Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Alien Stars by C.J. Cherryh Alien Stars by C.J. Cherryh. Tc'a are yellow, leathery, and snakelike in appearance, and are most well known for having multiple brains. They also have some sort of symbiotic relationship with one of the Compact's other methane-breathing species, the spiderlike Chi, whose homeworld lies within Tc'a space. What exactly this relationship entails is unknown. Their means of reproduction are rather peculiar. Tc'a fission off a small, new Tc'a when placed under extreme stress. This has been observed in a moment when a Tc'a's life was in danger. It's not known what level of stress or danger is needed to trigger this reaction. Culture and society [ edit | edit source ] Tc'a speech sounds like layered multitonal wails. Single-brained species (like humans) almost always need technological assistance to communicate with them, and even then, messages read out as a seven-part matrix that can be interpreted in any direction. Another Compact member-species, the oxy-breathing Stsho, appear to be able to communicate more directly. Tc'a are the most interactive of the Compact's methane breathers, and almost exclusively handle methane-side operations at Meetpoint Station, the physical center (and trade zone) of the Compact. Tc'a are the only ones able to communicate meaningfully (if there is such a concept) with the mysterious Knnn. Alien Stars by C J Cherryh. Spine creases, wear to binding and pages from reading. May contain limited notes, underlining or highlighting that does affect the text. Possible ex library copy, will have the markings and stickers associated from the library. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included. Baen, 1985. Paperback. Condition: GOOD. Alien Stars. C.J. Cherryh, Joe Haldeman, Timothy Zahn. Published by Baen (1985) Used - Softcover Condition: GOOD. Quantity available: 1. Spine creases, wear to binding and pages from reading. May contain limited notes, underlining or highlighting that does affect the text. Possible ex library copy, will have the markings and stickers associated from the library. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included. Baen, 1985. Paperback. Condition: GOOD. C.J. Cherryh. The twenty-first book in the beloved Foreigner saga continues the adventures of diplomat Bren Cameron, advisor to the atevi head of state. The overthrow of the atevi head of state, Tabini-aiji, and the several moves of enemies even since his resto. Resurgence. The Foreigner saga returns to the trials of diplomat Bren Cameron, as he navigates the tenuous peace he has struck between human refugees and the alien atevi. Bren Cameron, diplomat in residence, usually represents the ruler of the atevi state. Bu. Alliance Rising. SFWA Grand Master Cherryh returns to the Hugo-award winning Alliance-Union Universe with a thrilling entry in her far-reaching sci-fi saga. Years after Sol has lagged behind other great megastations like Pell and Cyteen, Alpha station receives new. Emergence. The nineteenth book in C.J. Cherryh's beloved Foreigner space opera series begins a new era for diplomat Bren Cameron, as he navigates the tenuous peace he has struck between human refugees and the alien atevi. Alpha Station, orbiting the world o. Convergence. Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, has taken aboard five thousand human refugees from a destroyed station in a distant sector of space. With supplies and housing stretched to the breaking point, it is clear that the refugees must be relo. Visitor. The human and atevi inhabitants of Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, have picked up a signal from an alien kyo ship telling them that the ship is inbound toward Alpha. Five thousand of the inhabitants of Alpha are human refugees from th. The Complete Morgaine. Together for the first time in one volume -- all four novels in the dark science fiction epic, the Morgaine Cycle. The gates were relics of a lost era, a linked network of portals that the ruthless Qual empire used to span Time and Space. The Sci. Tracker. It’s been a year of upheaval, since Bren Cameron’s return from space -- a year when he and the aiji-dowager, one of his most powerful atevi allies, returned home from their two-year interstellar mission to find the government over​thrown and the. Peacemaker. Civil war on the world of the atevi is finally over. And Cajeiri, son and heir of Tabini-aiji, atevi leader of the dominant Western Association, is about to celebrate his fortunate ninth birthday. Bren Cameron, brilliant human diplomat allied with Ta. Protector. It's coming up on Cajeiri's birthday. The boy has been promised he can have the young human children he knew from his voyage sent down from the space station for a two week stay. But there's far a darker business going on in the background--a majo. Intruder. In the wake of civil war, Bren Cameron, the brilliant human diplomat of the alien atevi