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Chanur #1
The Pride of Chanur
No one at Meetpoint Station had ever seen a creature like the Outsider. Naked-hided, blunt-toothed and blunt-fingered. Tully was the sole surviving member of his company -a communicative, spacefaring species hitherto unknown -and he was a prisoner of his discoverer/captors the sadistic, treacherous kif, until his escape onto the hani ship THE PRIDE OF CHANUR.
Little did he know when he threw himself upon the mercy of THE PRIDE and her crew that he put the entire hani species in jeopardy and imperiled the peace of the Compact itself. For the information this fugitive held could be the ruin or glory of any of the species at Meetpoint Station.
206 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
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4670 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Cherryh
293 books3,592 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 424 reviews
November 8, 2017
I have complete respect for Cherryh. I've been reading her for almost thirty years and I've made it through most of her novels, but as with most writers and their works, there are a few you can immediately connect with and a few you can't.
Don't get me wrong, I think this novel is pretty solid when I think about it in isolation with the rest of Cherryh's work, but I don't think I'd ever call it a classic. It definitely has some really cool elements, however, which is somewhat marred by my enjoyment of her other works (like the Foreigner series)... namely, the first contact and the focus on language, translation, and cultural misunderstandings. Add that to the fact we're reading this entire novel from a lion-like humanoid, it seems like it could be a winner, right?
Well, yeah, I suppose it could be... assuming Cherryh hadn't completely outdone herself with Foreigner. :)
Or the fact that there were a few weak aspects of the Hani worldbuilding, or Captain Pyanfar herself and her choices...
Or the fact I never really got into any of the other characters... Tully the human, included.
Even so, there's lots of space action and more alien action. What starts out as a benevolent turn then becomes a huge political disaster for the Hani. It just gets worse when the ramifications threaten to topple the peace between all the aliens in this far-flung corner of space. All in all, I think it is deep-down impressive as a novel of ideas, exploration, and events. It should be mentioned that it connects with the rest of Cherryh's expanded universe, as well.
I just wish I had connected more with the characters!
Don't get me wrong, I think this novel is pretty solid when I think about it in isolation with the rest of Cherryh's work, but I don't think I'd ever call it a classic. It definitely has some really cool elements, however, which is somewhat marred by my enjoyment of her other works (like the Foreigner series)... namely, the first contact and the focus on language, translation, and cultural misunderstandings. Add that to the fact we're reading this entire novel from a lion-like humanoid, it seems like it could be a winner, right?
Well, yeah, I suppose it could be... assuming Cherryh hadn't completely outdone herself with Foreigner. :)
Or the fact that there were a few weak aspects of the Hani worldbuilding, or Captain Pyanfar herself and her choices...
Or the fact I never really got into any of the other characters... Tully the human, included.
Even so, there's lots of space action and more alien action. What starts out as a benevolent turn then becomes a huge political disaster for the Hani. It just gets worse when the ramifications threaten to topple the peace between all the aliens in this far-flung corner of space. All in all, I think it is deep-down impressive as a novel of ideas, exploration, and events. It should be mentioned that it connects with the rest of Cherryh's expanded universe, as well.
I just wish I had connected more with the characters!
July 10, 2020
As is typical of the work of C.J. Cherryh, who’s quickly become one of my favorite SFF authors, this book is packed with ideas and features remarkably wrought sequences. What’s most fascinating here is the rendering of several new species of aliens and their societies; and Cherryh’s unusual approach of telling a first contact story from the point of view of the aliens rather than the humans works incredibly well. This is another thoroughly involving adventure tale, showcasing her talent for populating her stories with richly authentic characters, and I look forward to continuing the journey with the Chanur in its sequels.
November 9, 2025
Carolyn Janice Cherryh (she used her initials when she started writing, to conceal her gender at a time when the SF genre was still fairly male-dominated, and added the silent h to her last name because an editor thought that "Cherry" made her sound like a romance author) is a very successful and prolific author of speculative fiction, both science fiction and fantasy. Two of her novels (and one short story) have won Hugo Awards, though I haven't read either of those. This series opener was my introduction to her work, and is one of two novels from her pen that I've read so far (the other is Hestia, which I liked better, but want to reread before I review it). I read it as a public library check-out some 35 years ago, and don't actually have a copy before me at the moment; but I can remember the broad lines of the plot/premise and characterizations, and my reactions to the read, well enough to do this short review.
The Goodreads description of this book is very basic, but accurate. Our setting is space, far enough into the future that humans have achieved faster-than-light space travel and have begun to explore the galaxy. However, we're in a region distant enough from human-occupied space that humans are only beginning to explore it. It's home to a number of space-faring species which trade with each other, three of which, the Hani, the Kif, and the Mahendo'sat, we meet in this book. All three of these, and their cultures, are developed in fairly detailed fashion here (and more so, along with others, in the five-book series as a whole, though I didn't read beyond this book myself). Tully, our sole human character, is the only survivor of an exploring vessel unlucky enough to run into one of the ships of the piratical and carnivorous Kif. Brought along as a prisoner, when they dock at a Mahendo'sat space station, he escapes and finds refuge with the all-female crew of the Hani vessel Pride of Chanur [Chanur being the name of a Hani clan]. Ship's captain Pyanfar Chanur chooses to shelter him; the Kif want him back, and space-opera adventures ensue.
Elaborate and plausible world-building is a great strength of this book, as is development of the interactions between species and within the societies of the various species. For instance, the society of the feline-like Hani has much in common with lions on Earth; it's structured into clans dominated by a single adult male, and other males who grow into adulthood are cast out before they can challenge him for leadership. Young males live together outside of a clan until they can successfully challenge for the leadership of one; that proclivity towards conflict for dominance, and their reputation for being overly emotional, means that males aren't allowed on the crews of Hani spaceships. (Some reviewers apparently had an issue with that literary conceit, although I didn't.) Cherryh writes from within the "hard" SF tradition, but the sciences she's most interested in extrapolating from are sociology, anthropology, and biology, not the physics and engineering underlying future high-tech gadgetry. (The former are more interesting to me as well!) Her experiences as a high school teacher of languages (Latin and Greek) and as a book translator are reflected in the attention that she gives to languages here.
The book is well-written, and held my interest throughout the read. My main quibbles are that, at least for me, the completely non-human Hani, as main characters, aren't as easy to relate to as humans would be, and that Tully, after his initial escape, is a rather passive character (though, to be sure, there's not much he can realistically do for himself). Also, the Kif come across as a species for which it's part of their genetic make-up to be incarnations of vicious and self-serving evil; they're depicted as apparently without any individual ethical decision or nuance, beings for whom biology really is moral destiny. Tolkien, we're told, sometimes expressed concern that in his orcs, he had created a species who were beyond redemption; I get the same feeling about the Kif, and personally I prefer more nuance, or at least more personal choice and agency, even in villains. But while these are subjective quibbles for me, they wouldn't necessarily be so for all readers. I wasn't invested enough in the characters or the setting to continue with the series, but I do want to read more of Cherryh's work, and I can recommend this novel to genre fans.
The Goodreads description of this book is very basic, but accurate. Our setting is space, far enough into the future that humans have achieved faster-than-light space travel and have begun to explore the galaxy. However, we're in a region distant enough from human-occupied space that humans are only beginning to explore it. It's home to a number of space-faring species which trade with each other, three of which, the Hani, the Kif, and the Mahendo'sat, we meet in this book. All three of these, and their cultures, are developed in fairly detailed fashion here (and more so, along with others, in the five-book series as a whole, though I didn't read beyond this book myself). Tully, our sole human character, is the only survivor of an exploring vessel unlucky enough to run into one of the ships of the piratical and carnivorous Kif. Brought along as a prisoner, when they dock at a Mahendo'sat space station, he escapes and finds refuge with the all-female crew of the Hani vessel Pride of Chanur [Chanur being the name of a Hani clan]. Ship's captain Pyanfar Chanur chooses to shelter him; the Kif want him back, and space-opera adventures ensue.
Elaborate and plausible world-building is a great strength of this book, as is development of the interactions between species and within the societies of the various species. For instance, the society of the feline-like Hani has much in common with lions on Earth; it's structured into clans dominated by a single adult male, and other males who grow into adulthood are cast out before they can challenge him for leadership. Young males live together outside of a clan until they can successfully challenge for the leadership of one; that proclivity towards conflict for dominance, and their reputation for being overly emotional, means that males aren't allowed on the crews of Hani spaceships. (Some reviewers apparently had an issue with that literary conceit, although I didn't.) Cherryh writes from within the "hard" SF tradition, but the sciences she's most interested in extrapolating from are sociology, anthropology, and biology, not the physics and engineering underlying future high-tech gadgetry. (The former are more interesting to me as well!) Her experiences as a high school teacher of languages (Latin and Greek) and as a book translator are reflected in the attention that she gives to languages here.
The book is well-written, and held my interest throughout the read. My main quibbles are that, at least for me, the completely non-human Hani, as main characters, aren't as easy to relate to as humans would be, and that Tully, after his initial escape, is a rather passive character (though, to be sure, there's not much he can realistically do for himself). Also, the Kif come across as a species for which it's part of their genetic make-up to be incarnations of vicious and self-serving evil; they're depicted as apparently without any individual ethical decision or nuance, beings for whom biology really is moral destiny. Tolkien, we're told, sometimes expressed concern that in his orcs, he had created a species who were beyond redemption; I get the same feeling about the Kif, and personally I prefer more nuance, or at least more personal choice and agency, even in villains. But while these are subjective quibbles for me, they wouldn't necessarily be so for all readers. I wasn't invested enough in the characters or the setting to continue with the series, but I do want to read more of Cherryh's work, and I can recommend this novel to genre fans.
