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Foreigner #19
Emergence
The nineteenth book in C.J. Cherryh's beloved Foreigner space opera series begins a new era for diplomat Bren Cameron, as he navigates the tenuous peace he has struck between human refugees and the alien atevi.
Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, has taken aboard five thousand human refugees from a destroyed station in a distant sector of space. With supplies and housing stretched to the breaking point, it is clear that the refugees must be relocated down to the planet, and soon. But not to the atevi rather to the territory reserved for human, the island of Mospheira.
Tabini-aiji, the powerful political head of the atevi, tasks his brilliant human diplomat, Bren Cameron, to negotiate with the Mospheiran government. For the Alpha Station refugees represent a political faction that the people of Mospheira broke from two centuries ago, and these Mospheirans are not enthusiastic about welcoming these immigrants from space.
Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, has taken aboard five thousand human refugees from a destroyed station in a distant sector of space. With supplies and housing stretched to the breaking point, it is clear that the refugees must be relocated down to the planet, and soon. But not to the atevi rather to the territory reserved for human, the island of Mospheira.
Tabini-aiji, the powerful political head of the atevi, tasks his brilliant human diplomat, Bren Cameron, to negotiate with the Mospheiran government. For the Alpha Station refugees represent a political faction that the people of Mospheira broke from two centuries ago, and these Mospheirans are not enthusiastic about welcoming these immigrants from space.
373 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 2, 2018
110 people are currently reading
689 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Cherryh
293 books3,585 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 148 reviews
January 13, 2018
We're back in the politics, or rather, we never left. That's not a bad thing in this series because the Atevi and the humans are just ripe with the social craziness. To think we (as in Atevi and Humans) are held up as a standard of getting along and making rational decisions and compromises is just too funny.
What I think is best about this book, in particular, is how Cajeiri and his mother finally bond in a trial-by-fire way. It really picks up big time from the previous novel's events, but more than that, I'm getting a great sense of major alliances finally pulling together in a really big way.
It helps that we get a lot of great action and suspense, but it's Cajeiri who shines here. He's really growing up. Big time. :) Adult responsibility and everything. Great-Uncle is turning him into a man. Um. Alien. Whatever. :)
Mospheira is another thing. The island of humanity is kinda crazy right now thanks to a certain documentary depicting the living conditions on the space station and when that and the refugee issue really comes to a head, it really boils over. Reunioners and ancient hate is a big deal. As always, Cherryh knows how to make great world-building like a perfect mirror for us.
And also, as always, Cherryh knows how to turn communication and politics into a really fun and fast popcorn fiction. That's even when the actual tale is intellectual, thoughtful, and measured. I don't know how she does it. Or perhaps I do.
It's the characters. Beautiful and exciting characters can turn ANYTHING into something grand.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
What I think is best about this book, in particular, is how Cajeiri and his mother finally bond in a trial-by-fire way. It really picks up big time from the previous novel's events, but more than that, I'm getting a great sense of major alliances finally pulling together in a really big way.
It helps that we get a lot of great action and suspense, but it's Cajeiri who shines here. He's really growing up. Big time. :) Adult responsibility and everything. Great-Uncle is turning him into a man. Um. Alien. Whatever. :)
Mospheira is another thing. The island of humanity is kinda crazy right now thanks to a certain documentary depicting the living conditions on the space station and when that and the refugee issue really comes to a head, it really boils over. Reunioners and ancient hate is a big deal. As always, Cherryh knows how to make great world-building like a perfect mirror for us.
And also, as always, Cherryh knows how to turn communication and politics into a really fun and fast popcorn fiction. That's even when the actual tale is intellectual, thoughtful, and measured. I don't know how she does it. Or perhaps I do.
It's the characters. Beautiful and exciting characters can turn ANYTHING into something grand.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!
February 8, 2025
Book 19
The narration picks up immediately from the end of the previous book, throwing us deep in the politics of Mospheira through Bren, and Atevi through Cajeiri. The paidhi is busy sorting out the details relating to the arrival of the alpha station refugees, finding proper teachers for their children, and what not - all to ensure the smooth interim and make a success of this project. On the mainland, Cajeiri is dealing with his own set of problems while staying with his great-uncle, namely revolutionaries. Add to this the arrival of Tabini’s wife to help confirm the identity of a suspect, and it is a situation just waiting to explode.
Surprisingly, Cajeiri is the one that shines in this book. Dealing with his great-uncle, potential threats, his estranged mother, with whom he actually finds an understanding, and showing a maturity beyond his nine years. He follows protocols, controls himself, and even takes command of the household when safety is in jeopardy and no adult is ‘over him’ to do this. Wow!
Cherryh has definitely made these complex characters real to me. I’m also in awe at her decision to make these books deal with linguistics, sociology, psychology and politics! Truly, anyone considering a career in diplomacy should read these :O)
The narration picks up immediately from the end of the previous book, throwing us deep in the politics of Mospheira through Bren, and Atevi through Cajeiri. The paidhi is busy sorting out the details relating to the arrival of the alpha station refugees, finding proper teachers for their children, and what not - all to ensure the smooth interim and make a success of this project. On the mainland, Cajeiri is dealing with his own set of problems while staying with his great-uncle, namely revolutionaries. Add to this the arrival of Tabini’s wife to help confirm the identity of a suspect, and it is a situation just waiting to explode.
