogue, confusing at times but worth making the effort to understand and keep reading. My only other experience with Cherryh's writing up until this point was Downbelow Station, which was also excellent. Check out her books. It's worth doing (4.5 stars)
P.S. I've ordered the first book in this series, Foreigner.
So, basically (yeah, right, like there is a basically in this rich, excellent story), there is a planet called Earth (not our human earth) populated by the atevi, and also by a human race, the Mospheiran. They arrived on a star ship, '200' years ago? and built a space station (Alpha station). Their star ship departed and the humans asked the atevi if they could live on the planet. I gather there was friction and even a major war, but they seem to have reconciled; both share the space station and the planet, with the atevi sort of in ascendance, due to numbers and it being their world.
The Phoenix, this is the star ship, built another space station (Reunion) above another planet and got into a war with another race, the kyo. (Got it so far?) The atevi and mospheirans went on Phoenix to work out a peace agreement between the humans and the kyo. One kyo, Prakuyo, had been held hostage at the space station for 5 or 6 years and he was released. So the agreement was that the Phoenix would carry the remaining Reunioner humans back to Alpha Station. This has caused much friction between the Reunioners, the crew of the Phoenix, the humans on Alpha, etc. and now the atevi have taken it over with the Mospheirans. (Still with me?)
Now the kyo are on the way to 'talk'. Bren, a human, a translator, who works for the atevi is tasked to talk with the kyo, along with the atevi leader (well, his mother the dowager) and accompanied by her son... Oh my, this is getting difficult. The story is many faceted as you can well imagine, but very thoughtful, the main theme is communication. Bren must play off the many races, organizations and figure out what the kyo want and ultimately try to arrange a peace. (psst. There is a neat twist in the last part of this fantastic, entertaining story).
I can't say there is a lot of action, but it seems as though there is (does that make sense). People trying to figure out how to communicate without causing more friction or war. It's fascinating. As Bren says at one point,
"There are some very bad types that are clever with words. But they make up their own meanings ... and in situations like this made-up meanings don't get you very far. Good types work until they understand what the other person meant, rather than investing in winning." (Remind you of anything?)
It's a fascinating story, rich characters, a beautifully crafted universe & intelligent story and dialogue, confusing at times but worth making the effort to understand and keep reading. My only other experience with Cherryh's writing up until this point was Downbelow Station, which was also excellent. Check out her books. It's worth doing (4.5 stars)
P.S. I've ordered the first book in this series, Foreigner.
July 3, 2022
One of my favorites in the series so far.
August 16, 2022
Shades of gray were the very devil to manage when one started with table, chair, food. Abstracts were like so many grenades, apt to go wrong places and blow up on them.
This book brings the long-awaited return of our other spacefaring problem. The last time atevi, humans, and kyo met they'd established a very limited vocabulary, organized a disengagement, and the kyo had promised to visit.
Well, now they've arrived.
I adore this. Cherryh is at her best when talking about language, and culture, and interface, and so is this series. Bren's "test anxiety" is very real, especially as it relates to the concept of being fine in a crisis, but not fine with the waiting. For all that it takes time to get into the actual contact, even the divergent moments of Bren's interest inform his perspective.
Which I know is why some people find Cherryh frustrating. She's very good at understanding the "why" of human psyche, she's very good at creating the series of events to get her protagonist into the right headspace for the plot... and she's not going to skip ANY of it. Lots and lots of thinking, and talking, and thinking more. I'm here for it, but not everyone is.
It's a tense, claustrophobic ride in Bren's head, with occasional asides to Cajeiri, some astonishing risk-taking, and one particular revelation that didn't actually surprise me. I have approximately zero complaints about this installment. 5* easy.
April 5, 2016
Another stellar addition!
The depth of the Foreigner series continues to amaze.
Bren's life just becomes more difficult as its realized that a ship of the Kyo is heading towards the atevi world.
Meanwhile the human station occupants--the Mospheirans and The Reunioners are in conflict with each other. Turmoil is rife at a very dangerous time with the Kyo drawing near. The Mosheirans have taken over the human side of the station. They want to react to the Kyo's presence one way. Bren and the atevi, another. Once more Bren, the Dowager, Tabini's young son, Cajeiri, and his on station friends, and of course Jase, are in the thick of things--to save their planet.