June 6, 2021
I first read this in my teens, and was astounded. This was the first science fiction novel I came across where the dominant pronoun in use for the entire story was "she". I had never read a science fiction or a fantasy novel until then where women were anything but props for the main male character, nothing more than helpmates (disgusting idea) or punching bags (even worse idea). For the first time, I read about a group of women flying spaceships, conducting trade, managing complicated political situations, keeping their heads in crises, and I was totally thrilled.
I reread this book every so often and though I still find points that are a little confusing, I never feel anything but thrilled with Pyanfar Chanur and Haral and Hilfy and the other very capable women who crew the Pride. (I realized that Pyanfar reminds me a little of what a much younger Ilsidi-ji might have been like, many years before she met Bren in Foreigner.)
Pyanfar is competently managing trade for the Chanur, a fairly respected and well-off family on Anuurn, the hani homeworld. She's well-off, knows how to get a good deal, can deal well with the various other oxygen breathers in Compact space, and wham! A human drops into her world, and brings a massive number of problems to her ship, her family, her world, and all her assumptions about males and their behaviour. Py spends a good portion of the novel just trying to keep her ship intact and her crew alive and ahead of the machinations of Akukkak, a rather terrifyingly organized kif. She is also forced to begin rethinking her views of the value and actions of males, thanks to Tully, the human. Up till then, Pyanfar had been fairly content with the way hani females and males worked together.
Though this novel wraps up its action, it does set up a much bigger and more dangerous set of political situations across Compact space, which is actually in the same universe as Cherryh's Alliance-Union stories. And I find that once I follow Pyanfar onto the bridge of the Pride, I can't just leave her at the close of this book, and usually end up reading the entire series again.
I reread this book every so often and though I still find points that are a little confusing, I never feel anything but thrilled with Pyanfar Chanur and Haral and Hilfy and the other very capable women who crew the Pride. (I realized that Pyanfar reminds me a little of what a much younger Ilsidi-ji might have been like, many years before she met Bren in Foreigner.)
Pyanfar is competently managing trade for the Chanur, a fairly respected and well-off family on Anuurn, the hani homeworld. She's well-off, knows how to get a good deal, can deal well with the various other oxygen breathers in Compact space, and wham! A human drops into her world, and brings a massive number of problems to her ship, her family, her world, and all her assumptions about males and their behaviour. Py spends a good portion of the novel just trying to keep her ship intact and her crew alive and ahead of the machinations of Akukkak, a rather terrifyingly organized kif. She is also forced to begin rethinking her views of the value and actions of males, thanks to Tully, the human. Up till then, Pyanfar had been fairly content with the way hani females and males worked together.
Though this novel wraps up its action, it does set up a much bigger and more dangerous set of political situations across Compact space, which is actually in the same universe as Cherryh's Alliance-Union stories. And I find that once I follow Pyanfar onto the bridge of the Pride, I can't just leave her at the close of this book, and usually end up reading the entire series again.
November 7, 2017
This is a reread for me, but I first read this series over ten years ago. I've knocked a star off my earlier review, mainly because I'm a little bit more critical as a reader now. It's still a great immersive read.
Pyanfar Chanur is the captain of The Pride of Chanur, an interstellar trading ship of the hani, a leonine species. While at Meetpoint station a strange creature attempts to board The Pride, clearly fleeing from kif, a sinister species also docked at Meetpoint. Pyanfar's snap decision to shelter this strange-looking human creature, Tully, has immediate and far-reaching consequences as the kif attack with the lethal force and set off in pursuit of The Pride. Running for their lives, the hani ship encounter the bizarre methane-breathing knnn and mahendo'sat, allies with ulterior motives, and soon find themselves at the center of a major political incident that threatens the whole of the multi-species Compact. All of that on top of the domestic political and familial events triggered by the situation.
Cherryh's Compact Space is an adjunct of her Alliance-Union series in a different part of space. That's not immediately apparent from this first book, but there are more tie-ins in later books and space travel works the same in both series. It feels a bit dated now, over 35 years after first publication, particularly in the lack of ubiquitous computing and communications access, but even so the series remains an absolute classic of space opera.
The rich characterization of each of the alien species and the characters are typical of Cherryh's books, as is the almost claustrophobic closeness of the intense third person narrative from Pyanfar's point of view. She is a proud and cranky character prone to impulsive actions, but is deeply caring and protective of the people she considers her own. Many of the criticisms that her fellow hani and bystander aliens are completely valid, but Pyanfar goes to a lot of trouble to do the right thing despite there being are far easier and much less moral way of resolving the situation.
Two final points:
The Pride of Chanur is full of a defining feature I find in nearly all of Cherryh's writing. Like in real life, important pivot points are often over before you even realize it, with consequences and implications to be sorted over for ages afterwards. What this translates to in terms of a reader is that you need to read this stuff carefully because key points may be as simple as a sentence in the middle of action.
Lastly, while this is the first book of a series, it's actually a standalone and can be read as such. The next three book form a trilogy followed by another standalone for a total of five books.
Pyanfar Chanur is the captain of The Pride of Chanur, an interstellar trading ship of the hani, a leonine species. While at Meetpoint station a strange creature attempts to board The Pride, clearly fleeing from kif, a sinister species also docked at Meetpoint. Pyanfar's snap decision to shelter this strange-looking human creature, Tully, has immediate and far-reaching consequences as the kif attack with the lethal force and set off in pursuit of The Pride. Running for their lives, the hani ship encounter the bizarre methane-breathing knnn and mahendo'sat, allies with ulterior motives, and soon find themselves at the center of a major political incident that threatens the whole of the multi-species Compact. All of that on top of the domestic political and familial events triggered by the situation.
Cherryh's Compact Space is an adjunct of her Alliance-Union series in a different part of space. That's not immediately apparent from this first book, but there are more tie-ins in later books and space travel works the same in both series. It feels a bit dated now, over 35 years after first publication, particularly in the lack of ubiquitous computing and communications access, but even so the series remains an absolute classic of space opera.
The rich characterization of each of the alien species and the characters are typical of Cherryh's books, as is the almost claustrophobic closeness of the intense third person narrative from Pyanfar's point of view. She is a proud and cranky character prone to impulsive actions, but is deeply caring and protective of the people she considers her own. Many of the criticisms that her fellow hani and bystander aliens are completely valid, but Pyanfar goes to a lot of trouble to do the right thing despite there being are far easier and much less moral way of resolving the situation.
Two final points:
The Pride of Chanur is full of a defining feature I find in nearly all of Cherryh's writing. Like in real life, important pivot points are often over before you even realize it, with consequences and implications to be sorted over for ages afterwards. What this translates to in terms of a reader is that you need to read this stuff carefully because key points may be as simple as a sentence in the middle of action.
Lastly, while this is the first book of a series, it's actually a standalone and can be read as such. The next three book form a trilogy followed by another standalone for a total of five books.
April 19, 2015
C.J. Cherryh is one of the most respected SF authors in the genre, she has written hundreds of books over several decades and won several awards. Yet – until now – I have never read any of her books, I attempted her highly esteemed Cyteen but had to give it up after struggling mightily with it for 50 or so pages. So, The Pride of Chanur is my second attempt at a Cherryh book. I did finish it but it was still a mighty struggle. I thought I had a false start with Cyteen but this Chanur book may just be the deal breaker for me. I appreciate her talent but I just can not seem to tune into her wavelength.
The Pride of Chanur starts off well with an intriguing premise and clever narrative from an alien point of view. At the beginning of the book a man named Tully stowaways on board the eponymous "Pride of Chanur" spaceship owned by Captain Pyanfar Chanur, an alien of the “hani” species. Tully does not speak the alien language and has to rely on the ship’s not terribly effective translation machine to communicate with the hanis. Tully is on the run from evil aliens of the “kif” species who captured and killed his crewmates when they came across and captured a human ship. The kifs want him back for commercial gains but he finds the hani species to be more sympathetic and begs for their protection.
Great plot, I was initially intrigued by the possibility of this plotline and the potential for a tremendous adventure of a lone human aboard an alien ship, gradually assimilating into their crew and society, each species learning something from each other. To my chagrin Ms. Cherryh did not go there, perhaps the idea seems too predictable for her given the setup. Instead the narrative concentrates on the kifs pursuing the hanis across space (and hyperspace) in their spaceship with their superior firepower. This is not even as exciting as it sound as there is no sense of momentum in the narrative, the attack on the “The Pride of Chanur” spaceship is described in a rather detached manner and I just could not feel involved in it.
Around the half way point I became more and more disengaged from the narrative and by the time I was reading the last 50 pages of the book I decided to just speed read through them without worrying about missing nuances or some plot details, the alternative is to give up on it. To be fair to the author the problem is my personal expectation of what I thought the story is going to be about vs. the actual story C.J. Cherryh wanted to tell. It’s like I was happily riding on a horse and suddenly the damned thing shook me off and dumped me unceremoniously on the ground.
The protagonist Pyanfar Chanur (not the human character) is quite well developed and I like her well enough (the ladies are in charge in the hani culture), the other supporting characters did not come alive for me, perhaps because the narrative is strictly from Pyanfar’s point of view and there is not much dialogue from the supporting characters to get a feel of their personality. The scenes featuring the lone human Tully are of the most interest to me (as a fellow human!) but he is not featured all that much, besides he is depicted as cautious, fearful and miserable for most of the book so he is not as dynamic and interesting as I hoped he would be. The ending of the book is actually quite good and I wish I had liked the book more so I can read the sequels, but for me to read any more from this series would be ridiculous.
While I definitely do not like The Pride of Chanur I do appreciate Cherryh’s talent, imagination and the attention to details that went into its creation (there is an impressive appendix at the back of the book). Her execution of this book alienates me completely but I guess that cannot be helped, this is an intelligent book and a lot of people like it even though I don’t. I still want to give her Foreigner series a try as I have read a lot of good things about it. One more attempt won’t hurt.
