Product Description
75th Anniversary Edition! Among the best-written and most emotionally complex stories of the Pulp Era, the tales of intergalactic smuggler Northwest Smith still resonate strongly 75 years after their first publication. From the crumbling temples of forgotten gods on Venus to the seedy pleasure halls of old Mars, Northwest Smith blazes a trail through the underbelly of the solar system in 13 action-packed stories you won't soon forget. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

One of the true greats
Northwest Smith is one of the true greats of science-fiction characters, he's archetypal. That said, there are some people who will not appreciate these tales as much as I (and a lot of others) do. I wish I could say it would be a good read for everyone, sadly this is not the case.

That being said however, for the right person, these are truly gemstones of fabulous value. The tales are written in a style that is regrettably no longer seen, a pulp-Lovecraftian style that is heavy on detail, nameless horror and sensual description. If you are a fan of Lovecraft you'll probably enjoy this, if you either don't know or don't have strong feelings for HPL, I think that a good number of the stories will still be interesting and fun to read. If you hate Lovecraft, you'd probably be better to get your hands on the paper copy, scan-read a few pages and see if there is still something there that will catch your interest. It's worth the effort.

If there is a major problem however, it is in the repetition of the basic plotlines. Many of the other reviewers have noted that there is a kind of pattern to the stories, and I'm not going to say there isn't. This is probably the thing I like least about the series myself. In a way, this phenomenon is a "nature of the beast" thing, the common problem of the era in which it was written. That's not a cop-out, while the story structures may have some similarities, the description and the "meat" of them are still worthy of delving into. Think of them as variations of a theme. So even with that caveat, I recommend these tales highly and have bought more than one as a gift for some of my friends with similar tastes to my own.

Gothic tales on other planets
WARNING: Mild spoilers follow.

After reading about the works of C.L. Moore in a thoroughly obsolete but ceaselessly readable and still useful s-f guide, I found the prospect of reading her fiction intriguing enough to purchase this collection. The resulting experience was highly rewarding...and very surprising.I was enthralled by Moore's powers of description, engaged emotionally by her plot developments, and bedazzled by her settings.

The problem with this omnibus is its misleading presentation.Northwest Smith, the protagonist of these unscientific science fiction stories, is referred to as "the archetype of Indiana Jones," as if he stars in manly adventures brimming with heroic rescues, deadly battles, and hidden treasure.Neither the product description nor the introduction by C.J. Cherryh provides any indication that the book contains *horror* stories that happen to be set in otherworldly locales, and that Moore took more inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft (with whom she corresponded frequently) than Edgar Rice Burroughs.Moore's prose style is Lovecraftian as well; the emphasis is on atmosphere rather than action.To expect page-turning feats here would be foolish.With that in mind, the style works in the stories' favor.The prose's almost invariably sensual nature adds much to grip the reader's attention, and helps to further shock the reader at the inevitable disruption of coziness--these *are* horror stories, after all.My vote for the scariest tale goes to "Yvala."

Moreover, these stories are far less heteronormative than one might expect for fiction from the 1930s.Femmes fatale frequently dominate the gruff, muscular protagonist, both in body and mind--an element that Lovecraft never would have considered.Meanwhile, the male space vampire in "Black Thirst" does not confine his beauty-lust to women.I also find it refreshing to know that shopping is Smith's favorite pastime, which serves as the impetus for the ghastly events in "Scarlet Dream" (not a story to read when one is ill).

In summary, I highly recommend this collection.Moore, in addition to being influenced by HPL, was probably fond of DRACULA and THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (Smith's amoral Venusian sidekick resembles the title character almost perfectly).If you like vintage s-f but wish the prose and plots were more similar to Gothic novels, then this is the book for you.

Jhaeman's Review
Northwest of Earth is a collection of short stories that loses by repetition. C.L. Moore published several stories in the 1930s featuring Northwest Smith and taken individually, they are quite good. The stories are infused with an unearthly, almost Lovecraftian sense of danger and decay, with writing that is evocative and atmospheric. Set in a future where other planets in the solar system have long been colonized, Northwest Smith is a grim, almost monosyllabic gun-for-hire. Although ostensibly science fiction, very little time or attention is given to the traditional trappings of the genre such as advanced technology, spacecraft, alien cultures, etc. Instead, myth, folklore, and old gods are the theme of most of these stories, which (with a couple of details changed) could easily be published as sword-and-sorcery. Moore's not even particularly interested in the type of gun Northwest carries--it's referred to variously as a "heat-gun", a "ray-gun", a "flame-gun", a "force-gun", and a "power-gun". Nor are the stories plot- or action- heavy. Exposition and imagery are the name of the game here, but Moore is a skilled enough writer that the stories hold the reader's interest: for the first time or two. Then, unfortunately, a pattern appears: Northwest Smith stumbles upon a strange, captivating woman who is alluring but dangerous; he almost falls preys to some sort of hypnotic alien threat, but his sheer force of will allows him to escape; he destroys the threat with his heat-gun and wistfully walks away. Not every story is like that in the collection, but the vast majority do follow the pattern. As originally published, months apart in magazines, this defect of repetition wouldn't be as noticeable. But collected all in one place, the stories quickly become tiresome.

Ancient evils, ray guns and iron will
Northwest of Earth
This is science fiction by way of H. P. Lovecraft, where ancient evils meet ray guns and iron will.Northwest Smith is a smuggler and outlaw adventuring through the solar system - Mars, Venus and the moons of Jupiter.He has a Venusian sidekick, Yarol, and it is never clear whether Yarol is near or part human, or something else.That doesn't really matter though, and nor does the fact we see all of one spaceship, and that while heat-guns exist, they are rarely used.

These are tales of femme fatales, forgotten gods and lost civilisations.The imagery is superb - the fall of gardens of the moon in the light of the Earth is vivid in my mind's eye.The action is there, but the real struggle is in the character's head in almost every case.

The stories are somewhat formulaic - as other reviewers have pointed out - but to an extent, that misses the point.It's the sensual, decedent prose used to tell the story that makes us read on.Its better to read only one tale at a time, putting the book aside from time to time, as this is similar to how the stories were originally read (and written) : as monthly (or so) instalments in the pulp magazines of the 1930's.

Fantasy disguised as science fiction
The name of this collection is a little confusing: this has the same title and the same main character as the anthology published by Gnome Press in the 1950s, but it is not the same book.The Gnome Press collection featured the space smuggler Northwest Smith, but also included stories about C.L.Moore's other recurrent character, the fantasy-genre warrior woman Jirel of Joiry.This Planet Stories reprint includes stories from Gnome's Shambleau and Other Stories, Gnome's Northwest of Earth, as well as various Jirel stories. (Planet Stories also publishes the Jirel tales in a reprint collection titled The Black God's Kiss).Is Northwest Smith an earlier, more remote, less exuberant version of Han Solo?Northwest is a smuggler, has an alien side kick, and a ship too fast for the trudging space patrol; definitely there are some similarities.On the other hand, Northwest's Venusian partner, Yarol, is a far quieter, more thoughtful type than Chewbacca (who seemed to be designed as sort of a humanoid golden retriever) and, more significantly, Northwest Smith does not have the kind of over-the-top action adventures we associate with Star Wars.Like Jirel, Smith's conflicts are ultimately more psychological than physical; what appear to be physical challenges usually resolve through changes in mental state.Beyond that, Northwest's universe has the trappings of science fiction, but the ambience is far more like fantasy. Blaster guns and space ships are referred to, but have a generic feel; the story is more about the sense of strangeness, the weird and exotic, often beautiful, landscapes, and the pervasive sense of dread.The villains are reminiscent of horror fantasy characters, slightly evolved into science fiction form.Sometimes this "playing against type" works well, an author writing science fiction from a fantasy mindset can produce very interesting stories.It works in this case.I recommend this book even more than the Jirel of Joiry collection. ... Read more

Product Description
The fateful meeting between the owner of a tramp star-freighter that flies the Union planets under false papers and fake names and a proud but junior member of a powerful starship-owning family leads to a record-breaking race to Downbelow Station--and a terrifying showdown at a deadly destination off the cosmic charts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Come for the space adventure, stay for the detailed descriptions of space station docking regulations
Apparently this is out of print?And four hundred fifty pages?The first is a shame and the second is definitely wrong, unless the print is gigantic, because my copy is only like three hundred.Doesn't really matter, because I actually wouldn't have minded if this was longer.

