Cherryh, C.J.
EXPLORER
C.J. Cherryh
DAW 2002
Hb 408 pages
ISBN #
0-7564-0086-4
Last book in C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series? Uh--no. Seems there's going to
be at least three more after this one! And that is good news for Foreigner fans.
By the way, Explorer is only recommended to Foreigner fans, as it is sixth in
the series and really would not stand well alone. For anyone not acquainted with
the series, please see the review on Defender which gives more detail to the
background.
So what happens in Explorer? Is there really another alien race out there? (I
had wondered on that part.) Yes, there is another alien race out there ... and
they are really strange. Explorer opens in the shower where Bren does his best
thinking, and he's thinking about why Jase is getting him up in the middle of
the night to talk. This is a plausible scenario because they have been traveling
through space together for a year--so what now would create such a stir? It
seems Captain Jase has just acquired new data on this ship's last visit to the
space station that is their current destination. It seems Ramirez--one of the
previous captains, now dead--lied about a good many things. And to make matters
worse, Senior Captain Sabin continues to withhold information from the two men
who could best help with this mission to find out if anyone at Reunion Station
is still alive, and if so, rescue them.
Foreigner fans remember from previous books that, not only is Bren THE
premier intra-cultural observer/liaison, but the Pilot's Guild is made up of
people who insist on doing things their own way. Senior Captain Sabin is Guild.
And if anyone remains alive at Reunion, they too will be Guild--one hundred
percent. So Bren and Jase have several things to worry about: -1- What was
Ramirez up to when he first encountered that alien ship ten years ago? -2- Are
those aliens, who supposedly blew a hole in the space station still around? -3-
If there are still people alive on Reunion, how are they going to react, after
all these years of isolation, to this rescue attempt? -4- But if Reunion Station
is down, where is their ship going to refuel? -5- If there is danger out there
in deep space, how can our heroes keep that danger away from their own Alpha
Station? and -6- How are the members of the atevi Assassin's Guild going to
react if and when power goes up for grabs again?
Cherryh provides all the answers in detail. I won't spoil it by letting out too many secrets, but you've got to know Bren and Jase have their hands full when they get to Reunion Station. The Pilot's Guild is still there, alive and obstinate as ever. There's an alien ship holding off their port ... and they aren't very friendly ... for good reason. It seems they had attacked the station a second time, four years after the first ... well, no, that's the Guild's story ... actually the aliens had sent out an emissary and been misunderstood. Oooo, our intra-cultural expert is in great demand. Bren won't get much sleep (though he does get a lot of showers).
The aiji-dowager Ilisidi and her great-grandson Cajeiri, future ruler of the
atevi planet, play a wonderful part in this delegation. All is told in Cherryh's
usual precise and bold manner. (Though I could have done with a close-up love
scene instead of one of those many showers--but that's just me.) Book six sets
the Foreigner fans up for new intra-cultural adventures, likely to be just as
sticky as the last ones. I mean, how do you talk to someone who gets violent
every time you use the word "we"?
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