One good thing is that Dr. Virginia Kroger has been sent by the Mospheirans to take charge of the human side of the station.
The ongoing and overarching theme of communication with others like you and unlike you holds sway--as it has down through all the series.The gaps and holes and preconceptions we bring to a problem between differing cultures is explored and given teeth.
I can't say enough good things about this new episode. I loved it!
A NetGalley ARC
The depth of the Foreigner series continues to amaze.
Bren's life just becomes more difficult as its realized that a ship of the Kyo is heading towards the atevi world.
Meanwhile the human station occupants--the Mospheirans and The Reunioners are in conflict with each other. Turmoil is rife at a very dangerous time with the Kyo drawing near. The Mosheirans have taken over the human side of the station. They want to react to the Kyo's presence one way. Bren and the atevi, another. Once more Bren, the Dowager, Tabini's young son, Cajeiri, and his on station friends, and of course Jase, are in the thick of things--to save their planet.
One good thing is that Dr. Virginia Kroger has been sent by the Mospheirans to take charge of the human side of the station.
The ongoing and overarching theme of communication with others like you and unlike you holds sway--as it has down through all the series.The gaps and holes and preconceptions we bring to a problem between differing cultures is explored and given teeth.
I can't say enough good things about this new episode. I loved it!
A NetGalley ARC
April 2, 2017
Let me just say it is really rare for a book to make me squeal and do flappy hands in public. Visitor starts off well, reminding us of all the nifty things that happened in the previous book and offering some really interesting reinterpretations of events from earlier in the series. Bren goes through a crisis of confidence. A bunch of characters and relationships that were vaguely sketched get more fleshed out. All of that was great. But I should have remembered that CJ Cherryh always does something towards the end of the book to turn the universe on its head.
December 7, 2017
I really enjoyed this one. There's a big focus on Bren's roots, from his time at school and training to be a linguist/interpreter, and on Mospheira's culture, in ways that I didn't expect. I really enjoyed learning more about Bren's background, which, even with the one short story and 16 books, has been somewhat shrouded in mystery. Who was Bren when he first started the job? How did he get it? What is his relationship with his predecessor, rather than him just ruminating on the guy?
We learn a lot about the Kyo in this book, and it's fascinating. Bren's reactions to his discoveries in that area are also really enjoyable to watch. Bren has done a lot of work not only as a linguist and diplomat but also as a teacher, particularly of Cajeiri, and he seems like a good teacher, so I enjoyed seeing more of that here, with someone who isn't Cajeiri, Tabini, or his bodyguards. He is a very supportive and comforting person, and finds ways to express that even though the Atevi are not really into overt expressions of comfort, and it is always fun to see him express those emotions more, perhaps because we see that so rarely and so value those experiences more.
And we also see Bren playing more of a diplomat in this book. Bren has played very important roles in a great many deliberations in this series, but it is even more heavily impressed in this book, where he is central to some very important decisions, that Bren's position is important and he has a lot of power in his hands, and his decisions, the ones he makes, can affect a very, very large number of people, in very significant ways. Maybe that's really vague and overlong but this book is all about responsibility and thinking big picture, whereas other entries in the series felt somewhat small picture (e.g., my neighbor is shooting people up, I should go take care of that), even though they really were big picture issues (e.g., the head of this huge faction is doing some dangerous things, I need to help deal with it so a lot of people aren't hurt/killed as a result). Whatever the case, it worked really well here. I appreciate how the issues were handled, how Bren stood up for himself, and of course, Ilisidi, as usual. This book is not one to skip and it's one of my favorites in the series.
We learn a lot about the Kyo in this book, and it's fascinating. Bren's reactions to his discoveries in that area are also really enjoyable to watch. Bren has done a lot of work not only as a linguist and diplomat but also as a teacher, particularly of Cajeiri, and he seems like a good teacher, so I enjoyed seeing more of that here, with someone who isn't Cajeiri, Tabini, or his bodyguards. He is a very supportive and comforting person, and finds ways to express that even though the Atevi are not really into overt expressions of comfort, and it is always fun to see him express those emotions more, perhaps because we see that so rarely and so value those experiences more.