(2.5 stars)
The Pride of Chanur starts off well with an intriguing premise and clever narrative from an alien point of view. At the beginning of the book a man named Tully stowaways on board the eponymous "Pride of Chanur" spaceship owned by Captain Pyanfar Chanur, an alien of the “hani” species. Tully does not speak the alien language and has to rely on the ship’s not terribly effective translation machine to communicate with the hanis. Tully is on the run from evil aliens of the “kif” species who captured and killed his crewmates when they came across and captured a human ship. The kifs want him back for commercial gains but he finds the hani species to be more sympathetic and begs for their protection.
Great plot, I was initially intrigued by the possibility of this plotline and the potential for a tremendous adventure of a lone human aboard an alien ship, gradually assimilating into their crew and society, each species learning something from each other. To my chagrin Ms. Cherryh did not go there, perhaps the idea seems too predictable for her given the setup. Instead the narrative concentrates on the kifs pursuing the hanis across space (and hyperspace) in their spaceship with their superior firepower. This is not even as exciting as it sound as there is no sense of momentum in the narrative, the attack on the “The Pride of Chanur” spaceship is described in a rather detached manner and I just could not feel involved in it.
Around the half way point I became more and more disengaged from the narrative and by the time I was reading the last 50 pages of the book I decided to just speed read through them without worrying about missing nuances or some plot details, the alternative is to give up on it. To be fair to the author the problem is my personal expectation of what I thought the story is going to be about vs. the actual story C.J. Cherryh wanted to tell. It’s like I was happily riding on a horse and suddenly the damned thing shook me off and dumped me unceremoniously on the ground.
The protagonist Pyanfar Chanur (not the human character) is quite well developed and I like her well enough (the ladies are in charge in the hani culture), the other supporting characters did not come alive for me, perhaps because the narrative is strictly from Pyanfar’s point of view and there is not much dialogue from the supporting characters to get a feel of their personality. The scenes featuring the lone human Tully are of the most interest to me (as a fellow human!) but he is not featured all that much, besides he is depicted as cautious, fearful and miserable for most of the book so he is not as dynamic and interesting as I hoped he would be. The ending of the book is actually quite good and I wish I had liked the book more so I can read the sequels, but for me to read any more from this series would be ridiculous.
While I definitely do not like The Pride of Chanur I do appreciate Cherryh’s talent, imagination and the attention to details that went into its creation (there is an impressive appendix at the back of the book). Her execution of this book alienates me completely but I guess that cannot be helped, this is an intelligent book and a lot of people like it even though I don’t. I still want to give her Foreigner series a try as I have read a lot of good things about it. One more attempt won’t hurt.
(2.5 stars)
December 31, 2014
Definitely a high 3.5 stars, but not quite a 4 for me, Cherryh’s _The Pride of Chanur_ combines space opera with some gritty “hard-ish” sf elements in the beginning of a saga that deals with the political and economic ramifications of first contact. In this first volume of the Chanur saga we follow the exploits of a crew of Hani (lion-like aliens) on the eponymous merchant space freighter The Pride of Chanur. Expecting nothing more than a routine run across their trade routes, Pyanfar Chanur, captain of the Pride, imagines the worst trouble she’s likely to have to deal with is her headstrong niece Hilfy. Of course she’s wrong and what was proving to be a rather boring trip becomes deadly as they run across trouble in the form of an alien stowaway while they are docked at the Meetpoint space station.
The reader is thrust into the middle of things which quickly come to a head as Cherryh examines what appears to be one of her favourite tropes: the idea of the human being as alien. In this case our point of view characters are the lion-like Hani and our view of the lone human character is completely from the outside as the typical barriers of communication, biology and mind-set stand between full understanding. The Hani themselves are an alien species that is only one part of a precarious Compact between numerous alien races: the ape-like Mahendo’sat, the tall and whispy Stsho, and the long snouted and nefarious Kif all of whom share at least a minimal biological similarity and exist in a precarious political balance of trade and travel. Added to this fragile structure are aliens of an even more strange make-up: several species of methane breathers whose biology and mind-set are a mystery even to those with whom they share space, but who barely manage to co-exist with the others.
All that is needed to throw the entire political structure of the Compact off-balance is one secret advantage that can be exploited by one member race at the expense of the others. Enter Tully, a lone human in Compact space recently captured and tortured by the Kif in the hopes of gaining sole access to human space for exploitation, only to escape and seek refuge in the belly of The Pride of Chanur. Too altruistic to exploit or harm Tully, and too mistrusting of the wily Kif to return him to their clutches, Pyanfar cuts and runs in the hope that she can escape the Kif hunter ships and find refuge and aid among the people of her homeworld. Pyanfar hadn’t gambled on the single-mindedness of the Kif captain whose reputation and very existence now hinge upon regaining his lost prize and she gets much more than she bargained for as the Kif calls in more and more ally ships in a hunt across the galaxy and Pyanfar’s allies and options become thinner and thinner as her journey progresses.
Cherryh covers a lot of ground in this first volume: what does it mean to be an alien? How do we communicate and interact with each other? How far should one go int he name of one’s principles at the expense of other’s lives? An especial concern for the Hani is the relation between genders. The Hani themselves have an interesting social make-up in which all males are confined to their homeworld due to their unsuitability to interacting with other races: they are far too violent and headstrong to be trusted amongst races whose ways and customs differ so greatly from their own and to whom the slightest insult could mean interstellar war. While the males rule the clan Holds that retain political power on their own world and seem to inspire some level of deference in their females, it becomes apparent that they do not do this without the aid of their high ranking wives and the fact that females control all interstellar travel and trade definitely makes the gender politics of the Hani interesting. One of Pyanfar’s greatest concerns is how to deal with a male alien amongst her all-female crew.
I’m curious to see where this story goes: what will become of Tully and the entire human race now that it has been discovered by a society made up of multiple alien species? Are the Kif really as evil as they are painted in this volume or is there more to them than black hats? Will we ever learn more about the mysterious methane-breathers and their own designs within the Compact?
This is only my second Cherryh novel, but I certainly enjoyed it enough to want to continue going through her extensive oeuvre. My real quandary is what to tackle next? Continue exploring Compact space with Pyanfar and her crew? Check out one of her gritty sci-fi books concentrating solely on the human political and ideological conflicts within the Alliance-Union universe? Follow Morgaine in her science-fantasy adventures through gates that bend space and time? See how she tackles an homage to the genre classic Dune with the Kesrith saga? Explore the ramifications of cloning in the classic Cyteen? Re-examine the ‘human-as-alien’ concept with Cuckoo's Egg? The opportunities are almost endless and the embarrassment of riches makes the choice a difficult one.
The reader is thrust into the middle of things which quickly come to a head as Cherryh examines what appears to be one of her favourite tropes: the idea of the human being as alien. In this case our point of view characters are the lion-like Hani and our view of the lone human character is completely from the outside as the typical barriers of communication, biology and mind-set stand between full understanding. The Hani themselves are an alien species that is only one part of a precarious Compact between numerous alien races: the ape-like Mahendo’sat, the tall and whispy Stsho, and the long snouted and nefarious Kif all of whom share at least a minimal biological similarity and exist in a precarious political balance of trade and travel. Added to this fragile structure are aliens of an even more strange make-up: several species of methane breathers whose biology and mind-set are a mystery even to those with whom they share space, but who barely manage to co-exist with the others.
All that is needed to throw the entire political structure of the Compact off-balance is one secret advantage that can be exploited by one member race at the expense of the others. Enter Tully, a lone human in Compact space recently captured and tortured by the Kif in the hopes of gaining sole access to human space for exploitation, only to escape and seek refuge in the belly of The Pride of Chanur. Too altruistic to exploit or harm Tully, and too mistrusting of the wily Kif to return him to their clutches, Pyanfar cuts and runs in the hope that she can escape the Kif hunter ships and find refuge and aid among the people of her homeworld. Pyanfar hadn’t gambled on the single-mindedness of the Kif captain whose reputation and very existence now hinge upon regaining his lost prize and she gets much more than she bargained for as the Kif calls in more and more ally ships in a hunt across the galaxy and Pyanfar’s allies and options become thinner and thinner as her journey progresses.
Cherryh covers a lot of ground in this first volume: what does it mean to be an alien? How do we communicate and interact with each other? How far should one go int he name of one’s principles at the expense of other’s lives? An especial concern for the Hani is the relation between genders. The Hani themselves have an interesting social make-up in which all males are confined to their homeworld due to their unsuitability to interacting with other races: they are far too violent and headstrong to be trusted amongst races whose ways and customs differ so greatly from their own and to whom the slightest insult could mean interstellar war. While the males rule the clan Holds that retain political power on their own world and seem to inspire some level of deference in their females, it becomes apparent that they do not do this without the aid of their high ranking wives and the fact that females control all interstellar travel and trade definitely makes the gender politics of the Hani interesting. One of Pyanfar’s greatest concerns is how to deal with a male alien amongst her all-female crew.
I’m curious to see where this story goes: what will become of Tully and the entire human race now that it has been discovered by a society made up of multiple alien species? Are the Kif really as evil as they are painted in this volume or is there more to them than black hats? Will we ever learn more about the mysterious methane-breathers and their own designs within the Compact?
This is only my second Cherryh novel, but I certainly enjoyed it enough to want to continue going through her extensive oeuvre. My real quandary is what to tackle next? Continue exploring Compact space with Pyanfar and her crew? Check out one of her gritty sci-fi books concentrating solely on the human political and ideological conflicts within the Alliance-Union universe? Follow Morgaine in her science-fantasy adventures through gates that bend space and time? See how she tackles an homage to the genre classic Dune with the Kesrith saga? Explore the ramifications of cloning in the classic Cyteen? Re-examine the ‘human-as-alien’ concept with Cuckoo's Egg? The opportunities are almost endless and the embarrassment of riches makes the choice a difficult one.