Surprisingly, Cajeiri is the one that shines in this book. Dealing with his great-uncle, potential threats, his estranged mother, with whom he actually finds an understanding, and showing a maturity beyond his nine years. He follows protocols, controls himself, and even takes command of the household when safety is in jeopardy and no adult is ‘over him’ to do this. Wow!
Cherryh has definitely made these complex characters real to me. I’m also in awe at her decision to make these books deal with linguistics, sociology, psychology and politics! Truly, anyone considering a career in diplomacy should read these :O)
March 16, 2018
4.5 stars. Bren continues to lay the groundwork for the arrival of the Reunioners, but more specifically, Cajeiri's three associates, Irene, Gene and Artur, to Mospheira. Ben continues to pull in and rely on the Mospheiran contacts he made in book 4 to ensure a safe and stable environment for the three future paidhi. Meanwhile, Cajeiri and Uncle Tatiseigi deal with the presence of Nomari, of Ajuri, and with the result of Geidaro's visit. Damiri arrives, and the outstanding questions of what her and Cajeiri's relationship is, and what Atageini's place in the Western Association will be in the future are resolved. It was a relief that Irene, Gene and Artur and their parents landed safely, and that Bren could rely on Shawn and all the others he'd put in place. Meanwhile, I was so glad that Damiri and Cajeiri could finally find a place from which their relationship could flourish, instead of remaining broken and in pain on both sides.
This is book nineteen, and I am now anxiously awaiting book twenty (!) in this series.
This is book nineteen, and I am now anxiously awaiting book twenty (!) in this series.
November 20, 2019
.
This one was like the last one, and kinda just filler. But CJC's brand of filler is chock full of interesting characters and intrigue.
The story is split between Bren's setting up house for the Reunioners on Mospheira. In particular, Cajiri's friends.
And the other part is Cajeiri's visit to his great uncle. I really liked the way Cajeiri's mother's character got a lot more attention in this one!
Looking forward to the next book ; )
This one was like the last one, and kinda just filler. But CJC's brand of filler is chock full of interesting characters and intrigue.
The story is split between Bren's setting up house for the Reunioners on Mospheira. In particular, Cajiri's friends.
And the other part is Cajeiri's visit to his great uncle. I really liked the way Cajeiri's mother's character got a lot more attention in this one!
Looking forward to the next book ; )
September 14, 2017
I cannot wait!!!!!! I have been addicted to this series for years.
August 19, 2022
We need to be what we are, at home. And there needs to be a home, to satisfy our instincts. I think that wisdom will win out.
This was much, much better than Convergence. I almost think that that book could have been heavily abridged and mashed in with this one and it would have been just fine. Almost, anyway. It would have been long, since Cajeiri's wouldn't abridge as well.
We're still split 50/50 on PoV, but it feels better here. Cajeiri is learning how to make use of his associations, and reconciling with various family members. He's settled in a way that's very satisfying to read, having seen him in his most spoiled, agent-of-chaos childhood. It makes the ongoing drama of the Padi Valley Association quite interesting, since--while he's still learning--it's not just a "kid's PoV" anymore. (Also, he's shaping into a fantastic big brother. As an older sibling myself, I enjoy reading how he's reconciled himself to the idea of a sibling.)
Meanwhile, Bren's finalized preparations on Mospheira for the Reunioner landings. We finally get to hear some input from his household, who was mute most of the last book. Mospheira, through atevi eyes, is very jarring. Especially when it comes to the news:
...immediately, Mospheiran to the hilt, the network provided a panel of people to talk about it.
"Who are these people?" was Jago's logical and suspicious question.
"Heads of guilds?" was Tano's guess.
One could wish it was so easily explained.
So we have humor back, and some activity. There are just a couple loose ends to tie up, as the Reunioners continue to land, but it does feel like the series is winding down. I'll be curious to see how the last couple books read.
My only complaint:
February 17, 2025
Given that this is 19 books into the series, there’s not much to say except that it maintains the even quality shown by all the previous books.
There are some particularly moving scenes as a new lord and a new heir are confirmed, and the usual mix of slow entertainment as the progression of the world continues.
My only regret is that this marks the last book of the series available as an audiobook, and I will surely miss the wonderful narration of Daniel Thomas May as I read the final few books that remain.
There are some particularly moving scenes as a new lord and a new heir are confirmed, and the usual mix of slow entertainment as the progression of the world continues.
My only regret is that this marks the last book of the series available as an audiobook, and I will surely miss the wonderful narration of Daniel Thomas May as I read the final few books that remain.
February 5, 2018
This was not my favorite book in the series, as a significant portion is spent retreading old ground, both literally (it takes until page 29 of a 320-page book to move from pure summary of past events to any hint of present conflict or action, and that's not remotely the end of the summary we get in this book) and thematically (the conflict we do get is almost identical to the previous book, Convergence: Bren continues to hire staff for the incoming refugees, while Cajeiri helps his great-uncle, Tatiseigi, suss out the character and loyalties of a prospective clan head). I think this could have been a much stronger sequence if the two books had been fused into one and edited down.