Cherryh is so good at writing aliens and their bizarre cultures that you forget her other big skill . . . detailing future human culture and the politics involved.Much of the Alliance-Union stories tend to get lumped in with the war fiction category or just ignored entirely because they aren't as flashy as the ones about the Chanur and so on, but taken as a piece they provide massively intriguing slices of what humanity might be like once we spread out to the stars and continue fighting and being petty there.

Everyone knows the big guns, your "Downbelow Station" and the later "Cyteen" and both of those are justly acknowledged classics that if you haven't read you should go do something about now.But the whole Alliance-Union setup gives Cherryh an excellent background to play out her struggles, without having to make each novel an epic affair.They're just stories about life in the future, with all that entails.

This one is a small novel about Sandor Kreja, who finds himself owning a starship after nearly his entire family is slaughtered by pirates.Some time later the other survivors are dead too and he's forced to run the starship either with single temporary crew members he doesn't trust or by himself, which isn't a great idea.Enter Allison Reilly, one of the members of the Reilly clan on the great ship Dublin Again.She's quite ambitious and doesn't feel like waiting until she's ninety years old to get an actual position of responsibility on her ship.Therefore when she runs into Sandor and they spend the night together, a futuristic lightbulb goes off in her brain and she decides to help him out.With an ulterior motive.

The neat trick that Cherryh pulls in this novel is making it a story about futuristic politics while wrapping it around a personal story of romance and learning to trust other people.Because she has the Alliance-Union setup already going full-tilt in the background, she doesn't have to explain a lot of the machinations of what everyone else is doing.It gives you a sense of a living and breathing scenario, as the stations and other ships are going about their business even as the characters go about theirs . . . and if we don't understand what's happening it's quite likely it's because the characters don't understand either.Sandor and Allison are caught up in the manipulations of the other captains, who have agendas and stories that extend beyond this book, which causes a weird perspective.For Allison and Sandor, Captain Mallory's plan more or less tries to ruin their day.For Mallory, this is just another day of attempting to achieve her own aims.But because we don't see the book from Mallory's perspective, it gives us the impression that there's a lot going on we're just not privy too.Which is both maddening and exciting, but definitely a hallmark of Cherryh's use of limited perspective.

But it's the details that make this story work, so that every gears meshes together perfectly, putting together a picture of the far future culture.The relationships between people on Dublin Again seem like logical extrapolations of what would happen if you had generations of the same family working on a giant ship.Sandor's merchanter travails and outlook, especially his fear of stations and need to fast-talk to survive, both come across as something a real person would do if put in that situation, even if that situation is nothing we're familiar with.What we see of how Pell Station works makes total sense.There's thought put into everything, even for the procedures that last only a scene.In this slim novel you get a feel for the tensions between Alliance and Union, the fallout of the events of "Downbelow Station", that a whole universe exists beyond these pages.That's talent.

And it helps that the characters are three-dimensional, a testament to Cherryh's writing.Her depiction of the deaths of Sandor's family, in limited flashback while Sandor sits alone on the ship, is both gripping and gut-wrenching, even though there's nothing you can do about it.Consequently his panic and pain, his caution and terror (and his efforts to hide that) make perfect sense.Allison's love of her family is balanced with her desire to be more than just twentieth in line for a position.The story could be just a typical romance, but winds up being a tale of how people trust each other.Even the incidental characters make an impression, from the various Reillys, to the barely glimpsed Krejas to Captain Mallory herself, fresh off "Downbelow Station" in a bit part she makes the most of.They react to this setting in ways that are realistic, and help ground the proceedings, even when you realize that's all starships and ray-guns.There's a grit to it that feels lived-in.

If there's any downside to the book, it's that it sometimes feels too slice of life, a small event happening in the background of larger ones.Cherryh's Alliance-Union setting often means that she barely bothers to use exposition to give you an idea of the background, meaning you have to work from context or just basically read everything (it helps to read "Downbelow Station" near this book, as it gives some insight to what happens here . . . I read that book when I was in college years ago and thus was rusty on some parts) and thus some of the political manuevering, or the impact of it, could be lost on you.

But those are minor complaints for a novel that manages to convey an entire science-fictional world like it could be happening now somewhere in space.This probably isn't the best place to start with the Alliance-Union stuff (that would probably be "Downbelow Station" followed by "Cyteen") but this should be very close to your next stop.

Not recommended
Pirates attack a small family owner and operated merchant ship. Eventually everyone is killed or dies except for one person Sandor Kreja. With the help of recorded instructions and by hiring an occasional crewmember he remains in the merchant trade. Being a small ship he must sometimes take on hazardous cargo or run blockades with contraband. The ships papers and finances have been doctored and Sandor must keep one step ahead of inquisitive port inspectors and the military.

During a brief layover in a foreign port he has a torrid affaire with an officer from a large merchant ship. He vows to meet her again in the next port. She shrugs off the affaire as just a pleasant one-night stand and returns to the comfort of her family owned and operated ship.

Upon arrival in the next port Sandor is apprehended and interrogated about his questionable methods and procedures. His old flame intervenes with an offer to spring him from detention if he will partner with her and other members of her family.

That is a summary of the plot. The author adds "spaceships" before merchant and the ports are on planets but this old warhorse of a plot has been run into the ground many times in the historical fiction genre.

Plowing through this book was tedious to say the least. The characters are unexciting and uninspiring and the plot, such as it is, flows like molasses in winter.

My All Time Favorite Book
Who knows why one book strikes a chord with someone, but this one is my all time favorite and having a degree in English Lit, I read a lot.I have three copies of this book because if I look for it and can't find it within a day or two I panic and buy another copy. I love many books over many genres but my heart loves this one best.

You will enjoy this story more if you have read Downbelow Station at the very least.I will admit that the first time I read it, the end was a bit fuzzy but the more often I read it the clearer the situation becomes.The more you read in Ms. Cherryh's Union/Alliance universe the easier this book is to understand.

It's a space ship story built around family merchant ships travelling between star systems and it is certainly enjoyable from that aspect.What makes the story for me is the character of the protagonist, Sandor Kreja.He is the very last of his family, running a haunted (not literally) ship all alone.When he meets Allison Reilly from a large powerful ship, he begins to dream of having a family again.He is a total underdog but the Reillys find out that when push comes to shove, he has a core of steel and all the right answers.

The Ugly Duckling
Merchanter's Luck (1982) is an SF novel in the Alliance-Union Universe.After the Company Wars, the Alliance and Union try to restore the old trade routes between their spaces.Rumors have associated Pell Station with the new routes.

In this novel, Sandor Kreja is a minor merchanter within Union space operating under false papers and a false name.His ship -- lately called the Lucy -- is really Le Cygne, an almost forgotten vessel.He docks Lucy on Viking Station and goes looking for crew to replace the man rejoining his ship at the port.He takes a few credits to buy drinks and talks to a couple of potential crewmen.Then he encounters Allison Reilly, a tall dark-haired silver-clad woman from the Dublin Again.

He loses track of his conversation and just stares at the Allison.Then she stares back briefly and walks out of the bar.Sandor pays his bill and follows her out.She isn't anywhere in sight, so he checks the adjacent bars and finds her again.They eventually go to a sleepover and slake their lust.

The next morning, Allison has to return to her ship.Sandor learns that her ship is heading to Pell Station in Alliance space and vows to meet her there.Despite being alone on a three jump route, the Lucy arrives only a couple of hours after the Dublin Again.

In this story, Sandor has his visage spread throughout Pell station.He has somehow become a popular hero.But someone makes a complaint about his past activities and the dockmaster calls him in for questioning.After discussing his reasons for coming to the station, Sandor applies for papers allowing him to trade within Alliance space.

Allison gets her ship council to agree to a deal with Sandor.They will pay loan him half a million for cargo and another hundred thousand for other expenses in return for a share of the profits.In return, Sandor will accept four crewpersons from the Dublin Again to help operate the Lucy.Naturally, Allison will be his second in command.