July 7, 2023
Fascinating world building and aliens populate The Pride of Chanur, the first book a series Cherryh started back in the early 80s. Cherryh has a knack for aliens, convincingly making them, well, alien. Here, she introduces the world of the 'Compact', a region of space containing seven sentient species operating under a loose code of behavior/trade known as the Compact. Three of the species are methane breathers and rather mysterious to say the least. The other four are oxygen breathers-- the Kif, the Mane, the Stsho and the Han.
The titular Pride of Chanur is a space freighter run by the Chanur clan of Han. The Han are relatively new to the space age, being introduced by the Mane to it largely to counter the Kif, who seem to lack ethics, are active slavers and pirates. Han are a lion-like bipedal species with occasional hot tempers, especially the males; hence, all Han ships are crewed by females of the species. The tale begins at 'Meetpoint', a neutral space station run by the stsho where all the races can trade freely. The Pride, captained by our main protagonist Pyanfar are doing their deals there when a strange creature basically crashes their ship. What is this thing? Pyanfar recognizes that it is sentient, but she has never seen anything like it.
Well, long story short, the ship crasher is a human named Tully, and the Kif essentially pirated his ship and he is the only human left alive; he made a break for it on the docks at Meetpoint and ended up on The Pride. Why did he pick a Han ship? "Because your crewmates laugh." Problem is, the Kif know where he went and they want him back. It seems the Kif are just dying to find a new region of space to exploit and only Tully can tell them where the human sphere is. Han, and Pynafar in particular, have no love for the Kif, and are not intimidated by them either, so begins a cat and mouse chase through the Compact space...
The strengths of this reside in the alien sociology and psychology Cherryh develops; in a novel populated entirely by aliens, this will either work or not. Tully, the sole human, works great as the alien in the story! Neat inversion of scifi tropes for sure. The Pride also features Cherryh's frenetic pacing and stylistic prose. I still felt a little rough around the edges and the entire Han politics part was a little thin, but overall, I really enjoyed this and looking forward to the rest of the series. 3.5 stars, rounding up!
The titular Pride of Chanur is a space freighter run by the Chanur clan of Han. The Han are relatively new to the space age, being introduced by the Mane to it largely to counter the Kif, who seem to lack ethics, are active slavers and pirates. Han are a lion-like bipedal species with occasional hot tempers, especially the males; hence, all Han ships are crewed by females of the species. The tale begins at 'Meetpoint', a neutral space station run by the stsho where all the races can trade freely. The Pride, captained by our main protagonist Pyanfar are doing their deals there when a strange creature basically crashes their ship. What is this thing? Pyanfar recognizes that it is sentient, but she has never seen anything like it.
Well, long story short, the ship crasher is a human named Tully, and the Kif essentially pirated his ship and he is the only human left alive; he made a break for it on the docks at Meetpoint and ended up on The Pride. Why did he pick a Han ship? "Because your crewmates laugh." Problem is, the Kif know where he went and they want him back. It seems the Kif are just dying to find a new region of space to exploit and only Tully can tell them where the human sphere is. Han, and Pynafar in particular, have no love for the Kif, and are not intimidated by them either, so begins a cat and mouse chase through the Compact space...
The strengths of this reside in the alien sociology and psychology Cherryh develops; in a novel populated entirely by aliens, this will either work or not. Tully, the sole human, works great as the alien in the story! Neat inversion of scifi tropes for sure. The Pride also features Cherryh's frenetic pacing and stylistic prose. I still felt a little rough around the edges and the entire Han politics part was a little thin, but overall, I really enjoyed this and looking forward to the rest of the series. 3.5 stars, rounding up!
February 2, 2008
CJ Cherryh doesn't take a lot of time to fill you in on the background in her worlds. . . she just dumps you into the deep end and from there it's catch as catch can. It can be tough to understand what's going on at times, but basically it's a fast-moving action-adventure story which has a breathless momentum that drags you along in its wake. I've read the whole series about half a dozen times, and they make more and more sense (in terms of the political maneuvering). There's definitely an internal logic at work. If you like hard sci fi, you'll love this series.
November 12, 2023
Another nicely constructed, well thought out novel from Cherryh, sadly it didn’t meet my expectations
Based purely on my own assumptions of the whimsical cover illustration by the great Michael whelan, I thought that unlike Downbelow station this was sure to be a light hearted, possibly humorous space adventure.
The end result was a bit austere and lacked some characterization. Like the other two of her novels I’ve read the world building is as good as anything from the other grand masters of science fiction.
The lion like Hani who’s males never leave their home world while the females venture out into space was interesting. I really enjoyed how she told the tale from the Hani perspective, leaving the sole human as an alien curiosity. My only complaint about her writing is that it so thoroughly considered that she seems to leave out really likeable characters and a sense of adventure. This same complaint could be made of many of her classic sci fi contemporaries.
Still, I intend to continue with some of her other work.
Based purely on my own assumptions of the whimsical cover illustration by the great Michael whelan, I thought that unlike Downbelow station this was sure to be a light hearted, possibly humorous space adventure.
The end result was a bit austere and lacked some characterization. Like the other two of her novels I’ve read the world building is as good as anything from the other grand masters of science fiction.
The lion like Hani who’s males never leave their home world while the females venture out into space was interesting. I really enjoyed how she told the tale from the Hani perspective, leaving the sole human as an alien curiosity. My only complaint about her writing is that it so thoroughly considered that she seems to leave out really likeable characters and a sense of adventure. This same complaint could be made of many of her classic sci fi contemporaries.
Still, I intend to continue with some of her other work.
February 7, 2013
I liked this series! An all-female crew of cat people finds a poor lost human male. Nobody in this part of space has ever encountered a human being before, so the crew take pity on the poor creature. I mean, you can't let a male out of the ship! He is too excitable to fend for himself!
I found myself chuckling at the sexism exhibited by the female protagonists. We men have populated plenty of books with a token, beautiful female. This is PAYBACK! This book is not for those without a sense of humor. To top it off, there is a good story with plenty of space opera action.
I found myself chuckling at the sexism exhibited by the female protagonists. We men have populated plenty of books with a token, beautiful female. This is PAYBACK! This book is not for those without a sense of humor. To top it off, there is a good story with plenty of space opera action.
July 19, 2020
2.5 stars. This was the least engaging of Cherryh's novels I've read. I stopped three times to read other books start to end till I finally finished this one. I will try the Foreigner series next, but I won't continue with the Chanur one.
December 5, 2024
I’m thinking Shogun in Space for the first book of the Compact Space series. Consider the setting: a merchant from an unknown nation is the sole survivor of the wreck of his ship, his companions captured and killed by a hostile, warlike nation. He escapes captivity and seeks refuge with another commercial and political group. He doesn’t speak the language, he doesn’t know the local customs, he is alone, weak and without resources.
Yet he becomes the catalyst of war and change in the Compact Space, with various groups / species fighting over control of this new creature.
A new species, revered mahe. That’s the prize that has the kif disturbed. They see the hope of profit the like of which they’ve not known before; and I have the sole surviving member of his company, a spacefaring people, communicative, civilized, wise mahe, and fit to tilt the balance of the Compact.
And because this is C J Cherryh at the helm, we are offered some of the most fascinating aliens ever invented, starting with the creatures on the cover: a ‘pride’ of sentient, bipedal predators with golden manes and violent tempers. The all-female hani crew of the ship Pride of Chanur is led by Pyanfar Chanur, an experienced merchant-adventurer captain.
She was hani, this captain, splendidly maned and bearded in red-gold, which reached in silken curls to the middle of her bare, sleek-pelted chest, and she was dressed as befitted a hani of captain’s rank, blousing scarlet breeches tucked up at her waist with a broad gold belt, with silk cords of every shade of red and orange wrapping that about, each knotted cord with a pendant jewel on its dangling end. Gold finished the breeches at her knees. Gold filigree was her armlet. And a row of fine gold rings and a large pendant pearl decorated the tufted sweep of her left ear.
I loved the word play of a proud race that can be read as a pride of lions, the clannish social order where the females are the hunters/ explorers and the males are the stronger, lazier, volatile and mostly useless rulers of home territory. This dynamic of the hani tribal homeworld will play a central role in the second half of the novel, but before we get there we have to deal with one of the most emblematic themes in all of Cherryh’s space operas: that of the Other, of the stranger who challenges the way we look at the world and even the way we look at ourselves, as into a revealing mirror.
No prejudices. No squeamishness about other species.
I hope these remarks are general enough not be considered spoilers. Because this story throws you right in the middle of violent confrontation and political machinations from the very first page, and doesn’t take it’s foot from the warp speed accelerator until the last page. Cherryh doesn’t let the messaging dominate the plot and the action of a proper space opera novel, coming up with a complex lattice of homeworlds [there’s even a map], waystations, mining stations, commercial hubs, hyperspace gates, jump drives in commercial and military spaceships.
The Compact Space is a loose commercial organization between several species that share established fast travel routes between star systems. The convention facilitates trade, but there is no central government body to settle territorial or military disputes between members.
Probably the most fascinating aspect of the Compact is the cohabitation between oxygen breathing and methane-based species, with hubs like Meetpoint Station providing docking facilities for hani, mahe, kif and stsho ships in one half of the orbital and for knnn, tc’a and chi in the other half. These species are better described in the book, and since Cherryh has her own special style of revealing information gradually, as the lead character progresses through the plot, I think it is best to let the author guide you through this complex web.
In the first chapter, all we really need to know is that Pyanfar Chanur, the proud captain of the hani ship, is bowled over by a strange creature just as she is descending the ramp into Meetpoint for the first time.
The intruder was not attractive. It had a bedraggled gold mane and beard, and its chest fur, almost invisible, narrowed in a line down its heaving belly to vanish into what was, legitimately, clothing, a rag almost nonexistent in its tatters and obscured by the dirt which matched the rest of its hairless hide. Its smell was rank. But a straight carriage and a wild-eyed invitation to its enemies ... that deserved a second thought.