That being said, there are three things I really enjoyed here: Cajeiri's mother's character is fleshed out much more than in previous books, Cajeiri himself is taking interesting first steps into adulthood and showing what kind of leader he will be, and the conflicts Bren faces among the human population of his native Mospheira feel very timely in an age of Trump. I appreciated Cherryh discussing what it means for a nation of immigrants to either welcome or villify refugees and immigrants.
That being said, there are three things I really enjoyed here: Cajeiri's mother's character is fleshed out much more than in previous books, Cajeiri himself is taking interesting first steps into adulthood and showing what kind of leader he will be, and the conflicts Bren faces among the human population of his native Mospheira feel very timely in an age of Trump. I appreciated Cherryh discussing what it means for a nation of immigrants to either welcome or villify refugees and immigrants.
February 8, 2018
Sort of like a middling episode of a long running sci-fi TV show that you have come to enjoy and love. Not a lot of action, but a chance to revisit some characters as they continue to evolve during this consistently rewarding and satisfying series. After the last installment, a bit of a disappointment in that it seems to be just another "place holder". Certainly not a book for newcomers to the series. Hopefully, having resolved a number of issues which have served as "backstory" to the last several books, Cherryh will either come up with a new and more intriguing arc for the current characters or move on to the younger members of the cast to develop some more innovative and fully developed plotlines.
June 1, 2020
The Foreigner series is two of my favourite things in one: regency-style drawing room political drama, and aliens. If you read Anne Leckie's Ancillary series and thought "that's the right amount of tea but the spaceship battles seem a bit much", then you'd do worse than reading this series, and especially this latest entry. Cherryh breathes life and humour and intrigue into her characters old and new, and I am glad to say that this is a great example of what's best about this series. I wholeheartedly recommend both this entry in the series, as well as the series as a whole. Complete with the lace cuffs and linen kerchiefs.
March 29, 2018
This is better than the previous book. There’s a little bit of action, even though it happens at a distance: a stampede, and another bus attack! But as usual this is mostly talking, and much tea is drunk and many little cakes are consumed.
This alternates between Cajeiri, visiting his uncle at Tirnamardi as a junior participant in some political maneuvering between the clans; and Bren in Mospheira, preparing for the controversial arrival of the children from the space station.
There is the usual amount of repetition and rehashing, and the politics drag a bit in the middle, but mostly I enjoyed this visit with Bren and the atevi.
This alternates between Cajeiri, visiting his uncle at Tirnamardi as a junior participant in some political maneuvering between the clans; and Bren in Mospheira, preparing for the controversial arrival of the children from the space station.
There is the usual amount of repetition and rehashing, and the politics drag a bit in the middle, but mostly I enjoyed this visit with Bren and the atevi.
February 17, 2018
I'm getting very frustrated with the pacing of this series lately, since not much happens here. Despite the massive possibilities for conflict and drama in Bren's work in Mospheira, it's mostly been a tea party for him. Until the end of this novel, the worst thing he has to face is a hostile discussion with the linguistics department he no longer works for or has to listen to. Just judging from current events in most parts of the world right now, the Heritage Party should be giving him, the kids coming down from the station, and the president so much more trouble but we don't hear any of it, not even an antagonistic op-ed on TV. I hope it turns out to be a plot point later that Bren was kept isolated from what was actually going on.
More happens on Cajeiri's end of things but even that is politics and trouble he doesn't personally see much of. The problem with following atevi nobles in this series is that if their security is doing its job they usually see very little action in person, thus Cajeiri mostly gets to worry about other people getting shot at a distance away from him.
A few important things happen in Emergence but for the most part it's just catching up with some of the characters. Oh, and Cherryh makes Mospheiran otaku and weeaboos an official part of the Foreigner universe!
Am I the only one wondering if the president staged that event at the end, especially considering how tepid resistance has been shown to be so far in the last two novels? Bren even gave him the idea....
More happens on Cajeiri's end of things but even that is politics and trouble he doesn't personally see much of. The problem with following atevi nobles in this series is that if their security is doing its job they usually see very little action in person, thus Cajeiri mostly gets to worry about other people getting shot at a distance away from him.
A few important things happen in Emergence but for the most part it's just catching up with some of the characters. Oh, and Cherryh makes Mospheiran otaku and weeaboos an official part of the Foreigner universe!
Am I the only one wondering if the president staged that event at the end, especially considering how tepid resistance has been shown to be so far in the last two novels? Bren even gave him the idea....
October 26, 2021
4+
I enjoyed this one quite a lot. It felt very much like the beginning of a new era for the entire series, not just a sub-trilogy. I'm expecting to see a lot of social upheaval and changes in this world coming more quickly now. We'll see if I'm correct.
19 books in a row and now I don't want to leave the world. I'm looking forward to the next.
I enjoyed this one quite a lot. It felt very much like the beginning of a new era for the entire series, not just a sub-trilogy. I'm expecting to see a lot of social upheaval and changes in this world coming more quickly now. We'll see if I'm correct.
19 books in a row and now I don't want to leave the world. I'm looking forward to the next.