Sandor also has a talk with Captain Mallory -- commander of the AS Norway -- about the arrangement.She provides a briefing of the situation and replaces his intended cargo with military goods.Sandor is barely functional with Mallory, a former Mazianni captain.He keeps thinking of the Mazianni boarding party that had killed most of his family.

This tale is an early novel in the Alliance-Union series, depicting some consequences of the Company Wars.Captain Mallory from Downbelow Station has several cameo appearances in this novel, but it is by no means a sequel to the previous work.Still, this novel has much the same feel.

Highly recommended for Cherryh fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of deep space, military intrigue, and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

A Heady Brew of Paranoia, Fear, Suspicion, Paranoia, Fear, Redemption
Cherryh's Merchanter's Luck is a heady brew of (less than the endless manipulation in her novels Cyteen and Downbelow Station) paranoia, fear, suspicion, paranoia, fear, more paranoia, and eventually some sort of closing redemption.Unlike many of her other novels, this novel does not snowball out with innumerable characters but rather stays remarkably focused yet still very linked to the happenings in her Alliance-Union Universe.This focus intensifies her characters and makes the reader feel more empathy for them.

Plot Summary (Contains spoilers):
Sandor Kreja (Ed Stevens - for most of the story) is the sole owner of a small cargo transport ship with faked papers etc.Most of his family was killed off by Mazianni pirates (renegade ships once/still nominally in alliance with earth sent to reduce Earths once colonies).He falls in love with Allison, a member of the Reilley family (who own a very wealthy merchant ship with a 1,000+ people) and partially because he wanted to see her again and partially because he wanted more lucrative trading "across the line" in Alliance space he makes a voyage to the station of Pell without a crew (illegal, and very dangerous).This action arouses suspicion and we plunge into endless manipulation, paranoia, fear, and more paranoia.Allison eventually joins him (with some of her crew) to repair her ships reputation (Dublin Again) and they enter into a deal with an ex-Mazianni who turned over to the alliance (and here I will stop).

Pros of this novel:
These people are living on fragile space ships and space stations around uninhabitable planets (besides Pell) and thus they MUST be VERY careful, VERY scared of others who might shift the careful balance between survival and death, and VERY loyal to their people and families in part because they live in such close proximity.With this understood SOME of the endless fear and suspicion is justified since it is a vital and realistic component of her fragile world.Likewise, since these people live so far from others they develop unique cultures.For example, Reilley's Dublin Again merchantman is entirely matrilineal since the only way to get external blood into the ship is to have dalliances when you arrive at port.The men's children would be left at the stations and the women's born on board.Only a few people on the ship are actually not related (apparently marriage is not very prevalent in Cherryh's world).Secondly, this novel has dated VERY well - since she does not dwell so much on the exact technological details it feels modern and possible.Secondly, although the main political conflicts of her Universe are in the background of the plot they are interwoven perfectly in the views, worries, actions, and opinions of the main characters.

Cons (these only minutely detract from the novel):
The world is complicated (this is a good thing) but to remedy the problem new readers to her Universe need an introduction like the one in her Hugo winning Downbelow Station.This is simply a must!And then, I have to say there is too much unjustified paranoia.I know this is a Cherryh specialty that she perfects in her later Cyteen - but it is just TOO much and I feel that it detracts from the more interesting and human aspects of the story.

All in all, a very worthwhile read full of interesting characters, interesting worlds, interesting human cultures, and some real bite.4.25/5 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The origin of many threads in the series...
As in all the anthologies in this series, FEVER SEASON's stories are written in a braided format, so that the effect is almost seamless as the events of the book flow forward. My comments are organized more by author than by appearance in the book.

Cherryh's own story, "Fever Season", is the thread around which the others develop. There's been no Plague, only the Crud, but since Mondragon hasn't fully adapted to Merovingen's local germs, he is seriously ill. At this point in the series, the Takahashi brothers move into Mondragon's place, so that he can be cared for without publicly showing weakness.

Abbey, Lynn: "Life Assurance" - More about the Kamats, particularly Richard, beginning with lunch at the Ramsey Bell, the tavern frequented by heirs and second sons of trading houses. (As Richard's peers are mostly his father's generation, he still eats at the Bell - a fine place to pick up information.) Jordie Slade, one of Kamat's workers, has disappeared, so Richard, with a Kamat's sense of responsibility, investigates the matter personally. Eleanora, Jordie's wife (or is she a widow?), appears for the first time.

Asire, Nancy: "Night Ride" - When 6 men attack a youngster on a walkway, Justice Lee rescues the kid - who turns out to be Raj. Raj wants to know how an Adventist got into the College (no real Revenantist would get involved in a stranger's karma). He'd give anything for the College's medical training...

Fish, Leslie: "War of the Unseen Worlds" - Rif appears at Jones' tie-up to collect on her promise (see Festival Moon, "First Night Cruise") to help Rif on her next run through the city.

Lackey, Mercedes: "A Plague On Your Houses" - Raj has 2 apparently hopeless dreams - a crush on Marina Kamat, and becoming a doctor. As it happens, Raj'd be a fairly good doctor; he knows a lot of swampy herb lore...enough, maybe, to save the life of one Thomas Mondragon, if Raj can trade get the drugs he needs from the swamp.

Unfortunately, Raj leaves anonymous poems for Marina Kamat. When she catches him, she believes his 'I'm-just-a-messenger' tale - then traces him to Mondragon's place(!). The consequences of Raj's actions come home to roost in subsequent volumes.

Morris, Chris: "Hearts and Minds" - Cardinal Ito Boregy, conducting Mike Chamoun's catechism sessions, bitterly resents Cassie's betrothal to this Adventist convert. Consequently, he spices up the lessons with a 'sacrament' of hallucinogenic deathangel powder - with major consequences, as Mike apparently has visions of a past life.

Morris, Janet: "Instant Karma" - Here is the 'sharrh overflight' we hear so much about in later books, which panics the city...but are the sharrh really responsible?

The appendix on Merovingen ecology discusses Epidemiology 101 (this town is making me sick), Pharmacology 101, Aquatic Ecology 101 (what's to eat?), 102 (what's eating you?), and Oceanography 101 (whose fault is it?) ... Read more

Product Description
When those aliens entities called "humans" sent their first exploration ship into Compact space, the traditional power alliances of the seven Compact races were catastrophically disrupted. And, giving shelter to Tully, the only surviving human, Pyanfar Chanur and her feline hani crew were pitched into the center of a galactic maelstrom, becoming key players in a power game which could cause an intersteller war, or bring the last hope for peace between eight barely compatible alien races. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Chanur`s Homecoming
Hey the book was great/The seller sold me a used copy exactly as he discribed itin his ad/Used in excellent condition/Also I recieved it in good time /Great transaction

Awesome!
I think these books are AWESOME! If you like to read books with fights, advanced technology, where girls are the offworlders, then these are the books. I currently own all of the Chanur series, and they sit on the shelf with my other favorite books, redwall, ga'hoole, etc. I rate them ten out of ten!

A tour de force -- and not her first, either!
This is the fourth volume of the Chanur saga and an impressive conclusion it is, too. Again, you cannot -- repeat CANNOT -- read the four volumes out of order. It's not just a series of stories set in the same universe, it's a single huge novel sliced into four chunks for the publisher's convenience. This one opens immediately following the pause at the end of _The Kif Strike Back_, with Pyanfar Chanur and her Hani crew having been coopted by one side in the struggle between two kiffish factions, which also has swept up the Mahendo-sat (who, in their traditional and methodical way, are supporting both sides) and the newly-discovered humans (who appear to control a volume of space vaster than the entire Compact in which the Hani, the Kif, the Mahendo-sat, the Stsho (extremely wealthy but extremely xenophobic and physiologically incapable of violence), and a couple of usually incomprehensible methane-breathing species co-exist more or less successfully. Only now it appears the entire Hani home world may be devastated in a war that the "groundling" majority of Hani couldn't begun to understand. The half-dozen members of the crew (all of them cousins) come across very much as individuals, as do the other non-human characters. There are no stereotyped BEMs here. In fact, since you're seeing everything through Pyanfar's eyes, the least-clear character is that of Tully, the adopted derelict human, simply because he's extremely alien to all the others and his psychology and motivations are never really clear. Cherryh does a remarkable job with the complex plot, the almost archaeological detail in the back-story, the multidimensional characters, and the themes of progress and change.

chanur's homecoming/gift for son
My son loves it.I received it very quickly. son says it's a 5 and then some. I'll probly will read it some day. he has the series, so if he is happy withit I am happy.