Most of science-fiction we read is human-centric: we always like to see ourselves as the pinnacle of Creation, as the master race that was chosen to expand into space and conquer the unknown, or the less military developed neighbours.
Doesn’t it feel good to reverse the roles, and see humanity as the puny intruders used as pawns in the big games of stranger players?
As for the plot, there needs to be a powerful and despicable adversary for the hani to fight, a major threat to the stability and the peaceful trading in the Compact Space. This role is assigned to the kif, piratical long limbed rats that always wear dark hoods and utter susurrating threats, unless they are engaged in the business of blowing things up.
Kif had somehow missed killing one another off in their rise off their homeworld and into space. They had done it, hani had always suspected, in mutual distrust, in outright hatred. They had contested themselves into space, and hunted each other through it until they found easier pickings.
It is the kif who first came across the wreck of the human exploration ship and later tortured the survivor, whose name is later revealed as Tully, into disclosing the location of his home system.
Pyanfar Chanur didn’t ask for this piece of interstellar trouble to land in her ship. But she isn’t about to betray her crew and her own pride [both honour and tribe] to the grasping kif.
>>><<<>>><<<
Nature. Nature that made males useless, too high-strung to go offworld, to hold any position of responsibility beyond the estates. Nature that robbed them of sense and stability.
Or an upbringing that did.
A more subtle argument about nature versus nurture takes center stage later in the novel, when Pyanfar eventually reaches Anuum, the hani homeworld.
A different sort of trouble is rocking the Chanur lands, with the younger males attacking the older leaders of the clan, taking over mansions and engaging in blood feuds with rival clans. Pyanfar and the rest of the hani females are exasperated and hampered in their offworld ambitions by this recurrent and deadly tradition.
But is this struggle inevitable? Is this type of tribal social order cast in stone, immovable? What kind of future in space can the hani aspire to when they are unable to control their most basic impulses?
“I know what you are trying to do. But you can’t fight what is. Time, Pyanfar. We get old. The young have their day. You can’t fight time.”
“We’re born fighting it.”
I think this a good quote to end my review. I am, after all, too eager to jump into the second book in the series.
Yet he becomes the catalyst of war and change in the Compact Space, with various groups / species fighting over control of this new creature.
A new species, revered mahe. That’s the prize that has the kif disturbed. They see the hope of profit the like of which they’ve not known before; and I have the sole surviving member of his company, a spacefaring people, communicative, civilized, wise mahe, and fit to tilt the balance of the Compact.
And because this is C J Cherryh at the helm, we are offered some of the most fascinating aliens ever invented, starting with the creatures on the cover: a ‘pride’ of sentient, bipedal predators with golden manes and violent tempers. The all-female hani crew of the ship Pride of Chanur is led by Pyanfar Chanur, an experienced merchant-adventurer captain.
She was hani, this captain, splendidly maned and bearded in red-gold, which reached in silken curls to the middle of her bare, sleek-pelted chest, and she was dressed as befitted a hani of captain’s rank, blousing scarlet breeches tucked up at her waist with a broad gold belt, with silk cords of every shade of red and orange wrapping that about, each knotted cord with a pendant jewel on its dangling end. Gold finished the breeches at her knees. Gold filigree was her armlet. And a row of fine gold rings and a large pendant pearl decorated the tufted sweep of her left ear.
I loved the word play of a proud race that can be read as a pride of lions, the clannish social order where the females are the hunters/ explorers and the males are the stronger, lazier, volatile and mostly useless rulers of home territory. This dynamic of the hani tribal homeworld will play a central role in the second half of the novel, but before we get there we have to deal with one of the most emblematic themes in all of Cherryh’s space operas: that of the Other, of the stranger who challenges the way we look at the world and even the way we look at ourselves, as into a revealing mirror.
No prejudices. No squeamishness about other species.
I hope these remarks are general enough not be considered spoilers. Because this story throws you right in the middle of violent confrontation and political machinations from the very first page, and doesn’t take it’s foot from the warp speed accelerator until the last page. Cherryh doesn’t let the messaging dominate the plot and the action of a proper space opera novel, coming up with a complex lattice of homeworlds [there’s even a map], waystations, mining stations, commercial hubs, hyperspace gates, jump drives in commercial and military spaceships.
The Compact Space is a loose commercial organization between several species that share established fast travel routes between star systems. The convention facilitates trade, but there is no central government body to settle territorial or military disputes between members.
Probably the most fascinating aspect of the Compact is the cohabitation between oxygen breathing and methane-based species, with hubs like Meetpoint Station providing docking facilities for hani, mahe, kif and stsho ships in one half of the orbital and for knnn, tc’a and chi in the other half. These species are better described in the book, and since Cherryh has her own special style of revealing information gradually, as the lead character progresses through the plot, I think it is best to let the author guide you through this complex web.
In the first chapter, all we really need to know is that Pyanfar Chanur, the proud captain of the hani ship, is bowled over by a strange creature just as she is descending the ramp into Meetpoint for the first time.
The intruder was not attractive. It had a bedraggled gold mane and beard, and its chest fur, almost invisible, narrowed in a line down its heaving belly to vanish into what was, legitimately, clothing, a rag almost nonexistent in its tatters and obscured by the dirt which matched the rest of its hairless hide. Its smell was rank. But a straight carriage and a wild-eyed invitation to its enemies ... that deserved a second thought.
Most of science-fiction we read is human-centric: we always like to see ourselves as the pinnacle of Creation, as the master race that was chosen to expand into space and conquer the unknown, or the less military developed neighbours.
Doesn’t it feel good to reverse the roles, and see humanity as the puny intruders used as pawns in the big games of stranger players?
As for the plot, there needs to be a powerful and despicable adversary for the hani to fight, a major threat to the stability and the peaceful trading in the Compact Space. This role is assigned to the kif, piratical long limbed rats that always wear dark hoods and utter susurrating threats, unless they are engaged in the business of blowing things up.
Kif had somehow missed killing one another off in their rise off their homeworld and into space. They had done it, hani had always suspected, in mutual distrust, in outright hatred. They had contested themselves into space, and hunted each other through it until they found easier pickings.
It is the kif who first came across the wreck of the human exploration ship and later tortured the survivor, whose name is later revealed as Tully, into disclosing the location of his home system.
Pyanfar Chanur didn’t ask for this piece of interstellar trouble to land in her ship. But she isn’t about to betray her crew and her own pride [both honour and tribe] to the grasping kif.
>>><<<>>><<<
Nature. Nature that made males useless, too high-strung to go offworld, to hold any position of responsibility beyond the estates. Nature that robbed them of sense and stability.
Or an upbringing that did.
A more subtle argument about nature versus nurture takes center stage later in the novel, when Pyanfar eventually reaches Anuum, the hani homeworld.
A different sort of trouble is rocking the Chanur lands, with the younger males attacking the older leaders of the clan, taking over mansions and engaging in blood feuds with rival clans. Pyanfar and the rest of the hani females are exasperated and hampered in their offworld ambitions by this recurrent and deadly tradition.
But is this struggle inevitable? Is this type of tribal social order cast in stone, immovable? What kind of future in space can the hani aspire to when they are unable to control their most basic impulses?
“I know what you are trying to do. But you can’t fight what is. Time, Pyanfar. We get old. The young have their day. You can’t fight time.”
“We’re born fighting it.”
I think this a good quote to end my review. I am, after all, too eager to jump into the second book in the series.
November 13, 2017
"There had been something loose about the station dock all morning, skulking in amongst the gantries and the lines and the canisters which were waiting to be moved, lurking wherever shadows fell among the rampway accesses of the many ships at dock at Meetpoint. It was pale, naked, starved-looking in what fleeting glimpse anyone on The Pride of Chanurhad had of it."
I might have read this 30 years ago or so, but I remembered nothing. Just a vague feeling that I liked it.
I did like it, although it took a while to warm up to Pyanfar, Tully and the crew of the Pride of Chanur. I did love most of the other characters and alien races, their descriptions, oddities and quirks. The knnn sound fascinating. The cat/lions and their familial structure were nicely done. The Personage with her/his fluff and voice was fun. The pidgin was confusing at times.
That is really where Cherryh seems to shine--world building, a great way of creating a "feel" for other societies and how they tick. Even in Foreigner, which I found boring for very long stretches, her society and world building stuck with me the most. I will definitely read more of Pyanfar's adventures.
P.S: Is it weird that in my head the Kif sound like Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug?
3-4 stars, not quite decided yet.
I might have read this 30 years ago or so, but I remembered nothing. Just a vague feeling that I liked it.
I did like it, although it took a while to warm up to Pyanfar, Tully and the crew of the Pride of Chanur. I did love most of the other characters and alien races, their descriptions, oddities and quirks. The knnn sound fascinating. The cat/lions and their familial structure were nicely done. The Personage with her/his fluff and voice was fun. The pidgin was confusing at times.
That is really where Cherryh seems to shine--world building, a great way of creating a "feel" for other societies and how they tick. Even in Foreigner, which I found boring for very long stretches, her society and world building stuck with me the most. I will definitely read more of Pyanfar's adventures.
P.S: Is it weird that in my head the Kif sound like Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug?
3-4 stars, not quite decided yet.
January 12, 2015
Number 144 on my SFF reading project list. This was a rollicking good space opera--lots of alien life forms, plots of intrigue, plenty of things going boom! I don’t know about you, but I can’t exist on a reading diet of only serious, thoughtful books and this provided a fun, relaxing romp through the universe when I needed one.
Cherryh writes aliens well. I loved the lion people of Anuurn—The Pride of Chanur may have been the name of their vessel, but they are also socially arranged into prides, as are lions. Just as in lion society, where the females do most of the hunting for the pride, the females of Chanur are sent out to do the important job of trading and bringing home the spoils. They work in family groups with a lioness at the head of a group which includes nieces and cousins—leaving the unpredictable, impulsive males at home. Male lions are valuable to lion society as the defenders of territory and cubs, holding land to enable the lionesses to hunt without hazard, both on the savannah and on Anuurn, the Chanur’s home planet. Just as on the plains of Africa, younger males are always looking to push their way into the leadership position in a pride by defeating older males—this added level of intrigue on Anuurn ups the ante for the Pride’s crew.