civilization, has left the capital and sought refuge at his country estate, Najida. But now he is trapped inside Najida-which has been surrounded by enemies- with. Betrayer. The civil war among the alien atevi has ended. Tabini-aiji, powerful ruler of the Western Association, along with Cajeiri his son and heir, and his human paidhi, Bren Cameron, have returned to the Bujavid, their seat of power. But factions that re. Deceiver. The civil war among the alien Atevi has ended. Tabini-aiji, powerful ruler of the Western Association, along with Cajeiri, his son and heir, has returned to the Bujavid, his seat of power. But factions that remain loyal to the opposition are still pr. Conspirator. First in a brand-new Foreigner trilogy from Hugo Award winning author C. J. Cherryh. Cajeiri is the young son of the powerful leader of the Western Association?and he has become a target for forces bent on destroying his father?s rule. For Cajeiri. Regenesis. The direct sequel to the Hugo Award- winning novel Cyteen, Regenesis continues the story of Ariane Emory PR, the genetic clone of one of the greatest scientists humanity has ever produced, and of her search for the murderer of her progenitor?the orig. Alliance Space. Two Alliance-Union novels, Merchanter's Luck and Forty Thousand in Gehenna, bound in one omnibus volume for the first time!Merchanter's Luck—His name was Sandor and he was the owner and entire crew of a tramp star-freighter that flew the Union plan. Deliverer. THE PRODIGY In the aftermath of civil war, the world of the atevi is still perilously unstable. Tabini-aiji, powerful ruler of the Western Association, along with his son and heir, and his human paidhi, Bren Cameron, have returned to their seat of. Fortress of Ice. Sixteen years have passed since the dramatic events of Fortress of Dragons, and Cefwyn, king at last, must rebuild his devastated kingdom. The embattled ruler is aided by his powerful friend Tristen Sihhe and two surprising allies in a struggle he mu. Pretender. THE HUMAN TARGET Exhausted from a two-year rescue mission in space, the crew of the starship Phoenix return home to find disaster: civil war has broken out, the powerful Western Association has been overthrown, and Tabini-aiji, its forceful leader. The Deep Beyond. This omnibus volume combines two Alliance-Union novels: Hugo Award nominee Cuckoo’s Egg and Locus Best Novel Award nominee Serpent’s Reach. In Cuckoo’s Egg: They named him Thorn. They told him he was of their people, although he was ugly in t. Destroyer. THEIR WORLD AT WAR It has been two years since the starship Phoenix left Alpha Station on a rescue mission to a faraway sector of space where over four thousand human spacers were under attack by a hostile alien race. Now, exhausted from their . The Sword of Knowledge. Barbarian Hordes vs. Sheer, Cold Reason Technology vs. Sorcery The Empire of Sabis is falling, besieged and overwhelmed by the army and hostile wizards of a more powerful empire. Still, it is not too late for a small group of philosopher-scientis. Forge of Heaven. From C.J. Cherryh, one of science fiction′s greatest writers and a 3-time Hugo Award "Best Novel" winner, comes the exciting and long-awaited follow-up to Hammerfall, the second novel of the Gene Wars, now in mass market. In the second volume of "T. The Collected Short Fiction of C.J. Cherryh. Vividly creating many worlds--mystical, alien, and futuristic--an electrifying collection of short stories, novellas, and novelettes from a modern master of science fiction includes "Cassandra," the Hugo Award-winning tale of a woman plagued by proph. At The Edge Of Space. Now, two of C.J. Cherryh's long-unavailable early classics are together in one omnibus edition. Brothers of Earth and Hunter of Worlds chronicle the survival of solitary humans among hostile, predatory aliens on the fringes of human-explored space-an. Explorer. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS It has been nearly ten years since the starship Phoenix returned to the abandoned station orbiting the world of the alien atevi. This station, called Alpha, had been deserted for centuries following a rift between a faction of the. The Sandman, The Tinman, and the BettyB. Such masters of the Science Fiction genre as Tad Williams, Brian Aldiss, Frederik Pohl, Kate Elliot, C.J. Cherryh, and Julie E. Czerneda contribute all new, original pieces of short fiction to this commemorative volume honoring DAW Books thirtieth ye. Defender. THE POLITICS OF SPACE It has been over two centuries since the starship Phoenix disappeared into space, leaving a colony of humans to fend for themselves on the world of the alien atevi. Since then humans have lived in exile using a single diplom. Hammerfall. Marak has suffered the madness his entire life. He is a prince and warrior, strong and shrewd and expert in the ways of the desert covering his planet. In the service of his father, he has dedicated his life to overthrowing the Ila, the