Best of the lot
Of course, saying that this is the best out of the entire series really means nothing to you because this isn't a series where you can just pick and choose which books you want to read.If you don't read the two books before it (actually three, if you want to get picky, although the prelude novel is basically standalone) you are not going to have a clue about anything that's going on here.Sure, astute readers will pick it up as they go along, but it won't have the same impact without having experienced the prior novels and the events in them.But, to recap: everything is falling apart.Pyanfar and her crew are running for their lives, alliances are being formed and broken and reformed all over the place, pitting species against species, the Compact is close to breaking and above it all rests the spectre of human beings, who might appear at any moment and totally disrupt all the balances.Cherryh must have intended the three novels to stand as one because there really is no break between them, especially in the first time.The last page of one leads you right into the first page of another, but with the first two books it's breakneck and breathless.Here, at least, we finally take a moment to get a breather and get a look at what's going on.For some reason, there's a greater emotional heft in this novel, I found myself connecting to events a little better, whether that was because I was familiar enough with the characters to actually care or because things had slowed down enough that I had a chance to care.Sometimes when the action was so dense you tended to get caught up in it and forget that these were real characters you were dealing with.Here, it's hard to forget, the tone of the novel is beaten and weary, the crew of the Pride has been running around like lunatics for two books straight now and they're tired and hungry and that attitude just seeps into every page of the novel.They want to nap for a week, but they can't, because only they know what's going on and it's up to them to rescue everything.Cherryh gets a lot of credit for creating credible alien politics here, it's so smooth that you don't realize how much genius went into the creation of the various races and their mindsets, and how each one plays into their own racial traits without falling into stereotypes.Sometimes things are a little too opaque for my liking, there were a number of scenes where alliances were switching or people were debating things where it was hard to follow just what the stakes were or who had switched sides and who was with who, especially since species were betraying each other and so on.But what the story loses in coherency (and the climax is a little vague, although the epilog does pretty much redeem everything) it gains in emotional content, whether from the constant struggle of the wounded Chur to stay alive, Pyanfar and her husband finally acting like they are married (Cherryh also sprinkles in some nice flashbacks), Jik and his cool confidence being shattered, the kif finally being nice, everyone being scared out of their wits by the methane breathers, by the time you get to the end of all of this, you do feel that the truimph was earned.You may not understand exactly how it resolved but you don't get the feeling that you wasted your time either.I've commented before that I think Cherryh is vastly underrated in the annals of SF and this series only proves that if she doesn't belong on the same level as the grand masters, she's within striking distance at the very least.Also, no one else I've ever read has come as close to depicting the precise bustle of a spaceship bridge, with its clipped sentences and instantly executed orders and rapid sequences of events, as closely as she has to how it would seem in my head.The pages seem to turn themselves, the action moves so swiftly.Definitely a worthwhile series to get into if you're at all interested in SF, but please start with the Chanur Saga before coming here.You'll thank me when everything makes a lot more sense. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

If you are all out of CJ Cherryh Stories
Every other year or so I read the complete catalogue of CJ Cherryh, I guess that makes me an addict. Having run out of books before I ran out of craving I found the Book of Shai. Although Ms. Cherryh is the translator not the author, her unique style of writing shines through making this if not a great story, at least a good one. The Book of Shai begins the adventures of a young man named Shai and his companions in a future where the Earths axis has tilted and the world we know has been basically destroyed. This is a smallish novela, though not as quick a read as the size might indicate, as you have to pay close attention to follow the jumps in the story.
If unlike me you haven't already read everything else with CJ Cherryh's name on it, try one of her other stories, (Just be sure to start at the beginning of a series as her character development is always way to good to miss.)Down Below Station is as good a place as any to start as it can be seen as the introduction to the "Merchanter Universe". But if like me you just have to have more, this is a good story that you will probably enjoy. ... Read more

Product Description
They were the mri-tall, secretive, bound by honor and the rigid dictates of their society. For aeons this golden-skinned,golden-eyed race had provided the universe mercenary soldiers of almost unimaginable ability. But now the mri have faced an enemy unlike any other-an enemy whose only way of war is widespread destruction. These "humans" are mass fighters, creatures of the herb, and the mri have been slaughtered like animals.

Now, in the aftermath of war, the mri face extinction. It will be up to three individuals to save whatever remains of this devastated race: a warrior--one of the last survivors of his kind; a priestess of this honorable people; and a lone human--a man sworn to aid the enemy of his own kind. Can they retrace the galaxy-wide path of this nomadic race back through millennia to reclaim the ancient world which first gave them life?

"This is a powerful story...inspiring in its determination and feeling of strange loyalties and stranger courage. It sticks in the mind long after the last page is finished."-- Analog ... Read more

Customer Reviews (52)

Thirty years later
When going to stage manage at Ford's Theatre, in 1979, I took with me a loaned collection of C. J. Cherryh. I had no idea of what to expect.Then I started the Faded Sun trilogy, but only had the first two volumes.

When I had finished the second book I went right out to get the third! But it wasn't out, yet. This trilogy has remained through several sets of paperbacks in my collection. This specific book has gone down to a Battalion Commander at Fort Bragg. Here's looking at you, Tim!

My 2nd favorite series of all time.
This is my second favorite series of all time, and I have read A LOT of books.(My first favorite is her Chanur series) C.J. Cherryh does amazing things with both human and alien cultures.The interactions and politics are both intricate and simple.I'm on here buying a third copy.I lend this out to friends because it is one of my favorite, and they get lent to their friends and their friends until eventually, it disappears into the either.So, i buy another copy, that I will someday lend out.This is one of those books that should be sent out into the world, and I find it very satisfying when it doesn't come back.I hope I can find this available to buy years from now.

A Story that stays on in the mind long after you have finished.
I have had a love-hate relationship with the few works of C.J Cherryh that I have read so far. I have thrown away some books in utter despair and have sat tightly glued to others. This has been to my pleasure, one of the latter.

Don't expect this trilogy to be an edge-of-the-seats sci-fi. It isn't. This is a slow (not slow by today's standards), moving fantasy that gradually details and develops a world from the thoughts and actions of its characters - who belong to three separate species, and hooks the reader into yearning for their stories.

Whether you like or hate the Mri, even if you find their culture ruthless, you will still be captivated by their mystique.

Read If You Enjoy Interminable Boredom
I slogged through this book like a soldier through a field of mud up to his knees. The resulting feeling is just what you would expect; feeling exhausted and grouchy by the end. Look, the most interesting plot point actually STARTS nearly a third of the way in. Can anyone say "ouch"?

Just try to stomach the slew of painful alien names, heavy summarization of every concept one can imagine involving the lives of the mri, obsessing over each character's feelings, the incessant moping of the youngest kel, the nonexistent action... and I mean, nonexistent action.

Oh, this book is just too much. It hurts to read.Yes, I can and do enjoy a well written culture, and both mri and regul cultures are excellently envisioned.But the problem is, this doesn't feel like a story.This feels like a few hundred pages out of an encyclopedia or a National Geographic article that doesn't know when to stop.

Ms. Cherryh is a very good writer in the technical sense, but she is not a very good storyteller.It's a case of telling too much and not showing enough; it's a case of being so obsessed with the trees that one misses the forest.If you like your books slow-paced, if you enjoy reading about each character in depth, if you don't care that your plot points are few and far between... this might be your sort of book.

Preparing The Way
I read this trilogy when it first came out in the 1970's and have returned to re-read it several times since then.It does speak to me and I have found the characters and their cultures and the conflicts between their characteristic mental attitudes and philosophies has made for very interesting reading; Cherryh has created some very interesting aliens here.

