Review of Resurgence by C.J. Cherryh

Slices of Bren's life, the first two trilogies in the Foreigner sequence are the most contained of the bunch. It seems at the start of Destroyer, the third trilogy, Cherryh made the decision to open up multiple sub-arcs within a massive, three-trilogy, uber-arc, i.e. to dig into the Shadow Guild's attempted coup and the fallout. Nine novels featured this huge overstory. Thus while the beginning of the seventh trilogy, Emergence, featured hints of Shadow Guild, there was a feeling that Cherryh's bogeymen have finally seen their end in the series. Shifting to focus on trade and diplomacy, the middle novel in the trilogy, Resurgence (2020), would seem to support such a view. Or does it?

As Cherryh has consistently done since the third Foreigner trilogy, the novels' viewpoints oscillate between Bren and Cajeiri. Back in the capital, Cajeiri is maturing, setting aside some of his boyishness and looking for ways to be more responsible and live up to the position he is aware he occupies in the eyes of atevi. Bren, while starting to carry a pistol wherever he goes, finds himself in a position wherein his diplomatic skills are needed more. Machigi has come to the dowager with ideas that require careful analysis and even more careful handling if the fragile stability post-Shadow Guild is to be maintained. A lot of time spent on the red train, negotiations prove to be tougher than expected. And as with Emergence, Nomaji remains the wild card of all wild cards. Can he be trusted? Is he secretly representing Shadow Guild?

If ever there were a bridge novel in a trilogy, Resurgence is that. Like with Emergence, Cherryh generates a half-hearted bang at the conclusion so as readers don't walk away with a little drama, but in the overwhelming majority this is one of those staid Foreigner novels that is slowly, steadily, and slowly building toward something, with that something to be revealed in the final novel, Divergence.

For readers who like their Foreigner more Trek than Wars, Resurgence is an exercise in delicate diplomacy, crossing bounds of Otherness, and finding ways to bridge that gap. For this, it is Foreigner sticking to its roots. Cherryh has been unwavering in style, taking the time to unpack all those little details of dialogue and delicate political relations that so many other writers skip over, and Resurgence continues that trend.