mysterious et. Alternate Realities. In Port Eternity: Their names were Lancelot, Elaine, Percivale, Gawain, Mordred, Lynette, and Vivien, and they were made people, clone servants who worked aboard The Maid, an anachronistic fantasy of a spaceship. They had no idea of their origins, fr. Devil to the Belt. C. J. Cherryh's upcoming new science fiction novel Hammerfall (Avon Eos, 7/01), is the perfect opportunity to revisit this author's strong backlist, including the latest book, Devil to the Belt (Warner, 12/00). Ranging from Earth to the asteroids and. Fortress of Dragons. THE WALLS BETWEEN THE WORLDS ARE DOWN, A NEW UNFOLDING HAS BEGUN.. . It started long ago, as a war between the shadowy Immortals that persists today, as the wizard Mauryl's Shaping confronts the Shadows summoned from Chaos. Tristen is that Shaping. Precursor. The fourth novel in Cherryh’s Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences…Over three years have passed since the reappearance of the starship Phoenix, which two centuries before left an isolated col. Fortress of Owls. "I DREAMED OF OWL. THAT MEANS WIZARDRY IS NEAR." Tristen is a weapon in an ancient war between wizardry and sorcery. He is a summoning and a shaping, brought to life by a wizard. And his sword is a weapon as well. Its keen blade, marked Illusion o. Fortress of Eagles. CHILD OF WIZARDRY Tristen is both more and less than a man. A summoning, a shaping, he was brought to life by a wizard, to serve a king yet to be crowned. Now the wizard is dead. And young Cefwyn is king. Cefwyn has a dream: a united Ylesuin. Pieces of Six. The Dreaming Tree. The classic fantasy duology, combining The Dreamstone and The Tree of Swords and Jewels in an omnibus for the first timeIt was that transitional time of the world, when man first brought the clang of iron and the reek of smoke to the lands which befo. Finity's End. One of science fiction's most accomplished authors, C.J. Cherryh returns to the universe of her bestselling, Hugo Award-winning classics, Downbelow Station and Cyteen, with a thrilling, critically acclaimed new Merchanter novel of a starship-dwelling. Cloud's Rider. A lethal mountain blizzard leads to a holocaust of madness and murder, but young rider Danny Fisher and the alien nighthorse Cloud must, protect a snowbound village beset by fear and greed. For the telepathic predators of the Wild, emotions are weapo. Lois and Clark. Their entire relationship is founded on a secret. Now that secret is in jeopardy. In this exciting new novel, award-winning author C. J. Cherryh takes us deep into the private lives and thrilling adventures of Lois Lane, Clark Kent, and the world?s m. Inheritor. THE RACE FOR SPACE Six months have passed since the reappearance of the starship Phoenix -- six months during which the alien atevi have striven to reconfigure their fledgling space program in a breakneck bid to take their place in the heavens alo. Lois & Clark: A Superman Novel. Lives were at stake on the far side of the world; and no other person on Earth except Superman stood a chance of helping those people if that dam went. Four more dams were downriver. That whole region, rocked by earthquakes and deluged by spring rain. Rider at the Gate. A forgotten colony lost on a planet of wild beauty and unimaginable danger. A people held together by a renegade band of outcast heroes, called to their destinies by alien dreams. A world of Riders and Nighthorses, their minds linked together on the . Fortress in the Eye of Time. IT WAS A SHADOW AGE AND SHADOW PLACE Deep in an abandoned, shattered castle, an old man of the Old Magic muttered almost forgotten words. His purpose--to create out of the insubstance of the air, from a shimmering of light and a fluttering of shad. Invader. The second novel in Cherryh’s Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences…Nearly two centuries after the starship Phoenix disappeared into the heavens, leaving an isolated colony of humans on the wo. Tripoint. A social outcast, Thomas Bowe is caught between the rivalry of two merchant spaceships, one headed by his father and one by the woman whom his father had raped long ago. By the Hugo Award-winning author of Cyteen. Reprint. Faery in Shadow. Avoiding other humans because of the curse placed on him, Caithe mac Sliabhan nevertheless aids a strange couple who claim to be husband and wife but look like twins to Caith, and who are under the spell of a witch. Foreigner. It had been nearly five centuries since the starship Phoenix, lost in space and desperately searching for the nearest G5 star, had encountered the planet of the atevi. On this alien world, law was kept by the use of registered assassination, alliance. THE UNIVERSES OF C.J. CHERRYH. Earth's colonial enterprise, founded on a stringof planetless stars, fell apart when orders to solve problems lagged a long time behind the reality of the situation. Distance made it impossible to maintain the close control Earth wanted to