Review of "Inheritor" by C.J. Cherryh

Something must be done about the art decorating the covers of C.J. Cherryh’s unheralded Foreigner series.  No offence to Michael Whelan, Dorian Vallejo, or any other of the artists who’ve been chosen to provide cover art, but their Golden Age depictions of alien life simply do not suit the temper of the books.  Shame on DAW.  Cherryh writes with subtlety and sensitivity regarding intercultural relations that the comic book renderings of guns and fantasy animals simply fail to parallel.  Making matters worse, the crowd willing to buy the books based on such art will more than likely end up disappointed.  The books’ focus on character and societal development toward peace and cultural understanding is far from scene after scene of gun fights and explosions.  Like placing a scantily clad Barbie doll with elf ears and flaming sword on a Gene Wolfe cover, expectations simply cannot be met.

I gripe not only because book covers are a part of the reason the literati refuses to take sci-fi seriously (what adult reader of academic leaning wants to walk around with a tentacled alien attacking a bare-chested, laser-pistol wielding man on the cover), but also because Cherryh’s series is a primary example of sci-fi in which said academics could find material to study and promote.  Numerous PhD’s could be written on the method and manner in which the inter-personal relationships of the humans and the atevi are described and handled by Cherryh.  The emotions and behavior in the books are drawn from an entirely human palette, the fantastic coming from setting alone.  But I digress.  On to the book.

Inheritor, remaining true to the preceding two novels, Foreigner and Invader, again selects character interaction as its focal point.  This time around, however, Cherryh adds new dynamics to the stage.  Jase, the envoy from the orbiting ship who landed at the end of “Invader”, is now embedded in the atevi government alongside Bren and is trying to learn the language and adapt to the culture.  His upbringing altogether different than Bren’s, Jase faces numerous challenges, social and personal, in making the transition from space life to planet life, human life to atevi life.  Bren, having consciously and sub-consciously altered his behavior to fit amongst their seven-foot ebony hosts, expects Jase to do the same.  But he does not always meet with a positive reaction.  Jase is as much “Other” as the atevi, thus springing new relational challenges upon the characters and reader.

Cherryh focuses much of the novel’s content on the juxtaposition between Bren and Jase: one who has changed significantly from a typical human vs. one who is normal by most measures.  The majority of dialogue is spent arguing about the alterations to behavior and mindset that do or do not need to occur.  Running parallel to their conflict, the enmity between the humans on Mospheira Island and the native atevi grows more vitriolic, heaping further troubles upon the two’s already uncomfortable relationship.  Fundamentalists on the human side and rebel factions on the atevi side act as terrorists, trying to prevent the atevi in power from acquiring space capabilities.  As such, Bren’s diplomatic capabilities - personal and political - have yet to face such a challenge in the series.

Cherryh’s style more clean and direct than the bloated nature of Tom Clancy’s political thrillers, the decisions, implications, and repercussions faced by the atevi and human governments, sub-groups, and people are all described in realistic fashion.  As with the previous novels, the author takes her quality time unpacking the situations which arise, relaying subtle nuances and possibilities as pertinent.  The slightest rumor and changes in status have profound impacts on the state of the atevi world.  It is unfortunate then that the book’s ending proves such a clash to the rational fashion in which the setting is presented.  Where only one or two total plot twists occurred in the previous books, an entire handful expose themselves at the climax of Inheritor.  Stretching the limits of plausibility, the wholly unrealistic manner in which Cherryh wraps up the plot threads undermines the quality of the novel to a certain degree.  As stated, however, the series is not to be read for plot, and one must balance the feel-good note on which the book ends with overall intent. 

In the end, Inheritor is a high quality conclusion to one of the best sci-fi series to come out in the past 30 years.  Though the climax is forced and burdened with implausibility, thematic content and character development remain focused and strong.  Foreign cultures increasingly within the scope of Western life these days, propriety and sensitivity have never been so relevant.  Setting an example, Cherryh proves herself a master of foreign policy, from both the individual and societal standpoint.  Thus, the series comes highly recommended for those who’ve read this far, in addition to proof that starting the series as a whole is worthwhile.  Were politicians and policy makers of this day and age to adopt Bren’s sympathy and willingness to compromise, our world would be a more balanced place.  Now, about that cover art…

Review of "Invader" by C.J. Cherryh

While the first book in Cherryh’s series, Foreigner, took its time, establishing Bren Cameron’s character and the dilemmas he faced attempting to adapt to a culture entirely foreign, Invader wastes no time.  Picking up precisely where the events of Foreigner left off, Bren is in the hospital suffering from the injuries of the previous book, and though he goes on the mend, life does not get any easier.  The space ship which suddenly appeared at the end of Foreigner threatens to disrupt tentative peace which the treaty between the atevi and humans had created. 

Pushing the ball up-court, Cherry winds the Cameron’s tension even tighter in Invader.  As if she were once a cultural attaché herself, every little nuance and ramification that hang from political decisions are described in insider fashion – and there are so many cultural toes to step on in atevi society.  Making matters both better and worse, Cameron’s relationship with his protectors works goes even deeper.  The details of their personal lives pull while the atevi’s natural indifference maintains the unnatural distance between them. 

Cherryh also takes the time to expand the reader’s understanding of the relationship between the atevi’s grammatically challenging language and cultural behavior.  Without out a doubt one of the most well thought out ideas in the genre, other sci-fi writers should take note.  Instead of simply stringing together gibberish and calling it alien language (who is to dispute?), Cherryh is erudite enough to not only create the rudiments of a language (like Tolkien, but to a lesser degree), but to intertwine it with her aliens behavior.  And it’s a plausible marriage.  A culture that sub-consciously uses calculation to formulate correct sentences would naturally be adept at not only picking up theoretical mathematics, but likewise always be concerned with the larger chains of events under discussion, as well as potential inputs and outputs for a given social situation.

Not only in language, Cherryh really takes the time to unpack the other ideas injected into her story.  Rather than glossing over something so simple as a space ship suddenly appearing in the atmosphere of a society that has never known life from outside their planet, she digs into what effect this would have on them.  If a UFO were to appear over the earth – somewhere outside an Oklahoma cornfield – imagine the explosion, not only in the media, but in the government offices of every major country around the world.  What does it want?  Are they hostile?   How do we communicate with them?  It’s these most basic yet most essential questions that Cherry attempts to answer in her tale.  No superheroes here, only people making rational and fallible decisions based on what they know and can know.

In the end, Invader is better than Foreigner, and Foreigner was worthy of a much larger readership.  The details, the back-history, and continued character development all fits within and expands upon the framework of the first novel.  Likewise, where Foreigner contrasted an individual and a culture, Invader goes to the next level by contrasting the two cultures (human and atevi), thus enlarging the diameter of the looking glass to incorporate all of the sub-groups the societies are broken into, the enmity between providing plot tension.  Fundamentalists, conservatives, liberals, altruists, libertarians, and traditionalists are all represented, and in turn push the book – and the series – closer to the realist side of literature than the unfortunate book cover allows.  But that’s another story…