February 17, 2018
The previous few books have been somewhat repetitive (but still excellent!), but this one is refreshingly unique. Tabini and Ilsidi are completely absent from this story, and most of it focuses on Cajeiri's maturation. The perspective is very tight, so come of the action happens out of sight, but is reported in detail. We learn more about how a regional lord runs his manor, and how a region in distress finds stability. This is a coming of age story for more than just the young gentleman.
Bren's portion of the story is muted, but sets up future intrigues between the various factions.
This is the only current series that I own every book in hardcover, and that will continue.
Bren's portion of the story is muted, but sets up future intrigues between the various factions.
This is the only current series that I own every book in hardcover, and that will continue.
October 20, 2023
C. J. Cherryh's Foreigner series is one of my all-time favorite science fiction series so I pre-ordered the 19th book in series months ago with great anticipation. I'm not sure it lived up to my expectations though.
Don't get me wrong, it's Cherryh, and it's a good read. Bren is on Mospheira with his security detail, making arrangements for Artur, Gene and Irene, Cajeiri's human associates, to arrive from the space station and take up residence on the island with the planet's human population. The three children and their parents are the first wave of immigrants from the space station, as the plan is that all the refugees from Reunion Station (which were rescued way back in book 6) will also move to Mospheira and be absorbed into the planet's human population. So we get a refresher course on Mospheiran politics and the Heritage Party, but unless Bren is in conversation with members of his security or the Mospheirans that are involved in preparing a place for the kids to live, we spend a lot of time in Bren's head.
Meanwhile, Cajeiri has been sent to Tirnamardi to visit Uncle Tatisegi. He had anticipated spending his days riding his mecheita, but when he arrives he discovers that the real reason he is there is to show the aiji's support for Tatisegi as he tries to decide whether Nomura would be a suitable lord for the Ajuri clan. But Cajeiri has grown on me, perhaps because he's growing up. He has been declared his father's heir, and that responsibility is weighing heavy on him. So we also spend a lot of time in Cajeiri's head while he sorts out his new place in the world and new ways of reacting to what is going on around him.
Illisidi is mentioned, but she is off stage during the whole book, as is Tabini. So I missed the interactions with these characters that have been such a great part of this series. And I probably did some skimming when I felt like I'd spent too much time reading Bren's or Cajeiri's ruminations. It's a little too much "telling" rather than "showing" - a little "info-dumpy".
But many loose ends were tied up, and it was good to see Cajeiri growing up and learning his place in the world and becoming comfortable with being atevi. Any long term fan of the Foreigner series will want to read this one. But I missed the action of some of the earlier books.
Don't get me wrong, it's Cherryh, and it's a good read. Bren is on Mospheira with his security detail, making arrangements for Artur, Gene and Irene, Cajeiri's human associates, to arrive from the space station and take up residence on the island with the planet's human population. The three children and their parents are the first wave of immigrants from the space station, as the plan is that all the refugees from Reunion Station (which were rescued way back in book 6) will also move to Mospheira and be absorbed into the planet's human population. So we get a refresher course on Mospheiran politics and the Heritage Party, but unless Bren is in conversation with members of his security or the Mospheirans that are involved in preparing a place for the kids to live, we spend a lot of time in Bren's head.
Meanwhile, Cajeiri has been sent to Tirnamardi to visit Uncle Tatisegi. He had anticipated spending his days riding his mecheita, but when he arrives he discovers that the real reason he is there is to show the aiji's support for Tatisegi as he tries to decide whether Nomura would be a suitable lord for the Ajuri clan. But Cajeiri has grown on me, perhaps because he's growing up. He has been declared his father's heir, and that responsibility is weighing heavy on him. So we also spend a lot of time in Cajeiri's head while he sorts out his new place in the world and new ways of reacting to what is going on around him.
Illisidi is mentioned, but she is off stage during the whole book, as is Tabini. So I missed the interactions with these characters that have been such a great part of this series. And I probably did some skimming when I felt like I'd spent too much time reading Bren's or Cajeiri's ruminations. It's a little too much "telling" rather than "showing" - a little "info-dumpy".
But many loose ends were tied up, and it was good to see Cajeiri growing up and learning his place in the world and becoming comfortable with being atevi. Any long term fan of the Foreigner series will want to read this one. But I missed the action of some of the earlier books.
May 16, 2019
I got through five chapters and then skimmed my way to the end. I love these characters and the story has such promise, but the constant attempts to give exposition on the previous 18 books just wears me out.
There's very little action in this story, but I understand that not every book is about gun battles and assassinations. (It's frustrating, though, that twice in this book we don't actually see the action happen, we hear about it from others, which takes away a lot of the intensity the scene could have had.)
What frustrates me, though, is how at one point one set of characters (Cajeiri and his bodyguards, for instance) will experience something, and we as the reader watch as it happens. Several chapters later the focus will be on another set of characters (Bren and his bodyguard) and someone will take the time to tell the characters about what has happened to Cajeiri. In detail. The exact same events that we as the reader just read about, we'll have to read about again.
It happens repeatedly. It's a storytelling style that shows no respect to the reader. Yes, Bren's group needs to hear about the events, but WE AS THE READERS do not. We've seen it, we were there. A quick "Bren filled in Jago about Cajeiri's latest adventures" would be enough.