exercise, and Earth's ill-advised orders provoked rebellion among the colonies when the discovery of Faster-Than-Light travel suddenly brought Earth into close contact and frequent contact with the colonies. Cyteen had outright defied Earth's visa requirements and founded a runaway colony, its population deliberately augmented by cloned-man establishEarth'sments. Pell Station attempted to stand by its allegiance to Earth. So did other colonies, fearing the strangeness developing at Cyteen. I use Alliance/Union to describe novels that are centered around the Company Wars---i ncluding the Merchanter books: this would be: Downbelow Station, Cyteen, Regenesis, Merchanter's Luck, Finity's End, Tripoint, and others yet to come. The novels in this universe, except Hellburner and Heavy Time, and Cyteen and Regenesis, can be read completely out of order. just like real history. The actual sequence of the Alliance / Union stories is: The Company Wars Heavy Time Hellburner (these first two have fairly close connections) Downbelow Station: Hugo Winner, Best Novel Merchanter's Luck Rimrunners Tripoint Finity's End. The Merchanter Novels: Trading ships and commerce after the Company Wars Merchanter's Luck Tripoint Finity's End. Unionside novels: Cyteen won the Hugo for Best Novel. There was a paperbound publication that split the novel into three parts, but this has ended: the current and, by my wishes, all future publications, will have Cyteen as one unified book. Cyteen 40,000 in Gehenna or Forty Thousand in Gehenna Regenesis. Far Down The Time Line , but still within the story. The Faded Sun novels: A lone human soldier confronts the last of an alien species. Kesrith Shon'jir Kutath. AND: Serpent's Reach , set in the far future of the Alliance, a splinter group. Then. Very, Very Far Down the Time Line. Brothers of Earth A far, far future world at the crossroads of its history---and a human soldier who foresees the failing of his own species. It should be noted: the Hanan Rebellion does not involve the whole human species, nor more than a region of space; but from Kurt Morgan's point of view the disaster is universal. Hunter of Worlds : another splinter group and a predatory species. Hani are catlike, spacefaring, attitudinal, and protective of their violent and aggressive menfolk; and yes, I've made a little commentary on gender politics; but I've also tried to tell an honest, light, and rowdy story about very different aliens and a strayed human. Pyanfar never wanted him for a passenger. but having him. well, life just couldn't be the same. And if you think mahendo'sat politics gets thick. Pyanfar agrees. Pyanfar's motto is, when confronted with vastly intelligent, aggressive politics: Do something totally irrational and let the enemy think himself to death. The Pride of Chanur nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel.> Chanur's Venture The Kif Strike Back ( never, ever joke about titles: your publisher may use one) Chanur's Homecoming (Ulysses has nothing on Pyanfar) And the next generation : Chanur's Legacy . Foreigner. starts with Foreigner and goes through the career of Bren Cameron, translator between atevi and humans. Each arc is 3 books, and you are safe reading the first of any arc first, but you may enjoy tracking down Foreigner and starting at the beginning. I didn't want to put the first few chapters into Foreigner: be patient with them---everybody in those chapters has been long gone by the time their descendant, Bren Cameron, comes on the scene with a midnight intruder, a shadow on the curtains, and a gunshot. The front end of Foreigner is a novella and a short piece, the first setting up how Phoenix, a station set-up mission, skewed far and dangerously off course. The second chapter tells the story of their descendants some distance along. And then the real story in the novel begins,. Say that there were problems in the relationship between humans and the civilization they met. I didn't plan to have the first two sections on the first Foreigner novel, but my editor said put them in. So I did. The initial situation with the lost colonists in chapter one, is pretty grim. but as you get to know the atevi centuries later, in the main part of the story, they do have a very active sense of humor. Foreigner Invader Inheritor. The world of Finisterre is a bad real estate deal: a lot like the ground-level assumption behind Pern and Darkover, it doesn't really matter that everyone arrived from space. Clearly this isn't Earth, that's the important thing, and while townsfolk fear the native wildlife, the riders who keep the towns alive are very happy being friendly with the nighthorses, who are, well, the reason riders exist and the reason humans survive on Finisterre at all. Nighthorses are addicted to human minds, in the long and the short of it, and find their importation of bacon the single most important event in the history of the world. While the books have moments that you may