Scan barcode
kivt's review against another edition
4.0
this was a good book but i'm not sure i enjoyed it much. i liked the central premise--how do you relate to a sentient race that does not feel emotion in the way that you are hard-wired to? Cherryh did a great job exploring that question from a ton of angles. too good a job, maybe. the book feels very claustrophobic for its close focus on Bren. you ride through every repetitive anxiety spiral with him as his sense of self and grip on reality is slowly eroded through the course of the book. it's not especially pleasant, and though you do get answers at the end, i would not say they are particularly satisfying. you'd read the book for the enjoyment of Bren struggling against himself & Cherryh's sort of undulating prose, not for answers to a mystery. undecided if i'll read the next.
annkniggendorf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
willowmariemanning's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
nonesensed's review against another edition
4.5
Bren Cameron has dedicated his life to a career as 'paidhi', the interpreter, translator and emissary to the atevi, the native species to their current home planet. Two hundred years ago, an accident sent Bren's ancestors off-course in their space travel, stranding them and forcing them to seek desperate harbor. Eventually, some of said ancestors chose to settle on the atevi home world, even knowing that would lead to confrontation and possible conflict with the atevi. Bren's current position is thus very delicate. It's doesn't get any easier when assassins suddenly come after him.
It says in the intro that the author included the two introduction sections (the part with the space ship accident and the part about first contact between humans and atevi) on the advice of an editor. Thus I can't hold that against the writing, even though it did make the book hard to get into. But once things got going with the main character in focus, I was hooked!
If you're a fan of the "humans are aliens/humans are space orcs" meme that's been going around the internet for a long while, this is a book for you. See, the main conflict of the book is that Bren, despite being the sole interpreter and emissary to the atevi, doesn't fully understand the atevi, just as they don't fully understand humans. Atevi are, at least as far as humans have understood things, "wired differently" from humans. Atevi have no word for 'loyalty' or 'friendship' and if you say you like an atevi they'll think you're joking, since the only words in the atevi language that translate to 'like' for humans have to do with favorite foods and colors. Basically, inter-personal relationships are very different between humans and atevi, and that sure makes coexisting extremely difficult, even without the added tension of the humans basically being an invasive species - one with far more advanced technology than the atevi, still.
Really looking forward to where this is going, even though I feel the ending of this book was a little abrupt.
It says in the intro that the author included the two introduction sections (the part with the space ship accident and the part about first contact between humans and atevi) on the advice of an editor. Thus I can't hold that against the writing, even though it did make the book hard to get into. But once things got going with the main character in focus, I was hooked!
If you're a fan of the "humans are aliens/humans are space orcs" meme that's been going around the internet for a long while, this is a book for you. See, the main conflict of the book is that Bren, despite being the sole interpreter and emissary to the atevi, doesn't fully understand the atevi, just as they don't fully understand humans. Atevi are, at least as far as humans have understood things, "wired differently" from humans. Atevi have no word for 'loyalty' or 'friendship' and if you say you like an atevi they'll think you're joking, since the only words in the atevi language that translate to 'like' for humans have to do with favorite foods and colors. Basically, inter-personal relationships are very different between humans and atevi, and that sure makes coexisting extremely difficult, even without the added tension of the humans basically being an invasive species - one with far more advanced technology than the atevi, still.
Really looking forward to where this is going, even though I feel the ending of this book was a little abrupt.
skycrane's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this first book. The setup is unique and has a lot of potential. This is a world where humans are the aliens. Through mishap and decisions made in desperation, the descendants of a lost colony come to share a planet with a separate sentient species. After a difficult start to the relationship, they agree to keep mostly separate, with one human representative acting as a contact between the human enclave and the largest Atevi nation. That's our hero. Not a fighter, or a leader, and not even really a diplomat, but rather an interpreter. A "writer of dictionaries" as he likes to call himself. These books are at their best when Bren has to try and bridge the gap in understanding between species. This first book is particularly good because of how often he fails. Throughout most of the book he's lost and confused. He's mislead by his human instincts, knowing that his gut feelings of trust, betrayal, or fondness cannot be relied upon when navigating Atevi society, but unable to stop feeling them. He's not necessarily the most political savvy person even when it comes to human society, and he's completely blindsided by the plots and machinations he finds himself embroiled in.