The constant exposition and introspection bogs down the story. It's not cerebral, it's just slow. I hate having to give a bad review of these books, because I really do love the characters and the world around them. But I don't need another scene of Cajeiri or Bren sitting down with a cup of tea and having the same mental conversation ("being a young ruler is hard and I'd rather be doing something fun but I want to keep my father's respect and I wish my mother liked me better" or "there are some good humans but there are a lot of horrible ones and as hard as my job is I'm glad I'm on the atevi's side even when I'm being shot at") over and over again.
Finally, in the early books we had a lot of lead up to Bren and Jago's relationship. We see very little connection between them anymore, even though they're definitely still together. Having a sweet moment between them every once in a while isn't necessary to a good story, I know, but it would make me happy.
There's very little action in this story, but I understand that not every book is about gun battles and assassinations. (It's frustrating, though, that twice in this book we don't actually see the action happen, we hear about it from others, which takes away a lot of the intensity the scene could have had.)
What frustrates me, though, is how at one point one set of characters (Cajeiri and his bodyguards, for instance) will experience something, and we as the reader watch as it happens. Several chapters later the focus will be on another set of characters (Bren and his bodyguard) and someone will take the time to tell the characters about what has happened to Cajeiri. In detail. The exact same events that we as the reader just read about, we'll have to read about again.
It happens repeatedly. It's a storytelling style that shows no respect to the reader. Yes, Bren's group needs to hear about the events, but WE AS THE READERS do not. We've seen it, we were there. A quick "Bren filled in Jago about Cajeiri's latest adventures" would be enough.
The constant exposition and introspection bogs down the story. It's not cerebral, it's just slow. I hate having to give a bad review of these books, because I really do love the characters and the world around them. But I don't need another scene of Cajeiri or Bren sitting down with a cup of tea and having the same mental conversation ("being a young ruler is hard and I'd rather be doing something fun but I want to keep my father's respect and I wish my mother liked me better" or "there are some good humans but there are a lot of horrible ones and as hard as my job is I'm glad I'm on the atevi's side even when I'm being shot at") over and over again.
Finally, in the early books we had a lot of lead up to Bren and Jago's relationship. We see very little connection between them anymore, even though they're definitely still together. Having a sweet moment between them every once in a while isn't necessary to a good story, I know, but it would make me happy.
February 24, 2018
Another awesome installment in the world I’ve come to love!
January 7, 2018
My heart feels such satisfaction
I have read and reread the entire Foreigner series whenever CJ has released a new book, and so I can say without a doubt, as much as I have loved each and every entry into this universe, 'Emergence' is my favorite by a wide margin.
For one, this is the first of the series I have read where, if for some reason CJ did not write another book, I would be ok with it. Sure, I'd miss new adventures in the lives of characters I love more than salad, but I would at least feel as if they were in a good place with a lovely future ahead of them.
I am very pleased with the resolution to a conflict that has seemingly existed since the very first book. The evolution of Tati-ji's personality comes to full fruition in this story, and puts him on equal footing with Sidi-ji in my very human heart. That same heart swells with pride at the growth and maturing of the young aiji. And as a mother, I was especially pleased to see his relationship with his own mother finally seem to place them in good association with one another.
Aside from the lack of Sidi-ji's indomitable presence (which I suspect we'll have an abundance of in the next installment), I felt this book was as perfect as one could get. I can't wait to see what the old reprobate is getting up to at Bren's estate while he has been busy on the Island! Write faster, CJ!
I have read and reread the entire Foreigner series whenever CJ has released a new book, and so I can say without a doubt, as much as I have loved each and every entry into this universe, 'Emergence' is my favorite by a wide margin.
For one, this is the first of the series I have read where, if for some reason CJ did not write another book, I would be ok with it. Sure, I'd miss new adventures in the lives of characters I love more than salad, but I would at least feel as if they were in a good place with a lovely future ahead of them.
I am very pleased with the resolution to a conflict that has seemingly existed since the very first book. The evolution of Tati-ji's personality comes to full fruition in this story, and puts him on equal footing with Sidi-ji in my very human heart. That same heart swells with pride at the growth and maturing of the young aiji. And as a mother, I was especially pleased to see his relationship with his own mother finally seem to place them in good association with one another.
Aside from the lack of Sidi-ji's indomitable presence (which I suspect we'll have an abundance of in the next installment), I felt this book was as perfect as one could get. I can't wait to see what the old reprobate is getting up to at Bren's estate while he has been busy on the Island! Write faster, CJ!
February 22, 2018
I enjoyed this book as it adds to the saga of Brendan Cameron. However, I must say that not that much actually HAPPENS. There is so much ruminating in the minds of the 2 main characters. It's a bit maddening. It has been this way from the beginning of this series. I think that it is a device the author uses to help us understand all of the political ramifications going on with the Atevi, but I still find it irritating and, I think in this particular book, overused. Not only does each character worry over the same thing 3 or 4 times in detail but then the other character worries about the exact same thing from his perspective several times as well. I'm glad to have read the book, but I don't think a first time reader of the series would get through it.
November 16, 2022
I've commented on the formulaic nature of this series, and to an extent that is present here as well. But I do really enjoy this book because, after years of seeing what atevi culture is like, and trying to understand atevi emotions and attitudes and motivations, here we finally get a good look at Mospheira, the island on which humans have lived for 200 years, separated by a strait from the atevi who won the War of the Landing. Mospheira is Bren Cameron's home - for Bren is a human, the paidhi-aiji, the go-between who represents humanity to the atevi government and the atevi to the human government.
