Cherryh, C.J.
PRETENDER: The second book of the third FOREIGNER sequence
C.J. Cherryh
DAW 2005
Hb 327
ISBN
0-7564-0374-X
I like this series because it allows the reader to imagine what it might be like to be the Foreign Ambassador for an alien race. For those who have not yet entered the FOREIGNER series, it is set on another world where stranded humans long ago made a partial peace with the native atevi. Atevi are humanoid, but larger. They are intelligent but have a society so steeped in tradition that it’s suicidal to even work with them. Bren Cameron has been working with them for years, and has come to love them as they have come to admire him for his sharp mind and perceptive instincts.
A lot has happened over the years. Now Bren is trapped in an atevi civil war with the deposed ruler Tabini and a growing band of rebels who hope to depose the pretender to the throne. Bren has urgent news from his recent trip into deep space and in order to protect everyone on the planet--humans and atevi--it is essential that Bren aid Tabini’s rebellion. This is extremely difficult when most of the atevii nation believes Bren is the one responsible for all of their social problems, and someone decides to prioritize him as target number one for assassination.
Ms Cherryh is expert at characterization. I think that even though her plots can plod at times, characterization is the reason I keep reading. She manages to make the atevi just human enough that the reader can identify with them, and thus identify with the dangerous situations Bren keeps falling into. There is action in this series, but it is a slow-motion action that absorbs the reader with internal dialogue, pulling the reader into the intriguingly complex world of the atevi.
I recommend this series for readers who like world-building on the cultural scale. Just start with the first volume, FOREIGNER.
Return to Reviews