And we also see Bren playing more of a diplomat in this book. Bren has played very important roles in a great many deliberations in this series, but it is even more heavily impressed in this book, where he is central to some very important decisions, that Bren's position is important and he has a lot of power in his hands, and his decisions, the ones he makes, can affect a very, very large number of people, in very significant ways. Maybe that's really vague and overlong but this book is all about responsibility and thinking big picture, whereas other entries in the series felt somewhat small picture (e.g., my neighbor is shooting people up, I should go take care of that), even though they really were big picture issues (e.g., the head of this huge faction is doing some dangerous things, I need to help deal with it so a lot of people aren't hurt/killed as a result). Whatever the case, it worked really well here. I appreciate how the issues were handled, how Bren stood up for himself, and of course, Ilisidi, as usual. This book is not one to skip and it's one of my favorites in the series.
February 13, 2017
This series is pretty much trying to kill me.
I had wondering in earlier books about the enemy...but I was like, nah, it can't be. And it is. And now I don't even know anymore. How on earth are they going to fix THIS?
I had wondering in earlier books about the enemy...but I was like, nah, it can't be. And it is. And now I don't even know anymore. How on earth are they going to fix THIS?
May 27, 2016
Not used to giving book #17 in a series 5 stars, indeed there are few authors who I'd bother with beyond book #6 in a series.
There are exciting revelations in this book. And, lots of interesting directions this series could go in now. I particularly hope for getting Irene's viewpoint, and wonder if that storyline is going in a kind of 40,000 in Gehenna direction.
But, the reason I actually gave this 5 stars has nothing to do with any of that. It's because of the depiction of mastery of a complex discipline depicted here. In the middle of the book, Bren loses confidence, has anxiety dreams, feels locked up and unable to think. By the end, he's giving a master class in how to learn his field for super high stakes. The journey between those points, and the lessens between, as well as relating it all back to the whole journey over the previous 16 books is what made this book for me.
There are exciting revelations in this book. And, lots of interesting directions this series could go in now. I particularly hope for getting Irene's viewpoint, and wonder if that storyline is going in a kind of 40,000 in Gehenna direction.
But, the reason I actually gave this 5 stars has nothing to do with any of that. It's because of the depiction of mastery of a complex discipline depicted here. In the middle of the book, Bren loses confidence, has anxiety dreams, feels locked up and unable to think. By the end, he's giving a master class in how to learn his field for super high stakes. The journey between those points, and the lessens between, as well as relating it all back to the whole journey over the previous 16 books is what made this book for me.
April 20, 2016
A little slow at times, a little repetitive, but oh, so worth it in the end. I feel like I've taken a class in interspecies relations, and I am in awe at CJ Cherryh's ability to construct so detailed an experience humanity is nowhere near encountering. This is the same gift in storytelling that drew me to the Chanur series, and I'm so grateful I've stuck with Cherryh through this series as well.
July 30, 2016
Read it in one day. Back into the story this series tells best, lots of alien-deciphering on Bren's part, and tension of situation. Did miss that there was no real engagement of the story with some favourite characters, who moved through the background with little conversation, so that they were only glimpsed, no personality coming through, though. Wanting a book about Cullen now.
May 26, 2017
While there is great tension in this 17th entry in the Foreigner series, there are no battles and no blood. There is a misbehaving human (not surprising), well-behaved human, atevi, and koi kids, an openly supportive Illysidi (somewhat surprising). All our usual characters except Cajieri takes a backseat to Bren and Cajieri does nothing wrong - he is the perfect Young Aijii. Even the koi are supportive of Bren (not surprising because they want something from him).
Bren has a few of his self-doubting talks with himself, but he has grown and seems to realize he has the skills to do the job required -- negotiate an agreement with the koi that keeps the station, Mospheira, and the Atevi out of whatever war the koi are involved with and keeps the koi from bothering them. He manages to do this and more, in a well-done twist that I did not see coming but which made a whole lot of sense.
While Illysidi takes a backseat in this story, we learn about how she operates as Cajieri watches her and sees what she is doing. What a great character she is.
I will hold off on reading the next book, even though I am eager to see where the series will go now, because it is the only one I have left to read.