not want to read alone after dark, have faith: the horses will get you through. The Gene Wars. Far into the future, far, far distant, humanity and an alien race have gotten into a war---in which the weapon is nanotechnology. tiny bots that can literally change matter. Earth wants nothing to do with the survivors, and has imposed strict contact barriers between herself and her colonists. The story of Marak, who belongs to a world under seige, and is given a short window in which to get himself and others to safety. The Forge of Heaven. Transit to the station---where the strange culture of the station itself surrounds a young watcher, whose job, an age later, is to track what has happened to Marak and his world, which is being terraformed to prove the contamination can be reversed. The nanobots can do more than destroy. Marak is proof of it. Nhi Vanye i Chya, seeking redemption for his sins. finds himself indebted to a liege reputed for betrayal, sworn with an oath that can damn his soul. Gate of Ivrel Well of Shiuan Fires of Azeroth Exiles' Gate The graphic novel, Gate of Ivrel . We own all the copies of this former Donning title, which Jane Fancher did, and we or Selina can sell those to you. This includes all myth-based stories. Arafel Left behind in the retreat of the elves from human lands, Arafel maintains a watch over Men. The Dreamstone The Tree of Swords and Jewels . Faery in Shadow. The Russian Stories. Goblin Mirror. . trolls, goblins, and a chip off the Goblin Queen's mirror. A young man sets out to answer one question and discovers questions multiplying around him. . multiple ages of the world, and a wizard from the last age, called Mauryl Kingmaker, isolate from the young kingdoms of Men, works a summoning, a last bit of magic. But was he a good magician, or what cause did he serve? This set is a project I've worked for years on, and I'm very excited about it. Fortress in the Eye of Time. Fortress of Eagles. Fortress of Owls. Fortress of Dragons. Fortress of Ice. Over the years my publishers and editors, Donald Wollheim, Jim Baen, Betsy Wollheim, to name a few, have supported me in books that let imagination run free. It's a list of the varied and the different. The Paladin . set in a mythical far east, a potential student seeks a retired hero for a teacher. Angel with a Sword . there is no magic, but a city on stilts, with swords and piratical derring-do. is close. Followed by all the Merovingen books. Merovingen Nights (shared world, preceded by Angel with a Sword) Visible Light (anthology) a collection of widely diverse stories with personal commentary. Sunfall (dying earth stories) Hestia . a colonial story, on a river with a native secret. Wave without a Shore. A philosophical science fiction novel with a fantasy twist. Some people name their college professors and wonder if I know them. Voyager in Night. An aeons-old alien and the [perhaps] dead crew of a passing spacecraft. Hunter of Worlds . a species notorious for predation. Recommended reading in some anthropology classes. I'm grateful to Don Wollheim who bypassed considerations of commercial appeal in favor of preserving the science fictional use and development of language. Besides all that. it has an action story. Port Eternity An Arthurian novel, of sorts, set in distant space, among azi. Tor.com. Science fiction. Fantasy. The universe. And related subjects. C. J. Cherryh Reread. Who is alien? C.J. Cherryh’s Cuckoo’s Egg. Cuckoo’s Egg (1985) is in many ways the quintessential Cherryh novel. There are terrific aliens and an alien society. There’s one human. It starts off slowly and gets faster and faster. And nobody tells you what’s going on until the very end, when you find out at whiplash speed. Cuckoo’s Egg starts off with Duun, whose race is shonun and whose rank is hatani. Duun is given what is clearly a human baby, amid alien complications. We don’t know why, or what’s going on. For the rest of the book the viewpoint alternates between Duun and his fosterling, Haras Thorn, as he grows up entirely baffled about who and what he is. It’s a good book because the alien society is interesting and well done, and so is the part about growing up surrounded by aliens and wanting to belong and knowing you never really can. Cherryh is excellent at aliens, as always. If you don’t like it, it will be because you don’t enjoy being bewildered. I like it a lot more re-reading it, than I did the first time. Duun gives Thorn a childhood as best he can contrive—his own childhood, in the countryside. He teaches him to be hatani, and we slowly learn what it means to be hatani, not just to fight but also to judge. I think Cherryh was somewhat influenced in making this society by reading about medieval Asia—the ghota are ninja-like, and there’s something of that feel to the castes, and the tiny details like raked sand on the floors and low tech bathing. The speeded up industrialisation in response to the initial human probe also has