I could understand why Tully, the human stowaway, would choose the Anuurnan ship as a potential safe haven—they shared mammalian characteristics and social structures which humans, as primates, are programmed to understand. I also liked that Tully, although the nucleus around which the book revolved, was really a minor force in the action, putting humanity in its place as a new comer to the Compact and its alliances. Too often, just as the Catholic church in Galileo’s time, we tend to put humans in a position of central importance and I appreciate it when an author resists that urge.
A fast, fun, thoroughly enjoyable novel.
Cherryh writes aliens well. I loved the lion people of Anuurn—The Pride of Chanur may have been the name of their vessel, but they are also socially arranged into prides, as are lions. Just as in lion society, where the females do most of the hunting for the pride, the females of Chanur are sent out to do the important job of trading and bringing home the spoils. They work in family groups with a lioness at the head of a group which includes nieces and cousins—leaving the unpredictable, impulsive males at home. Male lions are valuable to lion society as the defenders of territory and cubs, holding land to enable the lionesses to hunt without hazard, both on the savannah and on Anuurn, the Chanur’s home planet. Just as on the plains of Africa, younger males are always looking to push their way into the leadership position in a pride by defeating older males—this added level of intrigue on Anuurn ups the ante for the Pride’s crew.
I could understand why Tully, the human stowaway, would choose the Anuurnan ship as a potential safe haven—they shared mammalian characteristics and social structures which humans, as primates, are programmed to understand. I also liked that Tully, although the nucleus around which the book revolved, was really a minor force in the action, putting humanity in its place as a new comer to the Compact and its alliances. Too often, just as the Catholic church in Galileo’s time, we tend to put humans in a position of central importance and I appreciate it when an author resists that urge.
A fast, fun, thoroughly enjoyable novel.
November 22, 2017
3.5*
Up until now, my only experience with Cherryh was through her excellent Foreigner series. This novel felt rather different, although at the base of it, politics, diplomacy, economics and linguistics are still very much at the fore. However their treatment is changed.
The crew of the space freighter Pride of Chanur find a stowaway on their ship, a weird creature seeking refuge from the aggressive Kif, who captured and tortured him in order to get valuable information. Once more, the ‘human’ is the alien of the piece, and is seem from the eyes of the Hani captain, Pyanfar Chanur, who is faced with a dilemma. Distrusting the Kif, she decides to help the sentient stranger and evades their manipulations. However, the situation is much more complicated than that...
What surprised me was the pacing. This novel has plenty of action, jumping from one scene to the next with hardly a moment to breathe. Yet, Cherryh’s writing style is recognisable. Weirdly, it kept reminding me of Ann Leckie’s too. The other interesting aspect was the Hani’s views on gender, resulting with their ships being manned solely by females, which added a further angle to their reactions to the male human.
Up until now, my only experience with Cherryh was through her excellent Foreigner series. This novel felt rather different, although at the base of it, politics, diplomacy, economics and linguistics are still very much at the fore. However their treatment is changed.
The crew of the space freighter Pride of Chanur find a stowaway on their ship, a weird creature seeking refuge from the aggressive Kif, who captured and tortured him in order to get valuable information. Once more, the ‘human’ is the alien of the piece, and is seem from the eyes of the Hani captain, Pyanfar Chanur, who is faced with a dilemma. Distrusting the Kif, she decides to help the sentient stranger and evades their manipulations. However, the situation is much more complicated than that...
What surprised me was the pacing. This novel has plenty of action, jumping from one scene to the next with hardly a moment to breathe. Yet, Cherryh’s writing style is recognisable. Weirdly, it kept reminding me of Ann Leckie’s too. The other interesting aspect was the Hani’s views on gender, resulting with their ships being manned solely by females, which added a further angle to their reactions to the male human.
Read
June 20, 2022I have to admit that I didn’t actually finish this one. For some reason that I don’t understand or even remember I bounced off it. I love SF/Space Opera and I love cats. I might give it another try soon, though, if it gets chosen as out BOTM in the SFFBC group.
I decided to remove the stars if given (not many), because I didn’t finish it and it’s not really fair. I know a lot of people like this series.
I decided to remove the stars if given (not many), because I didn’t finish it and it’s not really fair. I know a lot of people like this series.
August 2, 2019
This felt like a mediocre late 70's/early 80's sci-fi TV series made for teenagers. Maybe not the best choice for my first C.J. Cherryh read.
The concept isn't a bad one, a first contact experience portrayed from the perspective of the aliens. However, it seems like the author was trying to impress with the diversity of alien species, languages and weird names, and never evolved the story beyond a kind of galactic chase, with the protagonists pursued by devious pirates. The main characters, primary among them heavily anthropomorphized lionesses, feel robotic, and the relationships shallow.
The aliens have interstellar ships and hyperspace drives, but still examine graphs on paper and possess only primitive means of inter species communication, mostly relying on the broken, caveman like utterances that each is capable of giving in another language. If you were cutting corners in a cheap TV production I could understand this, but in a book it just feels uninspired and frankly lazy.
The concept isn't a bad one, a first contact experience portrayed from the perspective of the aliens. However, it seems like the author was trying to impress with the diversity of alien species, languages and weird names, and never evolved the story beyond a kind of galactic chase, with the protagonists pursued by devious pirates. The main characters, primary among them heavily anthropomorphized lionesses, feel robotic, and the relationships shallow.
The aliens have interstellar ships and hyperspace drives, but still examine graphs on paper and possess only primitive means of inter species communication, mostly relying on the broken, caveman like utterances that each is capable of giving in another language. If you were cutting corners in a cheap TV production I could understand this, but in a book it just feels uninspired and frankly lazy.
December 9, 2015
La Orgullo de Chanur es una nave mercante perteneciente a las hani, una raza extraterrestre semejante físicamente a felinos, cuya capitana, Pyanfar Chanur, y su tripulación pertenecen al género femenino. En la actualidad existe un Pacto para comerciar entre las diferentes especies, tanto las que respiran oxígeno como las que respiran metano, siendo posible el viaje interestelar a largas distancias entre planetas y estaciones gracias a la tecnología existente. La historia comienza con la nave de Pyanfar en la estación espacial Punto de Encuentro, mientras los kif, una raza agresiva y ladrona, andan inquietos; parece que por la estación anda suelta una extraña criatura. Los problemas empiezan cuando esta criatura, de la que no tardamos en saber que es un humano, se cuela de polizón en la nave de Pyanfar.
‘El Orgullo de Chanur’ (The Pride of Chanur, 1981), de la escritora norteamericana C.J. Cherryh, es el inicio de una de las sagas space opera más reconocidas. Resulta curioso que la historia esté narrada desde el punto de vista de otra raza que no sea la humana, sin duda uno de sus puntos fuertes. Cherryh sabe dotar a sus novelas de un realismo muy particular, plagado de detalles. He disfrutado nuevamente con la relectura de este libro, que me maravilló hace tantos años.
‘El Orgullo de Chanur’ (The Pride of Chanur, 1981), de la escritora norteamericana C.J. Cherryh, es el inicio de una de las sagas space opera más reconocidas. Resulta curioso que la historia esté narrada desde el punto de vista de otra raza que no sea la humana, sin duda uno de sus puntos fuertes. Cherryh sabe dotar a sus novelas de un realismo muy particular, plagado de detalles. He disfrutado nuevamente con la relectura de este libro, que me maravilló hace tantos años.
Read
January 8, 2023Longer review coming later (G-d willing; but already mostly written). Trying to restart my QUILTBAG+ SFF Classics series now that I've graduated and also work is maybe less overwhelming; please cheer me on :) This will probably not be the first column, because I have some other books I promised to discuss before I had to go on hiatus.
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Source of the book: Bought with my own money (I think from the library booksale?)
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Source of the book: Bought with my own money (I think from the library booksale?)
January 9, 2024
I enjoyed this disovery of the outer limits of the Cherryh universe where the species of oxygen and methane breathers clash. What an imagination in this book. Just the idea of methane breathers is mindblowing, but then to have a female alien as the narrator and a human stowaway creating an explosive situation was marvelous writing. The Kif are great villains as I suppose I will see in the other 4 Chanur novels. Cherryh is such a talented writer and this book was a bit lighter and faster moving than some of the Alliance-Union novels I have read. A real pleasure!
September 1, 2019
Pyanfar Chanur, captain of the merchant ship Pride of Chanur is a hani -- a vaguely leonine humanoid species, one of the seven intelligent species that form the Compact (more of a loose trading affiliation than an actual government); other species include the mahendo'sat, the stsho, the kif (altogether bad news, those) and the really exotic methane breathers: knnn, t'ca and chi. Pyanfar's ship is docked at Meetpoint Station (the central location where, true to its name, the Compact species come together to trade) when her ship is invaded by a heretofore unknown sapient being captured by, tortured by, and fled from the kif: A naked, pink-skinned being who says his name is "Tully" and his species is "human". And what the kif have lost, they most very definitely want back -- a new intelligent species could offer untold possibilities for trade (or, perhaps, exploitation of a more nefarious sort) to the ones who can establish communication (or, perhaps, torture the location of its homeworld out of it). Thus begins a chain of events that will send ripples (and casualties and destroyed ships) across the whole of the Compact; while at the same time, there's trouble afoot at the Chanur holdings on their homeworld, Anuurn ...