Now, looking back close to 40 years and much history later, I am struck by how this trilogy and "Dune" even more so, have introduced many concepts, wordsand ways of thinking I associate with totalitarian, conservative Islam and in particular the culture of the Arab Bedouin into popular culture.If you look at "Dune" in particular, you will see that Herbert took the vast majority of the information he used to create the Freeman culture--words, concepts and attitudes--directly from Islam with little alteration; it's like Herbert just thoroughly mined "The Encyclopedia of Islam."

The popularity of the Faded Sun Trilogy and the mega-popularity of the Dune books, I believe, have made people more kindly disposed to many of these otherwise foreign and harsh concepts than they otherwise might have been. I make no claim that the authors of these two works were consciously propagandizing for Islam, I just find the way these two works in particular very quietly slid these concepts and ways of thinking into popular culture so easily very interesting.
... Read more

Product Description
Freedom was an isolated planet, off the spaceways track and rarely visited by commercial spacers. It wasn't that Freedom was inhospitable as planets go. The problem was that outsiders--tourists and traders--claimed the streets were crowded with mysterious characters in blue robes and with members of an alien species.Native-born humans, however, said that was not the case. There were no such blue-robes and no aliens.Such was the viewpoint of both Herrin the artist and Waden the autocrat--until a crisis of planetary identity forced a life-and-death confrontation between the question of reality and the reality of the question.... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great book, horrible Kindle edition
This is an excellent book... it's an unusual story by Cherryh's standards, sort of philosophical sci-fi; if you're a Cherryh fan you should certainly read it. As an introduction to Cherryh, though, I'd recommend one of her more accessible books, like Pride of Chanur.

Specifically, though, talking about the Kindle edition (as of 03 Mar 2009)... DON'T. It's a TERRIBLE copy. It reads like a totally unproofed optical scan of the book, "hurry, snap those shots and let's release this puppy." It is full of misspelled words, misplaced words, odd margins, and especially it is missing a lot of punctuation, just what you'd expect from an unproofed OCR scan of a book. I'm muddling through but I highly recommend you buy a paper copy until they redo this one, if they ever do.

A Rude Awakening
Wave Without a Shore (1981) is a standalone SF novel within the Alliance-Union Universe.It is set on the planet Freedom, where humans coexist with ahnit -- the indigenous aliens -- but have little interaction with each other.The planet is mostly agricultural, with few industries.The only spaceport is outside the town of Kierkegaard on the continent of Sartre.

In this novel, Herrin Alton Law is a gifted child -- at least according to the instructional supervisor -- who will surely go on to University in Kierkegaard.When he hears the news, the seven year old Herrin immediately feels a sense of distance from his family.This feeling is strengthened by the reaction of his family and others in his home town.

Perrin Law is his older sister, but she feels like the younger sibling after hearing about his test scores.From this moment on, Herrin is the center of the family, with Perrin relegated to the periphery.She can hardly wait until he goes off to University.

Keye Lynn is a student of ethics and soon becomes Herrin's lover.Herrin considers her probably the third most brilliant student during their time in University.Naturally, Herrin considers himself the most brilliant and Waden Jenks as the second most brilliant.

Waden is the son of First Citizen Cade Jenks, the ruler of Freedom.Waden is an indifferent student, but highly intelligent.He is still preparing himself to succeed his father.

In this story, Man is the measure of all things.Thus, the ahnit are Invisibles, unnoticed by the humans.There are also human Invisibles, who "pilfer" goods to eat and use.Even the offworlders are considered as Invisibles to most of the University trained.

University trains its students in an extreme form of self-centered philosophy.The environment is whatever one makes of it.If it is raining, the precipitation can be ignored by one strong enough.Even the offworlders can be ignored by the strong willed.

Herrin is one of the strongest in willpower.He focuses mostly on his art.Everyone else is a means to achieving his artistic expressions.

Waden thinks that he is the strongest willed, but he is not creative.He uses Herrin to produce an artistic treasure based on himself as a means of influencing future generations.Unfortunately, Herrin comes to know all his apprentices and workers on the project and they come to know him.

The structure is deliberately placed at the center of the town.The population of Kierkegaard wanders through the construction and talks to the workers.They learn that Herrin is the originator of the artform and are highly impressed.

When the sculpture is completed and opened to the public, the masses cry "Master Law" in praise of the artist.Even though a bust of Waden's head is the center of the structure, he is not pleased by Herrin's popularity.

This story is about a world that exists mostly in the imagination of the leading characters.The outsiders usually deal with the First Citizen, so the rest of the population are not annoyed by irrelevant persons.It mostly works until Herrin is confronted by things that he cannot ignore.

This tale is about human preception of reality.Everybody lives in a dream world, seeing only a distorted view of the environment.Herrin and his friends live in an extreme case of such misperceptions.

Highly recommended for Cherryh fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic societies, human perception, and artistic expression.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Subjective and Objective Reality
This is one of my all time favorites. I will admit to having to have read it several times before understanding all of the nuance. A very well written book investigating the great question of philosphy... what is truth?
A stark look at bigotry. And a clarifying look at lonliness. A novella packed with tons to think about. A book I have bought several times and given to several people. An insightful story for the manager or politition. Not a quick read, but a satisfying one.

An interesting depiction of personal philosophy realized
In an unusual plot for a science fiction genre, Cherryh portrays two friends who combat their philosophies through their creativity.One through political manipulation and the other through artistic endeavor. The depth of character development centers around the artist and hisgenius.In his effort to create an ever-more transcending sculpture, hediscovers that interpersonal relationships (through the device of aminority class race) are in an arena he has totally missed, as has the restof his society.I enjoyed this book, and have become more interested instories like it since reading it.My only problem with the book is thatits too short - not much of any aspect of the story is explored outside ofthe artist and his progression.Also, his realizations are only quicklydescribed, leaving the reader with a lot to imagine on their own.

A worthy work exploring humanity on an alligorical level.
This short novel was my first experience with the writing of C.J. Cherryh.It explores modern philosophy in a realm that allows readers to look at andconsider how we feel, what we think, who we allow to lead. It's not yourregular science fiction story, but considering that I have a library ofCherryh's works after reading this (and an Amazon associate page devoted tothis author) you can tell that I was impressed. It is well worth reading ... Read more

Product Description
Scattered about the galaxy were the time-space, gates of a vanished alien race. Long before the rise of the native civilizations, they had terrorized a hundred worlds--not from villainy but from folly. Now the task was to destroy their potency for mischief. This is the story of one such Gate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Odd beginning but it gets better.
The Gates of Ivrel started strange.It is written from the perspective of the Hindu Culture.It is confusing with references to Hindu gods and goddesses that are bewildering to someone who is not of that culture.If you stay with the book until the 3 or 4th chapter, the story and the characters become interesting.By the end of the book you are hooked. I ended up having a deep desire to continue with the main characters in the next of the Morgaine Cycle.While the book is no epic along the line of Tolkien, it is a great read.

Great Beginning to a Fascinating Fantasy
I purchased this book in the late mid-1980's after the fourth book in the series came out - Exile's Gate - which I had bought, knowing nothing of the author, but liking the cover to it.I wanted to start the story at the beginning and it turned out to be a good idea.On the first read, Ivrel will probably seem fairly basic, but it sets up the characters for what happens later, in Azeroth and Exile.I like to think of the first three books in the series as one whole book (and its published in an omnibus that way too)because there are some story lines that don't get resolved until Azeroth.

Ivrel starts with a shocking event: Vanye has killed his oldest brother in self-defense and his father exiles him.Vanye grew up being teased excessively/tortured by his two brothers.He is the illigitimate son of a captive - a high-born woman who was kidnapped from her clan and raped, she died soon after he was born.

Two years after his exile, Vanye is camped at a lesser Gate, and he is remembering the myths of Morgaine, the witch-woman who betrayed thousands of men into a Gate (and to their deaths, everyone believes).When he kills a deer and it stumbles into the lesser Gate and Morgaine herself rides out on her horse, he is shocked.No less than she is, for a hundred years have past since she went into the Gate (she's been in suspension), as she learns from Vanye.

He is sworn to serve her and he hates it.But she needs him to guide her through his world to achieve her mission - the destruction of the main Gate, so that none others can pass through it and warp time and space.