One of the things I've really wished that C.J. Cherryh would do is show us more of Wilson, Bren's predecessor in the post. And here we get a little fulfillment of that wish. Wilson was the last of the traditional paidhiin, whose function was to maintain and build up the Mosphei'/Ragi dictionary (Ragi being the language of the predominant atevi ethnic group), oversee the slow release of human technology into atevi culture, and write scholarly papers. When Tabini, the current aiji - not quite a king, not exactly a president - came into office, he ordered Wilson back to Mospheira, and went through a succession of paidhiin until he found one who would talk to him, which none of the previous holders of the office had done. Indeed, the rules they operated under forbade actual conversation in Ragi - but Bren Cameron broke that rule and had actual conversations with Tabini.
In a couple of places in the series - including this book - we learn that Wilson was very "strange" after his decades on the mainland. And that seems natural. Even without conversing with atevi, the requirements of fitting into atevi culture would impose constraints upon a human being. There's one place, early on in the series (in Foreigner?), where we learn that Wilson was almost incapable of facial expression when he returned to Mospheira, because courtesy in atevi society requires impassivity except in intimate settings. In this book Wison is definitely not impassive - he expresses some very human emotion - and so I conclude that by now, years after he left office, the man has shed at least some of his atevi overlay. And we don't see his strangeness here so much as we see his inflexibility. Either unwilling or unable to comprehend that the very nature of the office has changed, he rails at Bren for not being a paidhi in the same way that Wilson did the job.
I still want to see more of Wilson. I would like to see more of Mospheira - not just the "bubble" in which Bren necessarily moves now, as a court official and lord in the atevi realm, but the island on which he grew up and for a while was able to visit as an ordinary citizen. Whether, at some point in the Foreigner series, Cherryh will give us that I don't know. I've read most if not all of the extant books, but I find in rereading them that there's a lot I don't remember (formulaic books blur in the memory). I hope she does. While the atevi are the dominant race on earth, there are several million humans on Mospheira, with their own culture, their own landscape...and their own Wilson.
One of the things I've really wished that C.J. Cherryh would do is show us more of Wilson, Bren's predecessor in the post. And here we get a little fulfillment of that wish. Wilson was the last of the traditional paidhiin, whose function was to maintain and build up the Mosphei'/Ragi dictionary (Ragi being the language of the predominant atevi ethnic group), oversee the slow release of human technology into atevi culture, and write scholarly papers. When Tabini, the current aiji - not quite a king, not exactly a president - came into office, he ordered Wilson back to Mospheira, and went through a succession of paidhiin until he found one who would talk to him, which none of the previous holders of the office had done. Indeed, the rules they operated under forbade actual conversation in Ragi - but Bren Cameron broke that rule and had actual conversations with Tabini.
In a couple of places in the series - including this book - we learn that Wilson was very "strange" after his decades on the mainland. And that seems natural. Even without conversing with atevi, the requirements of fitting into atevi culture would impose constraints upon a human being. There's one place, early on in the series (in Foreigner?), where we learn that Wilson was almost incapable of facial expression when he returned to Mospheira, because courtesy in atevi society requires impassivity except in intimate settings. In this book Wison is definitely not impassive - he expresses some very human emotion - and so I conclude that by now, years after he left office, the man has shed at least some of his atevi overlay. And we don't see his strangeness here so much as we see his inflexibility. Either unwilling or unable to comprehend that the very nature of the office has changed, he rails at Bren for not being a paidhi in the same way that Wilson did the job.
I still want to see more of Wilson. I would like to see more of Mospheira - not just the "bubble" in which Bren necessarily moves now, as a court official and lord in the atevi realm, but the island on which he grew up and for a while was able to visit as an ordinary citizen. Whether, at some point in the Foreigner series, Cherryh will give us that I don't know. I've read most if not all of the extant books, but I find in rereading them that there's a lot I don't remember (formulaic books blur in the memory). I hope she does. While the atevi are the dominant race on earth, there are several million humans on Mospheira, with their own culture, their own landscape...and their own Wilson.
February 22, 2018
First off, Wow! When I picked up Foreigner in the 90s I didn't realize I was starting on a three-decade journey of SF adventure. Or that one of my favorite science fiction and female writers was going to double the length of her career with one storyline. "Emergence" is the nineteenth book plus two shorter prequels in the series. The Foreigner (or in Cherryh's personal styling First Contact) series covers the story of a lost human colony ship and its encounter with the atevi species. The main story begins after two hundred years of human-atevi co-existence with the arrival of Bren Cameron, the human translator to the court of the atevi ruler.
This world is a Byzantine one. The reader is immersed in the mental process of a human struggling to understand the linguistic and cultural modes of a sapient race with a distinctly different psychological make-up. This is true anthropological and xenological sci-fi and Cherryh is both the pioneer and master of it. In this book, we have both Bren's and the juvenile heir to the atevi throne's perspectives on the dual society and its politics. The author's use of an adolescent atevi's viewpoint enables her to explore the psychological development of the alien mind in a way unique to SF and ethnology.