This was probably the first, second or third Cherryh book I read (it may or may not have been preceded by Downbelow Station and possibly Merchanter's Luck) and it was altogether glorious! Fast-paced space opera, tense times drifting slow and dark in a dust & debris-filled system with only the occasional scrape of some bit of rock on the outer hull for company, negotiations and misdirections in station offices, and entirely scrupulous with the viewpoint -- we never get inside Tully's head; we see him only through Chanur eyes. In fact, although it's third-person, Pyanfar is the only viewpoint character.
Highly, highly recommended.
This was probably the first, second or third Cherryh book I read (it may or may not have been preceded by Downbelow Station and possibly Merchanter's Luck) and it was altogether glorious! Fast-paced space opera, tense times drifting slow and dark in a dust & debris-filled system with only the occasional scrape of some bit of rock on the outer hull for company, negotiations and misdirections in station offices, and entirely scrupulous with the viewpoint -- we never get inside Tully's head; we see him only through Chanur eyes. In fact, although it's third-person, Pyanfar is the only viewpoint character.
Highly, highly recommended.
Read
January 21, 2021DNF at 40%. I enjoyed the appendix more, which describes the aliens, compared with the rest of the book. The writing is stilted, the space tech stuff vaguely confusing, and we spent too much time in the MC's head including when she bathed and putting clothes or whatever. Seriously, I felt like I was reading David Weber's stuff, though not as annoying.
The premise of making a human the alien and having an alien POV was actually interesting but I can't handle the boring plot despite several attempts. Anyway, since I previously DNFed Foreigner, I guess Cherryh's writing and I are not meant to be. YMMV
The premise of making a human the alien and having an alien POV was actually interesting but I can't handle the boring plot despite several attempts. Anyway, since I previously DNFed Foreigner, I guess Cherryh's writing and I are not meant to be. YMMV
February 22, 2022
“I’ve gotten into a larger game than I planned, and there’s no going home until we’ve gotten it straightened out. How we do that is another question, because the kif know our name.”
A fun human-as-the-alien science fiction space opera. Modern SF writers should read this forty year old classic. Protagonist is no superhero, but keeps plugging away to defend family, crew and what she thinks is right. In the end, the stakes and the odds become higher than she imagined.
‘He, Hilfy insisted at every opportunity. Her first voyage, a tragic (and safely unavailable) alien prince. Adolescence.’
A more realistic take on faster-than-light jumps: physical and psychological consequences. The physics takes some puzzling out because Cherryh doesn’t dump the data. Even invented a system of expletives.
‘They rode the odds; they came in like a shot, counting on statistics and blind luck and traffic being exactly where it ought: one could do that a few times in a lifetime and not run out of luck.’
A fun human-as-the-alien science fiction space opera. Modern SF writers should read this forty year old classic. Protagonist is no superhero, but keeps plugging away to defend family, crew and what she thinks is right. In the end, the stakes and the odds become higher than she imagined.
‘He, Hilfy insisted at every opportunity. Her first voyage, a tragic (and safely unavailable) alien prince. Adolescence.’
A more realistic take on faster-than-light jumps: physical and psychological consequences. The physics takes some puzzling out because Cherryh doesn’t dump the data. Even invented a system of expletives.
‘They rode the odds; they came in like a shot, counting on statistics and blind luck and traffic being exactly where it ought: one could do that a few times in a lifetime and not run out of luck.’
January 5, 2021
The Pride of Chanur is my first Cherryh and I must say, I enjoyed myself a lot. I'm most impressed by Cherryh's aliens and their societies. They're truly alien, and have been rendered with care.
The Pride of Chanur combines space opera with hard science fiction and focuses on the ramification of first contact.
Female characters take centre stage, and Cherryh's prose flows beautifully.
Overall, I'd say this is a 3.5 stars, and I'm very interested in reading her Foreigner series after this one.
The Pride of Chanur combines space opera with hard science fiction and focuses on the ramification of first contact.
Female characters take centre stage, and Cherryh's prose flows beautifully.
Overall, I'd say this is a 3.5 stars, and I'm very interested in reading her Foreigner series after this one.
June 1, 2014
Mada sam ovo pročitao 1988 u izdanju Mladosti na upis me potaklo svježe izdanje Algoritma, posebice jer vidim da su namjerili izdati i ostale iz serije.
Kako se radi o vrhunskoj space-operi preporuka svim SF-ljupcima.
Jedna od rjeđih knjiga gdje se Zemljani nađu kao slučajni "alieni" u tuđem, izuzetno fascinantnom svijetu.
Za ostatak prikaza posuđujem riječi kolege:
------------------
Fascinantno je ono što je u stanju smisliti ženski mozak.
Ako ste čitali Bujoldicinog Milesa vidjeli ste hrpu raznih civilizacija no ono što je smislila
C.J.Cherryh je daleko luđe.
Labava trgovačka zajednica nazvana Kompakt sa hrpom neobičnih vrsta sposobnih za svemirske letove.
Zajednička trgovačka postaja - Sastajalište - pod dvojnom upravom. Zašto?
Ne "snifaju" sve rase isto:
Kisikaši:
------------
Hani - doslovno prave mačke, lavolike, grivaste s pandžama, matrijarhat - samo žene u svemiru.
Mahendo'sat - smeđi ili crni primati oko ljudske veličine ili veći. Znatiželjni, inventivni i politički orijentirani.
Stsho - lomljivi blijedoliki "jahači" , ksenofobni i neagresivni. Imaju tri roda gtst, gtste i gtsto koji se mijenjaju pod stresom.
Kif - ovi su najgadniji, najviši, predatori s dva reda zubi (jedni čupaju, drugi žvaču). Agresivni i smrtonosni,
trebaju živi plijen.
Metanci:
-----------
Tc'a i Chi - Tc'a su velika žuta, petooka, crvolika stvorenja. Ne zna se točan odnos dvije vrste no pretpostavlja se simbioza. Izuzetno tehnički napredni i moćni no obzirom da imaju višestruke mozgove i komuniciraju u matricama vrlo ih je teško (nemoguće) shvatiti. Uvijek upravljaju metanskim dijelovima svemirskih postaja.
Bilo bi zanimljivo vidjeti kako izgledaju planete naziva V'n'n'u, Tt'a'va'o ili Chchchah.
Knnn - višenožna kosata čuda. Tehnološki najnaprednija vrsta Kompakta. Samo Tc'a mogu komunicirati s njima
(ili samo tako tvrde). Knnni su potpuno nerazumljivi ostalima te ih se nastoji ne provocirati. Trguju tako da uzmu što god im je zanimljivo i ostave ono što misle da je kompenzacija (što je značajan napredak na raniji
običaj samo uzimanja trgovačkih brodova). Jedini razumiju hipersvemir kako spada.
I tu su, naravno, ljudi koji imaju sreću da ih pronađe jedan Kif princ i posluži se prvim istraživačkim ljudskim brodom pa se stvari debelo zakuhaju kada jedini preživjeli čovjek pobjegne i zatraži utočište kod...
Jedini problem u svemu do sada je prijevod samo prve knjige Chanur sage, da se ne spominje ostatak opusa izuzetno kvalitetne SF & F autorice.
No to vas ne smije omesti da uživate u prvom nastavku odlične space opere koje su prilično rijetke u ovako kvalitetnoj izvedbi.
--------------------
tko imalo uživa u space operi obvezno čitati!
Kako se radi o vrhunskoj space-operi preporuka svim SF-ljupcima.
Jedna od rjeđih knjiga gdje se Zemljani nađu kao slučajni "alieni" u tuđem, izuzetno fascinantnom svijetu.
Za ostatak prikaza posuđujem riječi kolege:
------------------
Fascinantno je ono što je u stanju smisliti ženski mozak.
Ako ste čitali Bujoldicinog Milesa vidjeli ste hrpu raznih civilizacija no ono što je smislila
C.J.Cherryh je daleko luđe.
Labava trgovačka zajednica nazvana Kompakt sa hrpom neobičnih vrsta sposobnih za svemirske letove.
Zajednička trgovačka postaja - Sastajalište - pod dvojnom upravom. Zašto?
Ne "snifaju" sve rase isto:
Kisikaši:
------------
Hani - doslovno prave mačke, lavolike, grivaste s pandžama, matrijarhat - samo žene u svemiru.
Mahendo'sat - smeđi ili crni primati oko ljudske veličine ili veći. Znatiželjni, inventivni i politički orijentirani.
Stsho - lomljivi blijedoliki "jahači" , ksenofobni i neagresivni. Imaju tri roda gtst, gtste i gtsto koji se mijenjaju pod stresom.
Kif - ovi su najgadniji, najviši, predatori s dva reda zubi (jedni čupaju, drugi žvaču). Agresivni i smrtonosni,
trebaju živi plijen.
Metanci:
-----------
Tc'a i Chi - Tc'a su velika žuta, petooka, crvolika stvorenja. Ne zna se točan odnos dvije vrste no pretpostavlja se simbioza. Izuzetno tehnički napredni i moćni no obzirom da imaju višestruke mozgove i komuniciraju u matricama vrlo ih je teško (nemoguće) shvatiti. Uvijek upravljaju metanskim dijelovima svemirskih postaja.
Bilo bi zanimljivo vidjeti kako izgledaju planete naziva V'n'n'u, Tt'a'va'o ili Chchchah.
Knnn - višenožna kosata čuda. Tehnološki najnaprednija vrsta Kompakta. Samo Tc'a mogu komunicirati s njima
(ili samo tako tvrde). Knnni su potpuno nerazumljivi ostalima te ih se nastoji ne provocirati. Trguju tako da uzmu što god im je zanimljivo i ostave ono što misle da je kompenzacija (što je značajan napredak na raniji
običaj samo uzimanja trgovačkih brodova). Jedini razumiju hipersvemir kako spada.
I tu su, naravno, ljudi koji imaju sreću da ih pronađe jedan Kif princ i posluži se prvim istraživačkim ljudskim brodom pa se stvari debelo zakuhaju kada jedini preživjeli čovjek pobjegne i zatraži utočište kod...