One of the first places they come to is his mother's people's clan - the Chyya.Here they meet his cousin Roh, a leader and close to Vanye's own age and appearance.This is one of the best and most heartbreaking parts of the book.Roh confronts Vanye several times in one evening and in the last he tells Vanye to come back to Chya when he is finished with Morgaine and her mission.He is offering a home to Vanye who never really had one.

But it is not to be.The forces that Morgaine sweeps up in her wake descend on the Chya and destroy them and a vengence-filled Roh follows Vanye and Morgaine and he meets a horrible fate.If he had died that would be one thing, but what happens to him is so much worse than that.

When I first read this as a teenager I found it hard to get passed Vanye's negative opinion of his own abilities.But I've realized in rereading the series lately, that he doesn't see himself as he is.There are many people who try to follow and help Morgaine in all four books, and they always do poorly.

Vanye is quite successful at getting her what she needs, protecting her from others, protecting others from her at moments of extreme anger, and at respecting what she is, even the part of her she rarely shows - the young, sometimes vulnerable woman, who hates that she must sometimes kill innocent people to achieve her goal.He tries to make her burdens less, and after several books she learns to trust him to do that.Personally I love Vanye, but it took me reading all the books to get there.

As a writer I consider this book an excellent template on how to write fantasy.There is not one erroneous word, or self-indulgent scene.The book is maybe 170 pages, and the complicated rituals, people, history and beliefs are so simply explained that the reader DOESN'T have to wade through pages of meaningless explanation that would drag the story down. Probably her original drafts of this novel were 3 or 4 hundred pages long, but it didn't need to be did it?

My recommendation is for new readers to READ ALL FOUR NOVELS before deciding if they like the series or not.This is the tip of the iceberg, people, you MUST read all of the books to understand where the story is going and why.

Warning - negative review
I forced myself to read the whole thing, because I really wanted to write this review after the 3rd chapter.But it's totally not worth reading for pleasure.

The whole setup is a lousy piece of infodump.Obviously an attempt to set a swords & sorcery novel in the greater context of a scifi universe (nothing like keeping your sequel options open, eh?), but it's conveniently forgotten except for lip-service references here and there throughout the rest of the book, and then magically there at the end.

The presentation is very uneven.The middle of the book is not a bad journey/adventure story, except that the hero really seems to have a knack of getting himself captured with great frequency.In fact, Morgaine really could've chosen a better native guide.The first and last two chapters, however, are terrible.

The secret of the gates, how they are used to prolong life, is of course never explained.There is some *science* behind it, and by *science* I mean *magic*.How the gates can be used to transfer consciousness is just another example of the sort of throw-everything-in-and-see-how-it-works mentality that permeates the whole novel.It's depressing to learn there were 2 or 3 more "Morgaine novels".Yuck.

But the worst part of the book is this:ludicrous misuse of the singular informal objective pronoun "thee".Does Cherryh even understand English?Obviously supposed to impart the archaic nature of Morgaine's speech, but it's used completely incorrectly as the nominative form over and over throughout the book (ever heard of "thou", Ms. Cherryh?).It's awful, and I cannot believe it made it past the editors.Cropping up as it does an average of about once per page, it's truly horrendous.

I've only ever read 2 other Cherryh books: Paladin and Hammerfall, the Dune knock-off, and they're both just as lousy (and full of plot holes you could drive a truck through) as this one.Too bad she was so prevalent in the early days of DAW - I'll probably end up with more of this kind of drek.

A major work by a major writer (when she cares to be)
After her two "Hanan Rebellion" novels, the Morgaine trilogy, of which this is the first volume, was Cherryh's first major project. It's the story of Vanye, bastard half-brother of the heir to Morija, whom he kills in self-defense and finds himself outlawed as punishment. Now an "ilin," a warrior without a clan or anything else to protect him, he is subject to Claiming by any lord who claims to put him under obligation for the period of a year. But Vanye, barely alive on a frozen mountainside, meets Morgaine as she exits a Gate -- only a short time, subjectively, after she entered it, but more than a century has passed by Vanye's calendar. Morgaine's task, as the last survivor of a party sent out by the Science Bureau, is to close the Gates all across the universe, to prevent a time-change enacted in the ancient past from destroying the present and the future. All the story is told, though, from Vanye's POV, so it has more of magic to it than science as he tries to understand what's happening. And it's a chase story from the first page, with Morgaine and Vanye, now bound to her to what he expects to be his death, forcing their way through a series of clan-chiefdoms as they try to reach the mountain upon which stands the Master Gate. Honor is a major force in this world and Vanye suffers greatly because of it, trying to balance the needs and demands of his "liyo," Morgaine, his remaining half-brother, whom he crippled, and his cousin, lord of another territory nearby. Even this early in her career, Cherryh was a master at spinning a magical narrative and dialogue, and you will want to have the other two volumes of the trilogy close to hand before you finish this one.

A Classic!
This is one of the small handfull of books which I have kept for years (decades?) and read repeatedly.It hovers just below THE LORD OF THE RINGS on the scale of great sci-fi/fantasy.Nobody who has read this book on my recommendation has been anything less than 100% pleased.Including my Mom.

Though this is the first of a series, it stands well on its own -- perfection just as it is.A real classic which can be read by people who don't usually read or like sci-fi.Loan it to your own Mom after you are finished and you will see.

The "heroine" is a traveler through space and time named Morgaine.But the entire tale is from the point of view of Vanye, a youth from a primitive and superstitious warrior culture who regards Morgaine as a witch.He is forced by a sacred oath to serve her, even though he believes that serving a witch will cost him his soul -- a LITERAL "Damned-If-I-Do and Damned-If-I-Don't" situation.

The book is science fiction, but reads like sword and sorcery, because that is how Vanye sees the world.He is a wonderful character, probably one of the BEST CHARACTERS EVER CREATED, imho.Cherryh's gift for realisticly portraying the psychology of a superstitious, obsessive, highly traumatized, warrior-caste teenager is so spot-on it is almost creepy.Morgaine isn't too shabby either.

Give it a try.I tell people to read the first three pages of Chapter One.That is all it takes to get them hooked.

Oh, and don't be misled by the the cover art.This isn't remotely cheese-cakey.The heroine wears clothes and everything.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Completed set
I purchased this book to complete the set of Merovingen Nights series.The book is in great condition.I am glad I was able to find and purchase the book.It came in a timely manner, and was packaged well.It makes a great addition to my CJ Cherryh collection.

i love the whole series
She is the best when it comes to intrigue and high drama and Endgame has it all.the only thing i wish is for more information on all the characters as far as what ahppen to them after all hell broke loose.I love a writer that can make a reader feel the intensity of the characters and Cherryh has done it well.Endgame is a good conclusion for a great series and like her other series Foreigner, i hope someday she will expand on the adventures of Merovin.

A smashing conclusion to the series
My only quibble with this book is that I want to know what happened next!

As with the other anthologies in the series, this is written in a braided format, with a nearly seamless flow of events from story to story. The Kamat family is particularly interesting; the policies set down by Hosni, the founder of the clan, keep their resources so spread out and diversified that they can survive anything - maybe even a second Scouring.

The 3 contenders for inheriting the governorship, Mikhail, Tatiana, and Anastasi, finally enter into open conflict, in the wake of an assassination attempt on Mikhail.

The stories below are listed in alphabetical order, rather than in the order in which they appear, to make this review easier to read.

Abbey, Lynn "Once Was Enough" - This is the byword of Richard Kamat's circle of hightown friends - that one Scouring was enough. Kamat has actually gone so far as to install radio transmitters back on Uncle Bosnou's stancia and in Richard's office on the Isle - the most forbidden of technology, since it might attract the attention of the sharrh.

Asire, Nancy "Bookworms" - Raj and Justice, as trusted students at the College, have access to the restricted volumes of the library. Since the Librarian is one of the priests who have vanished without explanation during the Bloody Cardinal's rise to power, no official notice of the many volumes disappearing from the restricted area is taken. They're better than cash, anywhere other than Merovingen, but infinitely dangerous in this Revenantist city.

Asire, Nancy "Family Ties" - Father Rhajmurti finally faces Justice with the truth about his parentage, since he will not let Justice or his 'aunt' (actually, Justice's mother) be caught in the coming upheavals of Merovingen. Meanwhile, Sonja Keisel's parents have been taken in for one of the Bloody Cardinal's little talks, since her mother has trading ties with Nev Hettek.