Cherryh's natural grasp of psychological pacing means there is never a dull moment in "Emergence" or any of the Foreigner novels. You will pick it up and not want to put it down. This story involves atevi, humans, human spacers, and the overlying weight of interstellar forces at large. At times, the work examines the alieness of our own human nature through both human and atevi eyes in a way central to all great science fiction. Yet, her work is never pastiche but straight up serious sci-fi. Many reviewers like to call it space opera but Cherryh's universe is never mythical but more hard-boiled and action-driven realistic fiction simply set in a future world as physical as our own. This is Blade Runner less the film noir not Star Wars.
I know it is a big commitment but pick up Foreigner and start reading the whole series. you won't regret a moment of it. Trust me, kid.
This world is a Byzantine one. The reader is immersed in the mental process of a human struggling to understand the linguistic and cultural modes of a sapient race with a distinctly different psychological make-up. This is true anthropological and xenological sci-fi and Cherryh is both the pioneer and master of it. In this book, we have both Bren's and the juvenile heir to the atevi throne's perspectives on the dual society and its politics. The author's use of an adolescent atevi's viewpoint enables her to explore the psychological development of the alien mind in a way unique to SF and ethnology.
Cherryh's natural grasp of psychological pacing means there is never a dull moment in "Emergence" or any of the Foreigner novels. You will pick it up and not want to put it down. This story involves atevi, humans, human spacers, and the overlying weight of interstellar forces at large. At times, the work examines the alieness of our own human nature through both human and atevi eyes in a way central to all great science fiction. Yet, her work is never pastiche but straight up serious sci-fi. Many reviewers like to call it space opera but Cherryh's universe is never mythical but more hard-boiled and action-driven realistic fiction simply set in a future world as physical as our own. This is Blade Runner less the film noir not Star Wars.
I know it is a big commitment but pick up Foreigner and start reading the whole series. you won't regret a moment of it. Trust me, kid.
September 21, 2018
Decidedly a transitional book in the series, and again there's a sense that the series is on its way to an end as loose ends are tied up- closure for the Ajuri plot line, Cajeiri's young human associates provided for on-world, a reasonable successor for Tatiseigi and old feuds in the region settling at last.
Cajeiri grows more into his official role as his father's heir, separated from Bren and his father and Ilisidi for the whole course of the book and forced to stand more on his own and comes to better terms with his somewhat estranged mother Damiri, who we finally get to see taking political action on-screen, along with learning more about her somewhat tortured childhood caught up in the machinations of the Shadow Guild.
Bren's plotline is more setup, reminding the reader of the political situation on the mainland, where he spends the whole book, and the different human political factions. There is foreshadowing of things to come which may or may not happen in his lifetime (and/or before the series ends), the occasional moment of introspection on the choices he's made, and a predictable yet still somewhat anticlimactic bit of action near the end. I think, like him, I'll be relieved if he's back on the mainland for the next book among the atevi.
This series still remains the gold standard for human/alien politics to me and probably well up there for politics in SFF at all, attempting depictions of things like legislature and political coalition-building instead of making it about the petty squabbles and personal dramas of Important People.
Cajeiri grows more into his official role as his father's heir, separated from Bren and his father and Ilisidi for the whole course of the book and forced to stand more on his own and comes to better terms with his somewhat estranged mother Damiri, who we finally get to see taking political action on-screen, along with learning more about her somewhat tortured childhood caught up in the machinations of the Shadow Guild.
Bren's plotline is more setup, reminding the reader of the political situation on the mainland, where he spends the whole book, and the different human political factions. There is foreshadowing of things to come which may or may not happen in his lifetime (and/or before the series ends), the occasional moment of introspection on the choices he's made, and a predictable yet still somewhat anticlimactic bit of action near the end. I think, like him, I'll be relieved if he's back on the mainland for the next book among the atevi.
This series still remains the gold standard for human/alien politics to me and probably well up there for politics in SFF at all, attempting depictions of things like legislature and political coalition-building instead of making it about the petty squabbles and personal dramas of Important People.
January 4, 2018
There are no bombshells in the 19th novel in the Foreigner series, but Emergence provides steady progress on long arc items currently in motion. POV switches back and forth between Cajeiri on the Atevi mainland and Bren and his Atevi bodyguards on human Mosepheira island. Bren is doing advance work toward getting the first of the Reunioners from the space station--Cajeiri's human friends and their families--settled safely on the human island. Cajeiri is visiting his elderly uncle, Tateseigi, the Lord of the Ategeini clan.
Without spoilers, we get progress on:
* Relations between the Atageini and the Taiben clans.
* Who might be the heir to the Ajuri clan
* Who might be the heir to the Atageini clan
* Cajeiri's difficult relationship with his mother
* Mopping up of Shadow Guild members, which involves Guild (LEO) action, including one of the Atevi's legal assasinations
* More facts about what was really going on with Tillington, the deposed human space station manager, and hint, it involved the human political Heritage Party and some shady business deals.
* And, of course, more growth as young Cajeiri grows into his role as the heir to ruling the Atevi mainland.
I particularly liked the veiled echo of Anime clubs in our world, and Cajeiri's near-poetic realization that civilization had to be put in the hands of those that would treat fragile things gently.