Bren has a few of his self-doubting talks with himself, but he has grown and seems to realize he has the skills to do the job required -- negotiate an agreement with the koi that keeps the station, Mospheira, and the Atevi out of whatever war the koi are involved with and keeps the koi from bothering them. He manages to do this and more, in a well-done twist that I did not see coming but which made a whole lot of sense.
While Illysidi takes a backseat in this story, we learn about how she operates as Cajieri watches her and sees what she is doing. What a great character she is.
I will hold off on reading the next book, even though I am eager to see where the series will go now, because it is the only one I have left to read.
August 6, 2019
Cherryh, C. J. Visitor. Foreigner No. 17. Daw, 2016.
In space opera, most writers ignore the alien language problem or invent something silly like the Douglas Adams’ Babelfish. But C. J. Cherryh takes the problem seriously and makes it the center of this novel. She knows that wars can start from misunderstood attempts to communicate and that the danger is greatest when you assume you know what the other guy is thinking. Partial fluency can be worse than no fluency at all. Bren, the recurring protagonist of the Foreigner series, some new aliens to learn to communicate with. He must be careful because they have a history of attacking without warning. Things get more complicated when he discovers they have a human prisoner he must teach his linguistic methods. To make matters worse, he has less than a week to get it all done. This is one of the best novels in the series.
In space opera, most writers ignore the alien language problem or invent something silly like the Douglas Adams’ Babelfish. But C. J. Cherryh takes the problem seriously and makes it the center of this novel. She knows that wars can start from misunderstood attempts to communicate and that the danger is greatest when you assume you know what the other guy is thinking. Partial fluency can be worse than no fluency at all. Bren, the recurring protagonist of the Foreigner series, some new aliens to learn to communicate with. He must be careful because they have a history of attacking without warning. Things get more complicated when he discovers they have a human prisoner he must teach his linguistic methods. To make matters worse, he has less than a week to get it all done. This is one of the best novels in the series.
November 4, 2022
I wish I could give this installment in the Foreigner series 3.5 stars. Since I can't, and since I can't honestly give it four, it has three.
It's not that C.J. Cherryh's writing is poor - it's not. It's not that her depictions of the human, atevi, and kyo races is lacking - it isn't. It's just that there's so much jaw, jaw here that the book drags. Cherryh here falls into the kind of thing that has made it impossible for me to read a number of her books - soft sciences and talk over things actually happening. And this series has been about things happening, whether ambushes, gunfights, space travel, confrontations between pigheaded autocrats, rushed trips from one crisis to another...
I look forward to the next book, now that the kyo have departed for their own space. I want to see what Bren Cameron will do next - with the emphasis on do.
It's not that C.J. Cherryh's writing is poor - it's not. It's not that her depictions of the human, atevi, and kyo races is lacking - it isn't. It's just that there's so much jaw, jaw here that the book drags. Cherryh here falls into the kind of thing that has made it impossible for me to read a number of her books - soft sciences and talk over things actually happening. And this series has been about things happening, whether ambushes, gunfights, space travel, confrontations between pigheaded autocrats, rushed trips from one crisis to another...
I look forward to the next book, now that the kyo have departed for their own space. I want to see what Bren Cameron will do next - with the emphasis on do.
May 7, 2023
This was another great read, with a slow worrisome start and then lots of energy at the end. Now I'm interested in the third book in this arc, since they wrapped up some stuff much quicker than I expected. So I'm expecting some more surprises as the deal with the people and the kids.
January 24, 2019
Best one yet. Unusual, given it's a middle book in the subtrilogy.
August 15, 2017
Fantastiskt att det går att skriva så många böcker (detta är den 17:e om jag räknat rätt) där det mesta handlar om språk och kultur och diplomati. Men det är spännande!
May 7, 2017
The first of the Foreigner novels I've read, and really enjoyed it. Cherryh does a great job of presenting a story that's clearly a part of a larger whole, but in such a way that the reader isn't either overwhelmed with background information dumps or left constantly floundering without necessary knowledge. Plus, the theme of communication and linguistics among wildly different cultures (alien species, in this instance) is fascinating and well-presented. I'm going to keep an eye out for more of the books in this series.
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