something about it of Meiji Japan. The shonun are themselves, but it’s interesting to see how she’s used Earth history to make them, especially in reference to the whole colonial thing considering the presence of more technologically advanced humans out there somewhere. Thorn spends most of the book bewildered and trying to fit in. He wants there to be other people who look like him. somewhere in the world. He wants to be what Duun wants him to be—he loves Duun, who is all he has. Yet he knows hatani aren’t supposed to need anybody or anything, and Duun wants him to be hatani. He can never entirely trust Duun. It’s difficult for him. He’s between worlds—culturally hatani, physically human, and it gets more difficult when they start playing him tapes of humans and he starts to understand. And it’s difficult for Duun too, who sees wider complications than Thorn can. This isn’t a favourite Cherryh for me—it’s on the cusp between the ones I like and the ones I find go too far into misery and incomprehensibility. There’s just enough safety here, just enough of a potential for things being all right that I can bear it—at least on re-reading. It also has a notably good cover—Michael Whelan is actually illustrating a scene from the book and getting everything right. Bundling Cuckoo’s Egg with Serpent’s Reach (post) under the title “The Deep Beyond” seems to imply that this book takes place in the Alliance- Union universe. There’s no internal evidence one way or the other—there are tapes and a drug, and it may be deepstudy or it may not. (And if it is, then like in Serpent’s Reach (1979) or like in Cyteen (1988)?) There are humans who have FTL and that’s all we know, and we don’t even know that for sure. It may or may not take place on some undiscovered edge of the Alliance-Union universe, and at any time at all within that continuity, it honestly doesn’t matter. This is a stand alone book which could possibly have a sequel that would answer that question, though after twenty-five years it’s unlikely. For now, or unless Cherryh answers the question, I’m assuming this is set in our future but nothing else. She has written books I like better, and books that are easier to read, but if you want one book that is pure essence of Cherryh, no explanations, no excuses, just aliens and difficult motivations, then this is it. Jo Walton is a science fiction and fantasy writer. She’s published two poetry collections and nine novels, most recently Among Others , and if you liked this post you will like it. She reads a lot, and blogs about it here regularly. She comes from Wales but lives in Montreal where the food and books are more varied. The Best C.J. Cherryh Books: 8 Books to Get You Started. C.J. Cherryh is an absolute titan of science fiction. She started writing science fiction in the 1970s, and wrote under her initials to hide that she was female…and added the “h” to the end of her real last name because her first editor thought she sounded too much like a romance writer. Despite the institutional sexism of the genre, she went on to be renowned for her world-building and her vast, thoughtful research into particularly the social sciences. In 2016, she was made a Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. She’s won multiple Hugos and other awards. She even has an asteroid named after her — 77185 Cherryh! Oh yeah, and she’s written over 80 books. So it can be a little intimidating to approach the whole of the C.J. Cherryh books, but there’s definitely some entry points to aim yourself at. Where to Start With Science Fiction C.J. Cherryh Books. Foreigner. Foreigner kicks off a series by that name, which follows a translator named Bren Cameron and the alien Atevi. The setup for this book is admittedly a little rough; the first couple of chapters cover the back story of how the humans got to this planet and what happened to the colonists, which is grim — and something the author herself says she only put in because her editor wanted it. But once the book and the series get rolling, and it’s all about culture clash between the humans and the first species they contact. The Atevi have an absolutely delightful and sardonic sense of humor. This is also a very long series (book 21, Divergence, came out last year) but she tends to write these in three-book arcs that you can dip in and out of. Cyteen. Cyteen earned C.J. Cherryh a Hugo Award for Best Novel. It’s one entry point into her sprawling, loosely-connected Alliance/Union series, which is about Earth’s attempt at intergalactic empire falling apart due to distance and the station-bound colonies rebelling after the advent of faster-than- light travel. Cyteen itself is a runaway colony with a deliberately augmented and cloned population. There are more than 20 novels considered to be in this series, but most were purposefully written to be read in any order, and you can read as many or as few as you like to still enjoy this massive take on Earth’s future.