Mild spoilers: Bren gives Mosepheiran president Shawn Tyers one of his bullet proof vests, which comes in handy. And, for the first time, we see technology transfer from the Atevi to humans.
If it all sounds like a soap opera, it's only because you have not read the other, earlier books in the series. They're all well worth reading. Book 19 is probably not a good starting point, though.
Without spoilers, we get progress on:
* Relations between the Atageini and the Taiben clans.
* Who might be the heir to the Ajuri clan
* Who might be the heir to the Atageini clan
* Cajeiri's difficult relationship with his mother
* Mopping up of Shadow Guild members, which involves Guild (LEO) action, including one of the Atevi's legal assasinations
* More facts about what was really going on with Tillington, the deposed human space station manager, and hint, it involved the human political Heritage Party and some shady business deals.
* And, of course, more growth as young Cajeiri grows into his role as the heir to ruling the Atevi mainland.
I particularly liked the veiled echo of Anime clubs in our world, and Cajeiri's near-poetic realization that civilization had to be put in the hands of those that would treat fragile things gently.
Mild spoilers: Bren gives Mosepheiran president Shawn Tyers one of his bullet proof vests, which comes in handy. And, for the first time, we see technology transfer from the Atevi to humans.
If it all sounds like a soap opera, it's only because you have not read the other, earlier books in the series. They're all well worth reading. Book 19 is probably not a good starting point, though.
January 12, 2018
I hate, hate politics, but I love this series, which is much about a political situation on a make believe world. Have followed this series since the first book, and that is where you need to start to really appreciate it. If you like the Liaden Universe and David Weber books and Oscar Card's work then you should like this.
It is enjoyable to watch the characters grow and somehow the world becomes real and, oh, you do want to find out what happens next. I wish long life and prosper to my favorite authors. I will even, horrors pay for their books rather than wait for my turn at the library.
It is enjoyable to watch the characters grow and somehow the world becomes real and, oh, you do want to find out what happens next. I wish long life and prosper to my favorite authors. I will even, horrors pay for their books rather than wait for my turn at the library.
January 20, 2018
Wow, this series is up to twenty books now, and still going strong. Human-ship-atevi politics galore. Bren and Cajeiri had separate plotlines this time. Surprisingly, Ilisidi was off-screen, which allowed Cajeiri to interact more with his mother.
Quibble: I kinda miss Cajeiri's earlier impulsiveness. Sometimes Cherryh's bodyguard-heavy society means the main characters can be a little handcuffed when the action is occurring.
Quibble: I kinda miss Cajeiri's earlier impulsiveness. Sometimes Cherryh's bodyguard-heavy society means the main characters can be a little handcuffed when the action is occurring.
February 10, 2025
Next one and start of a new sub-trilogy. It didn‘t feel like that though. But then the last one didn‘t feel like the culmination of another sub-trilogy. Maybe the trilogy distinction just doesn‘t apply anymore?
Firmly back on the planet and in Mospheira for the duration of this book, Bren has to deal with politics of humans and the first of five thousand human refugees arriving on the island. I enjoyed the trip to Mospheira! And Cajeiri sees some momentous things happening on the mainland as well.
Sadly this is the last book of the series available in audio. Next one in print. Should be interesting to see how differently I will experience it.
Firmly back on the planet and in Mospheira for the duration of this book, Bren has to deal with politics of humans and the first of five thousand human refugees arriving on the island. I enjoyed the trip to Mospheira! And Cajeiri sees some momentous things happening on the mainland as well.
Sadly this is the last book of the series available in audio. Next one in print. Should be interesting to see how differently I will experience it.
February 16, 2018
Soooooooooooooo good. I love this series.
January 18, 2019
An enjoyable series, one of the few where I can never guess what is going to happen. While Bren manages the details need to get the reunioner trio settled on the human island, Atevi politics continue to unfold in the Padi Valley with positive results for those that Bren holds in esteem.
January 4, 2018
I've been reading and rereading the Foreigner series from the first volume, and so I was even more astonished that not only did Emergence make me laugh a number of times, but at one point in the middle I actually jumped in shock. It takes a master to actually surprise long time fans with a plot twist, and that's what she is. I also think that I would have loved it just as much if I were jumping into the series right here. Reading them all gives a richer experience, that's all. I always think about each book as it's released, and speculate on what could come next. Over the years I've gotten good at guessing SOME of the new events, but then, there's always those surprises. Deep, rich, wonderful speculative fiction.
March 12, 2018
3.5 I still am finding the ongoing story of the Atevi, the humans, the Reunioners & the Kyo fascinating, but this particular book didn't have enough action and too many infodumps by the author. I get that sorting out the clans allegiences and the political shifts in the wind on both sides of the straits are tough stuff to probably set to action, but this just read like wall to wall exposition without much break.
While I miss spending more time with Bren's viewpoint, Cajeri has at least grown old enough, and mature enough to have a more engaging narrative, particularly in this installment, it felt like he grew up a lot.
A rare less than 4+ stars for me on this one.
While I miss spending more time with Bren's viewpoint, Cajeri has at least grown old enough, and mature enough to have a more engaging narrative, particularly in this installment, it felt like he grew up a lot.
A rare less than 4+ stars for me on this one.
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