Jedini problem u svemu do sada je prijevod samo prve knjige Chanur sage, da se ne spominje ostatak opusa izuzetno kvalitetne SF & F autorice.
No to vas ne smije omesti da uživate u prvom nastavku odlične space opere koje su prilično rijetke u ovako kvalitetnoj izvedbi.
--------------------
tko imalo uživa u space operi obvezno čitati!
November 23, 2020
This is an old series that came out when I was a kid. I enjoyed it and have the series in my home library. It had been a few years since I had last read the books, so I decided to pick the first one up again. It is a pretty easy read, and nothings super dense. The science fiction is pretty real, in regards to potential velocities and travel between the stars, travel in a solar system, communication over vast distances, etc. What I most enjoyed about the series is how each of the major races that we meet from the different star systems, have a well developed sense of culture, language and beliefs.
The Hani, the cat people you see on the cover, are the main focus. They have a very well developed way of acting and thinking that is totally realistic when you look at lions and your basic house cats. They meet the first human and we get into the whole issue of trying to figure out what he is thinking and saying due to language barriers. They are also trying to keep him alive while being chased by a race, the Kif, who had captured and tortured him in the first place before he escaped.
OK, enough of the plot, back to the character development. You get a ton of more cultural development on top of the main character development. She really worked out things down to the type of clothes they wear, how they talk and think, everything. That made it an enjoyable book to read.
If you are looking for a new, easy read series, I would suggest this one. I am sure there are people who will not enjoy it too much. But if you like some good and new takes on alien species and politics, this is the one for you.
October 30, 2007
An old favorite. Cherryh has an amazing ability to craft cultures that are both believable and completely alien. It's fun to get inside the head of the cat-like hani, because they don't think like a human, but nevertheless finds themselves having to deal with one. That outsider's view of our species is a refreshing twist. The other races are unique and fascinating in their own rights, even though I have a perverse soft spot for the cold-blooded kif. More than enough alien psychology, Machiavellian politics, and culture shock to keep things interesting.
December 11, 2019
The Pride of Chanur is the introduction to the fascinating Compact, a part of the Alliance-Union universe. The Compact is a trade agreement and region of space occupied by seven of the most unique and compelling alien species in writing. The story is a somewhat shallow space opera from the perspective of a space lion, but it is serviceable and establishes this fantastic setting.
As I said, the plot is pretty basic. The good guys save a prisoner from the bad guys, and desperately try to outrun the bad guys to safety. Once there, the good guys must defend their home from the bad guys. This plot may be simple, but it provides plenty of action and suspense. I was personally satisfied with the story. In fact, I only noticed the simplicity of the plot in retrospect.
The more important part of The Pride of Chanur by far is the setting. The Compact is literally a trade agreement among seven species, but it also generally refers to the region of space occupied by those species. Four of those species breathe oxygen - hani, kif, mahendo’sat, and stsho - and three breathe methane - t’ca, chi, and knnn. These aliens are all unique and interesting. I would say they are among the most memorable aliens in fiction. (My favorite are probably the t’ca, yellow serpentine aliens with six brains that speak in matrices.) The species have complex relationships and various motivations, creating opportunities for conflict and drama. The Compact was a nice change of pace from the Federation style societies or military alliances I see much more often. Exploring the Compact alone was worth the time.
The Pride of Chanur has a few outstanding strengths. It is a rare story from a nonhuman perspective. The entire story is told in third person close from the perspective of the hani Pyanfar. It actually feels like she has an inhuman psychology, and I LOVE speculation about alternative intelligences. Not just is the story told from an alien perspective, but the reader gets to see a human from through alien eyes. The Pride of Chanur is also a space opera that cares more about economics and culture than military action. I liked that approach a lot. Cherryh created a setting with uncommon amount of depth and detail.
I am glad my science fiction book club chose The Pride of Chanur. I may never have gotten to it on own, and that would have been a shame. Now I am eager to continue the Chanur novels, and the wider Alliance-Union universe as a whole.
CHARACTER LIST (abridged)
As I said, the plot is pretty basic. The good guys save a prisoner from the bad guys, and desperately try to outrun the bad guys to safety. Once there, the good guys must defend their home from the bad guys. This plot may be simple, but it provides plenty of action and suspense. I was personally satisfied with the story. In fact, I only noticed the simplicity of the plot in retrospect.
The more important part of The Pride of Chanur by far is the setting. The Compact is literally a trade agreement among seven species, but it also generally refers to the region of space occupied by those species. Four of those species breathe oxygen - hani, kif, mahendo’sat, and stsho - and three breathe methane - t’ca, chi, and knnn. These aliens are all unique and interesting. I would say they are among the most memorable aliens in fiction. (My favorite are probably the t’ca, yellow serpentine aliens with six brains that speak in matrices.) The species have complex relationships and various motivations, creating opportunities for conflict and drama. The Compact was a nice change of pace from the Federation style societies or military alliances I see much more often. Exploring the Compact alone was worth the time.
The Pride of Chanur has a few outstanding strengths. It is a rare story from a nonhuman perspective. The entire story is told in third person close from the perspective of the hani Pyanfar. It actually feels like she has an inhuman psychology, and I LOVE speculation about alternative intelligences. Not just is the story told from an alien perspective, but the reader gets to see a human from through alien eyes. The Pride of Chanur is also a space opera that cares more about economics and culture than military action. I liked that approach a lot. Cherryh created a setting with uncommon amount of depth and detail.
I am glad my science fiction book club chose The Pride of Chanur. I may never have gotten to it on own, and that would have been a shame. Now I am eager to continue the Chanur novels, and the wider Alliance-Union universe as a whole.
CHARACTER LIST (abridged)
May 24, 2017
This book has been on my radar for a long time . . . probably since it was actually written. I've picked it up a few times and been unable to get into it. Along came a sci-fi pick it for me challenge - and it was picked. I was intrigued enough to pick it up again.
The beginning was a little rough. The language is quite stilted and the story is sometimes hard to follow. I believe this is intentional - we are, after all, in the head of an alien. To further this . . . uncomfortableness . . . we have alien races and names that are very hard to pronounce and separate. There are lots of K's and H's in this world. Also, while I typically despise desriptive text, I'm not sure I actually have a feel for what each race looked like or how they were different. Combined, it makes the story hard to follow - not only can we not pronounce the names, we don't recognize them, and they are hard to differentiate.
Despite this - and I do believe it is the story's biggest flaw - I persevered. Probably the challenge in the back of my brain. And, the buddy read. I did really like Pyanfur and I really appreciated her concern for her crew, her race, and her word. I struggled to define exactly what the responsibilities were for each member of the crew - and all except Hilfy seemed to blend together. The evil Kif (whose name I cannot duplicate here), who killed needlessly and wantonly, and Pyanfur and Tully were basically the only characters who stood out and became memorable to me. Pyanfur - if for no other reason than the only "P" name in the book.
Even with all that, I kept reading and enjoyed the plot of the story - yes, even with the things that made it hard for me to follow. I was quite intrigued with Pyanfur's care and concern for Tully. And her determination to see him safe.
But. Then we hit the last 15%. Where the feministic streak hit hard. This is where Ms. Cherryh lost me. The gender roles in the Hani society were very strictly defined because one gender was defined by its emotions and the other was not. I do believe, in the conclusion, that there was an attempt to say it didn't have to be. But, it was faint of heart. Instead of saying that all genders should work together, we still have roles defined by gender.
Now. I realize this was written in 1982. It is, indeed, a product of the times. When science fiction with strong women were hard to find. I also think the names and descriptions and what not are a function of the times. It is interesting to see the changes in the genre in the last 35 years - some for the better, some for the worse. The genre seems to now be overwhelmed with strong women. That is likely a good thing.
Ultimately, I am unlikely to continue the series. Mostly because reviews on the next books are not favorable. And, that last 15% of the story. I like where this one ended. I think I will stop there.
The beginning was a little rough. The language is quite stilted and the story is sometimes hard to follow. I believe this is intentional - we are, after all, in the head of an alien. To further this . . . uncomfortableness . . . we have alien races and names that are very hard to pronounce and separate. There are lots of K's and H's in this world. Also, while I typically despise desriptive text, I'm not sure I actually have a feel for what each race looked like or how they were different. Combined, it makes the story hard to follow - not only can we not pronounce the names, we don't recognize them, and they are hard to differentiate.
Despite this - and I do believe it is the story's biggest flaw - I persevered. Probably the challenge in the back of my brain. And, the buddy read. I did really like Pyanfur and I really appreciated her concern for her crew, her race, and her word. I struggled to define exactly what the responsibilities were for each member of the crew - and all except Hilfy seemed to blend together. The evil Kif (whose name I cannot duplicate here), who killed needlessly and wantonly, and Pyanfur and Tully were basically the only characters who stood out and became memorable to me. Pyanfur - if for no other reason than the only "P" name in the book.
Even with all that, I kept reading and enjoyed the plot of the story - yes, even with the things that made it hard for me to follow. I was quite intrigued with Pyanfur's care and concern for Tully. And her determination to see him safe.
But. Then we hit the last 15%. Where the feministic streak hit hard. This is where Ms. Cherryh lost me. The gender roles in the Hani society were very strictly defined because one gender was defined by its emotions and the other was not. I do believe, in the conclusion, that there was an attempt to say it didn't have to be. But, it was faint of heart. Instead of saying that all genders should work together, we still have roles defined by gender.
Now. I realize this was written in 1982. It is, indeed, a product of the times. When science fiction with strong women were hard to find. I also think the names and descriptions and what not are a function of the times. It is interesting to see the changes in the genre in the last 35 years - some for the better, some for the worse. The genre seems to now be overwhelmed with strong women. That is likely a good thing.
Ultimately, I am unlikely to continue the series. Mostly because reviews on the next books are not favorable. And, that last 15% of the story. I like where this one ended. I think I will stop there.
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