Now some criticism. I've read 7 or 8 of these books now, and I don't think I can read any more. There are some major flaws that just keep growing throughout the series and eventually reached a point where I can longer ignore them. I'm not going to go into any details, but I'm going to touch upon events in some of the later books as examples.
The aliens are too human. The Atevi are almost exactly the same as humans in basically every way. Though Bren constantly goes on about the major differences between Atevi and human emotions, rooted on a biological level, they really aren't as significant as he makes them out to be. This first book is basically the only one in which the Atevi feel foreign and strange. Despite their supposedly very different hard-wiring, the Atevi almost always act in a very predictable manner. Bren's human emotions and human understanding never truly fails him after the first book. The Atevi he trusts never betray him. And no matter how often he repeats that there is no "liking" a person in Atevi society, that they're not hard-wired to even feel that emotion, it's just not true. The Atevi he likes act exactly as if they like him back. And other than that supposedly major difference, they might as well just be some other nation of humans. I just came to accept this as something inherent to the premise. By sheer coincidence this lost colony of humans ran into another intelligent species that happens to be very human in almost every way. But then later, when they run into another intelligent species they... are also very human, and easily understandable. Not only do they look mostly human, eat the same kind of food, breathe the same air, see out of their eyes, and speak using sound, their language is so similar that the two races were able to understand each other on a basic level after just a week or so. This was a major disappointment. The aliens might as well be just some group of humans from another country.
In the first two trilogies, the major conflicts revolve around the relationship between humans and Atevi. Bren's role in the plot is natural. He's the bridge between the two species and it's his role to help resolve any inter-species disputes. He gets involved in intra-Atevi disputes, but usually only to the extent that those disputes relate to the Atevi-human relationship. Some Atevi are suspicious of humans, and it makes sense that Bren could help reassure them. In the third trilogy, this completely breaks down. Now suddenly he's Tabini's fireman, sent in to resolve all kinds of problems, even those that just involve Atevi politics and Atevi affairs. It kind of makes Tabini look like an idiot to choose Bren for these jobs where really he's more of a liability than an asset.
But those are really minor complaints next to my last one. This is something that at first I found amusing but now I think is unforgivable. C.J. Cherryh doesn't read her own books. Basic facts about the world and the characters change from one book to another. The population of Mospheira goes from 4 million to 400,000. "Trust" goes from being one of those words that doesn't exist in the Atevi language to being something that Atevi say to each other all the time. Characters' ages jump years up and down. The Assassins' Guild has a completely different function in society every time it is mentioned. Familial relationships change at random. If this was just a few minor facts, then I wouldn't care. I probably wouldn't even notice. At first when I started noticing these things I just assumed I hadn't understood, or didn't remember, or maybe the information that I thought was certain was just one character's understanding of the situation. But eventually I started going back and double-checking previous books. And once I started doing that, I realized that these inconsistencies are so frequent and so pervasive that basically anything can be subject to change at any moment. Significant facts can vary from one page to the next. These aren't even retcons. The author isn't deliberately changing something for the convenience of telling a new story (though that does happen too—book four proceeds as if many of the developments in the epilogue of book three never happened). She just can't be bothered to keep the facts of her own world consistent. When I realized this, I could no longer engage with these books, because my belief in the world shattered.
This is a very popular series, so maybe these inconsistencies don't bother most people. Maybe it won't bother you. You might not notice them, or you might be able to put them aside for the sake of an otherwise very enjoyable series. But for me, it ruined these books.
Now some criticism. I've read 7 or 8 of these books now, and I don't think I can read any more. There are some major flaws that just keep growing throughout the series and eventually reached a point where I can longer ignore them. I'm not going to go into any details, but I'm going to touch upon events in some of the later books as examples.
The aliens are too human. The Atevi are almost exactly the same as humans in basically every way. Though Bren constantly goes on about the major differences between Atevi and human emotions, rooted on a biological level, they really aren't as significant as he makes them out to be. This first book is basically the only one in which the Atevi feel foreign and strange. Despite their supposedly very different hard-wiring, the Atevi almost always act in a very predictable manner. Bren's human emotions and human understanding never truly fails him after the first book. The Atevi he trusts never betray him. And no matter how often he repeats that there is no "liking" a person in Atevi society, that they're not hard-wired to even feel that emotion, it's just not true. The Atevi he likes act exactly as if they like him back. And other than that supposedly major difference, they might as well just be some other nation of humans. I just came to accept this as something inherent to the premise. By sheer coincidence this lost colony of humans ran into another intelligent species that happens to be very human in almost every way. But then later, when they run into another intelligent species they... are also very human, and easily understandable. Not only do they look mostly human, eat the same kind of food, breathe the same air, see out of their eyes, and speak using sound, their language is so similar that the two races were able to understand each other on a basic level after just a week or so. This was a major disappointment. The aliens might as well be just some group of humans from another country.