Cherryh, C.J. "Endgame" - Chance has been holding Mondragon prisoner for weeks now; dangerous for both of them, since Karl Fon back in Nev Hettek can never trust *anyone* who's had a chance to interrogate Mondragon at length. Jones, meanwhile, is working on getting him out without bringing the building down on top of him (firing the embassy has crossed her mind).

Lackey, Mercedes: "Proving Ground" - Marina Kamat's daughter (legally, also Raj's daughter, since they're contract-wed) has been kidnapped straight out of the Kamat nursery. Raj's best hope of finding his daughter is that she's colicky today - and that when she wakes up, the kidnapper won't have any more luck quieting her than her nurse did. We see more of Kat Bolado here, as she helps Raj search.

Morris, Janet & Chris "Escape from Merovingen - Act One: The Fool Must Die" - Finally, someone (the Sword of God, trying to destabilize Merovingen) tries to assassinate Mikhail, heir to the governorship and the most incompetent of the 3 siblings vying for power. The attempt touches off massive riots, and many hightown families flee the city for their country estates. Chance Magruder, though, has experience in riding the waves of revolution.

Morris, Janet & Chris "Escape from Merovingen - Act Two: Escape from Merovingen" - The Nev Hettek embassy attempts to flee Merovingen. We finally conclude the stories of Mike Chamoun, Sword agent married into House Boregy, and of Dr. Dani Lambert, the *real* mother of the child substituted for Cassie Boregy's dead infant.

Sinor, Bradley H. "Lost Song" - Ethan hears a song that only his lover, missing for the last 3 years, could possibly know. As a seemingly casual footnote to this story, Rattail begins a relationship with a Falkenaer sailor on shore leave from the _Coldsmith_. ... Read more

Product Description
Their names were Lancelot, Elaine, Percivale, Gawain, Modred, Lynette and Vivien, but they were not characters from legend. They were made people, clone servants designed to suit the fancy of their opulent owner, the Lady Dela Kirn. And they worked aboard the Maid, an anachronistic fantasy of a spaceship, decorated with swords, heraldic banners, old-looking beams masking the structural joints, and lamps that mimicked live flame.They lived in a kind of dream, and had no idea of their origins, their prototypes in those old, old story tapes of romance, chivalry, heroism and betrayal.Until a wandering instability, a knot in time, a ripple in the between sucked them into a spatial no-man's-land from which there seemed to be no escape. And they were left alone, with the borrowed personas of their ancient namesakes, to face a crisis those venerable spirits were never designed to master. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Stranded in Jumpspace
Port Eternity (1982) is standalone SF novel set in the Alliance-Union Universe.It starts on the planet Brahman, where the rich are rejuvenated and their servants are genetically designed humans -- the azi -- grown in artificial wombs and indoctrinated by sleep learning.The azi are normally terminated when they reach forty, but some few are rejuved and live as long as their masters.

In this novel, Lady Dela Kirn is a descendent of a founder of Brahman and is very rich.She owns many azi, but only a few are allowed aboard the Maid of Astolat, her starfaring yacht.Four are the crew and the other three are her staff.All are named for characters in a drama tape about King Arthur.

The narrator of this story is Elaine, named for the original Maid of Astolat.Elaine is probably the most independent of the azi.Her household function is personal companion and she performs a variety of personal services for Lady Dela.

Lance is the steady lover of Lady Dela, available for times that she lacks other lovers.He has been with her for twenty years and is coming up on the age limit.Lance is Elaine's best friend, but he has been conditioned to only love Lady Dela.

Vivian is Lady Dela's accountant and estate manager.She is the most narrow of the azi, focused on her job and obtaining rejuv.She treats the other azi as if she was a born-man and too important to do menial work.

Gawain, Percivale, Lynette and Modred are the crew.They are closely focused on their jobs whenever the ship is activated.Modred is the most narrowly focused, operating by reason only and insensitive to his own and other's emotions.Modred is named such for his dangerous appearance;even born-men step aside when Modred approaches.

Griffin is Lady Dela's current born-man lover.He is young, having never been rejuved, and is full of energy.He and Lady Dela are in love, which is unusual for Dela.Even Lance is convinced that they will be married.

In this story, the crew takes the Maid of Astolat out of the Brahman station and start lining her up for the first jump.Before the ship reaches that point, it is subjected to wild strains and enters jumpspace.Although most everything has been secured for the jump, various fixtures and ornaments are thrown around and some are shattered.

The crew and passengers secure themselves when the alarms sound, but the forces tumbling the ship break even such restraints.None are hurt, but they are all very frightened.The environment terrifies them even more.

Their eyes are subjected to weird visions, such as seeming to see through the ship out into the strange void.The visions make them dizzy and nauseous.The azi appear to recover faster, since they have more experience with virtual reality.

The ship instruments are erratic, changing readings moment by moment.The void itself is filled with strange colors.However, they seem to be approaching another object.When they arrive, the object is moving below them and the ship is slipping around the surface.

The crew grapple to another object on the surface and halt the ship's motion.Gradually, the screens show more of the surface and they find the ship is now grappled to a strange looking ship.Another weird looking ship is on their other side.

Later there is something banging on the hull.The banging goes on for days.Everyone is terrified.Griffin starts taking control from Lady Dela and prepares means of defense against the intruders.

This story follows the actions of the crew and passengers.The azi act in accordance to their psych-sets.The born-men act in their human manner. All are afraid, but they somehow continue on.

Another complication in this story is the drama tape from which Dela got their names.Eventually all the azi experience the tape.Their minds are affected in various ways, depending on their psych-set and their named characters.They start to become more human.

Highly recommended for Cherryh fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic societies, stranded travelers, and twisted love.

-Arthur W. Jordin

A Faux Camelot, Besieged
Port Eternity is an attempt to turn the Camelot legend into modern space opera, via the mechanism of Cherryh's lab-born 'azi' people that are part of her 'Alliance' universe, who get almost all of their knowledge and upbringing via tape. On a private ship that is the only locale of this story one of the crewmembers (all of whom are named for characters in the legend, on the whim of the ship's owner) gets hold of a tape detailing the Camelot story, and she naturally identifies with one of the characters therein. The ship is grabbed and held in jumpspace by some unknown large body, which requires all the ship members to carefully re-adjust how they 'see' the external world. During this process, the rest of the crew are exposed to the Camelot tape, and to some extent now are compelled to act like their legend's counterparts. The external threat that drives the dynamics of the character's actions comes from the large body that captured the ship, with its denizens apparently trying to break into the ship.

While this is an intriguing setup, the particulars of this story don't gel. The parallels with the Arthurian legend are certainly present, but the angst and tragedy of the original are not translated to this book. Perhaps this is because the characters, other than Elaine, the main viewpoint character, are not described in enough depth to make them emotionally engaging. This is especially a pity in the case of Lance, who remains a cipher throughout this book, and yet is one of the most conflicted and interesting characters of the legend.

The book does somewhat better thematically, as the question of whether the azi clones really have souls and can truly take independent action beyond their tape programming is explored in some depth. This is a theme that Cherryh detailed in much greater depth in Cyteen, but the main lines of her thoughts in this area are competently presented here, and provide some definite food for thought.

One of her 'odder' books, not totally successful, but it is readable, and provides another view of the moral dilemma that made Cyteen so great.

Enjoyable and original
Arthurian clones in space--it sounds like a third-rate SF movie, but instead is a very moving and intriguing SF story by C.J. Cherryh. Though hardly perfect, this is a solid story for Arthuriana and SF fans alike.

An extremely wealthy woman named Dela owns a luxurious spacecraft called the "Maid of Astolat," which is decorated with swords, spears, medieval banners, and other trappings reminiscent of Arthurian legend. As if that weren't enough, she has specially programmed clones ("made people") whom she has fashioned and named after characters in Arthurian legend: Sweet, meek Elaine; handsome, sad Lancelot (Lance); dark, brooding Modred; handsome lithe Gawain (Wayne); sharp, efficient Viviane, and lesser characters Percival and Lynette. Elaine narrates, a rather flat character who apparently gets her "dreams" by using special tapes that Dela owns.

These clones help to keep the ship running, except for Lance who is something of a slave boy-toy for Dela. She often brings her lovers to the "Maid", and after she tires of them she falls back to Lance. But one day she brings in a new lover, Griffin--young, handsome, kindly, and she may actually marry him. This worries the clones, who fear that they will be put down or reprogrammed.

But their worries become irrelevent when the ship is yanked into a sort of space-wasteland, and clamped onto an alien ship. The clones begin to freak out (or "blank out," as they do when they're upset), Dela decides that they are all dead, and Griffin tries to help the clones free the ship. But something strange is drawing nearer to the "Maid," and will draw them into a situation that no one can truly understand--and the question of what being a person is.

This novella initially seems like a simple Star Trekkian adventure, but also introduces some intriguing moral questions. Do programmable clones have souls? What does it imply about the morals of a person who uses clones like wind-up toys? If they have stunted abilities to feel, and are "programmed" to obey a person, does that make them any less human than a "born man"? These questions are raised and answered without preachiness, but through effective demonstration.

Anyway, the characters were excellently made. The selfish, hedonistic Dela is forced to see the clones as people, and to act as a better person, and Griffin is definitely a "nice guy," though a little less so at the beginning. Lance is broody, Modred is sinister (yet, somehow, I like him!), Viviane is effective as the ice-queen with a head for figures. Percival is a sweetie some of the time. Gawain and Lynette don't register as much, but perhaps the biggest cast flaw is Elaine. She seems too passive as a narrator, doing too much telling and not enough doing, in a crisis situation. But her stunted love for Lancelot is very effectively shown.

Though there is minimal profanity, hardly any violence and just a little gross imagery (the attack on Modred), there is a fair amount of sex-related info in this. Dela brings man after man for trysts on her ship (we're told, but not shown), Lance is her boytoy, and there are a couple scenes where Lance goes to bed with Elaine. None of this is graphic; in fact, it's rather how you would expect the observations and experiences of an android to be. Perhaps the contrast between the love lives of the people involves and the growing soul love is deliberate. Additionally, one can also see traces of traditional Arthuriana, with Dela as Guinevere, Griffin as Arthur, Lancelot and Elaine in their ancient counterparts' places.

And thankfully Cherryh did not fall into the trap of "bad alien captures heroes, heroes defeat alien and escape." Rather, she introduces a situation as ambiguous as several characters are, and allows us to see a vision of the future that is truly intriguing, and which fits perfectly into the thoughts and desires of the characters.

Overall, an excellent read for Arthurian and SF fans. ... Read more

Product Description
In the sequel to Pride of Chanur, Tully returns, and brings with him a priceless trade contract with human space--a contract that could mean vast power, riches, and a mess of trouble for Pyanfar Chanur. Reissue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Where are the rest?
My two favorite series for many years have been Cherryh books. So my question is where are the rest of the series? You can't put out one of a series and get a good reaction. It's just cruel. I highly suggest the Chanur series and the Faded Sun series by Cherryh. Here's hoping they get the better ones on Kindle soon.

Rae Rae

Space Opera at it's finest
The Chanur series is one of CJ's best.The POV is fascinating, and the "human" elements are delightful.

Not a series, really -- just one big, fat terrific novel!
First of all: Have you read _The Pride of Chanur_? If not, stop immediately and go and do it, because this one is the second part of a four-decker and if you attempt them out of order you will have no idea what's going on. Now, then. The story picks up a year or two after Pyanfar Chanur and her crew of cousins have gotten straight with the Han government and with their trading rivals after almost singlehandedly bringing humanity into contact with the more civilized parts of the Compact. However, there are deeply conservative, xenophobic elements among the Hani who would just as soon they had never entered galactic society and that challenge becomes clearer as the plot progresses. The Mahendo-sat, who themselves were the first aliens to contact the Hani a few centuries earlier -- and who also want a piece of the new trade-pie but who aren't as bloody minded about control as the Kif -- are trying to manipulate the situation, even going so far as to use the totally unpredictable, methane-breathing T'ca and Knnn as pawns, and *nobody* understands *them*. If all this sounds complicated, that's because it is. But, if you read from the beginning of the saga through to the end, and if you pay attention, you'll witness one of the most fascinating psycho-political struggles you've ever read. It takes considerable talent to get the reader to understand the internal and external political mindsets and social structures of several very alien races -- and to do it from the point of view of yet another alien race. This is extraordinary stuff -- but start at the beginning. And be aware that the story doesn't end here, not even with a traditional cliffhanger. No, it simply pauses -- and you want to have the third volume ready to hand.

Average at best
I can't understand why so many people have said that this author's works are "well written".Cherryh's style of disjoint, clipped sentances along with her lack of detail on so many subjects which are crucial to the understanding of the interplay in the political game she is striving to describe, make reading her books aggravating in the extreme.

That is not to say that she doesn't have some good ideas and that her plot is not interesting.She does, and it is.But it is so hard to read!Her character interaction in a galatcic pidgin english doesn't help things either.

These books are readable, if nothing better is around, but they could have been oh so much better.

Excellent Writing, But Where's the Ending?
This book picks up about a year after "The Pride of Chanur" leaves off.From the very first moment, you're caught up in the plot and furiously trying to turn the pages faster and faster in order to see what's going to happen.But, then, after about 170 pages of extremely well written, tightly packed, emotionally wrenching, pages, right at the very pinnacle of tension, it ENDS!Aaaargh!There's no excuse for this except pure greed on the part of the publisher.This book should never have been published without its sequel, "The Kif Strike Back."I feel really bad giving such an excellent piece of work such a bad rating.But, unless you have the sequel handy (perhaps as part of the "omnibus edition" "The Chanur Saga" (which apparently ends without ITS finish)), I can't recommend you read it.If you've got the sequel(s), definitely read all of them.But, don't get just this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

SMUGGLER'S GOLD has some real gems
Note that although both Abbey and Asprin contributed to this volume, the style isn't like THIEVES' WORLD. All the Merovingen anthologies are written in an almost-seamless braided format (see reviews of FESTIVAL MOON, FEVER SEASON, et al.)

For anyone who's been wondering when somebody would *do* something about the Megary slavers...enjoy. Boy, did they make a mistake in laying hands on the Trade, in the form of one Altair Jones...

Abbey, Lynn: "A Day in the Life" - The consequences of Mondragon's affair with the highborn Marina Kamat start coming home to roost.

Asire, Nancy: "A Fish Story" - Explains where Ito Boregy gets some of the deathangel powder he uses in his religious orientation sessions; further develops the relationships (or lack thereof, in Krishna's case) between Justice, Sonja Kiesel, Raj, and Krishna Malenkov.

Asprin, Robert Lynn: "A Harmless Excursion" - continues the Hannon-Gregori feud.

Cherryh, C.J.: "Smuggler's Gold" - Since Mondragon first got into financial difficulties, and since she wants to keep her reputation with the trade, Jones has taken on a few more dangerous runs for old man Hafiz than the trips to Moghi's.

Fish, Leslie: "Fair Game" - Black Cal's volunteered to take some rookies on his beat today, so the blacklegs back at the Signeury know it's time to clear out the special cell for highborn perps.

Lackey, Mercedes: "More Than Meets the Eye" - The continuing adventures of the Takahashi brothers. This one would make a good Thief adventure (see the Thief computer game series by Eidos Interactive). Denny, a daredevil with a thief's skills, helps Jones in her vendetta against the Megary slavers, who held her prisoner in TROUBLED WATERS. Raj, on the other hand, is investigating some fraud at Gallandrys, his employers, on behalf of Mondragon ("I sell information; I'm not particular about who I sell it to, or how many times I sell it").

Morris, Chris and Janet: "Mystery" - The College has inadvertently made deathangel use popular - by giving it a reputation for use with past-life regression. Cassie Boregy's reputation as a prophet starts at about this time. (The stuff is hallucinogenic, in case you're wondering.)

Rogow, Roberta: "Paper Chase" - The Janists need enough paper to complete the print run of a book to be distributed at Greening; but due to an accident at the paper mill, the only supply is at the Signeury (police HQ). This one is more implausible than it may at first appear (you'll see why). ... Read more