In the first two trilogies, the major conflicts revolve around the relationship between humans and Atevi. Bren's role in the plot is natural. He's the bridge between the two species and it's his role to help resolve any inter-species disputes. He gets involved in intra-Atevi disputes, but usually only to the extent that those disputes relate to the Atevi-human relationship. Some Atevi are suspicious of humans, and it makes sense that Bren could help reassure them. In the third trilogy, this completely breaks down. Now suddenly he's Tabini's fireman, sent in to resolve all kinds of problems, even those that just involve Atevi politics and Atevi affairs. It kind of makes Tabini look like an idiot to choose Bren for these jobs where really he's more of a liability than an asset.
But those are really minor complaints next to my last one. This is something that at first I found amusing but now I think is unforgivable. C.J. Cherryh doesn't read her own books. Basic facts about the world and the characters change from one book to another. The population of Mospheira goes from 4 million to 400,000. "Trust" goes from being one of those words that doesn't exist in the Atevi language to being something that Atevi say to each other all the time. Characters' ages jump years up and down. The Assassins' Guild has a completely different function in society every time it is mentioned. Familial relationships change at random. If this was just a few minor facts, then I wouldn't care. I probably wouldn't even notice. At first when I started noticing these things I just assumed I hadn't understood, or didn't remember, or maybe the information that I thought was certain was just one character's understanding of the situation. But eventually I started going back and double-checking previous books. And once I started doing that, I realized that these inconsistencies are so frequent and so pervasive that basically anything can be subject to change at any moment. Significant facts can vary from one page to the next. These aren't even retcons. The author isn't deliberately changing something for the convenience of telling a new story (though that does happen too—book four proceeds as if many of the developments in the epilogue of book three never happened). She just can't be bothered to keep the facts of her own world consistent. When I realized this, I could no longer engage with these books, because my belief in the world shattered.
This is a very popular series, so maybe these inconsistencies don't bother most people. Maybe it won't bother you. You might not notice them, or you might be able to put them aside for the sake of an otherwise very enjoyable series. But for me, it ruined these books.
stellarian's review against another edition
5.0
I was recced this series by several people and yep, definitely like it, definitely will keep reading! There is something so satisfying with Bren's frustration over Atevi and how they work!
noranne's review against another edition
3.0
This book was pretty slow to get started, but the premise was interesting enough to keep me going. The main character isn't introduced until what seemed like 1/3 into the book. He at times seemed to lack a distinct personality, but by the end I found myself quite fond of him and his attempt to bridge a species gap between humans and atevi.
The ending grabbed me and was hard to put down. I feel like there was more potential there to be fulfilled, and I am not satisfied with some of the threads that didn't really get tied up. Perhaps that's just since it's only book 1 of a series, but that was why I ended up at 3 stars. Definitely looking forward to the next one.
The ending grabbed me and was hard to put down. I feel like there was more potential there to be fulfilled, and I am not satisfied with some of the threads that didn't really get tied up. Perhaps that's just since it's only book 1 of a series, but that was why I ended up at 3 stars. Definitely looking forward to the next one.
joshhall13's review against another edition
2.0
A very gifted writer creates a boring story.
I recall these books featured prominently in book shops and libraries when they were released when i was a kid. So, I decided to pick it up for the first time and see what the fuss was all about back then.
The writer, Mr. or Mrs. Cherryh, is clearly very talented and can write a sentence like nobody's business.
The story made me feel like I deserve a medal for crossing the finish line though. This book could have been shortened to 10 pages long.
I recall these books featured prominently in book shops and libraries when they were released when i was a kid. So, I decided to pick it up for the first time and see what the fuss was all about back then.
The writer, Mr. or Mrs. Cherryh, is clearly very talented and can write a sentence like nobody's business.
The story made me feel like I deserve a medal for crossing the finish line though. This book could have been shortened to 10 pages long.
michi's review against another edition
The Allens Werke too mich Luke humans. Couldn't get into it.