Fourth Book in Series & End of Middle Trilogy
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This is the fourth book in the (currently) five book Chanur series. It's also the end of the trilogy that's left incomplete in the supposed "omnibus edition" "The Chanur Saga." As usual for Cherryh, this is an excellently written book that reaches down into your gut and shakes you around. As I'm re-reading these books in quick order, I found this book to be a better read than the previous two in the trilogy. Essentially, it's written at a more sustainable emotional pitch. The first two books in the trilogy just never let up. From the minute you pick them up to the minute they (don't) end, everything goes wrong and everyone's either evil, an enemy, or a fool (or some combination of the three). This book gives you a bit of a break. There are actually other people in it besides the protagonists who are good, competent, and/or an ally. The pacing is also more reasonable. You're not on the edge of your seat on every page. The pitch actually increases fairly smoothly throughout the book. An excellent end to the middle trilogy of the Chanur series.
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Finally back in print
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The Chanur series is made up of 5 books. A prologue novel ("The Pride of Chanur"), a 3-part series ("Chanur's Venture", "The Kif Strike Back" and "Chanur's Homecoming"), and an epilogue novel ("Chanur's Legacy"). The first 3 books are collected in "The Chanur Saga" omnibus volume -- an odd collection since the concluding volume of the central trilogy is HERE, and not in the badly selected "Saga". Note that this book does NOT stand on it's own. You need to start with "The Chanur Saga"
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Excellent!
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Simply excellent! The fourth book in the Chanur saga wrapped up the preceding trilogy wonderfully. An excellent read, the book keeps the reader in a state of high stress and energy throughout as the space-fairing, wounded and physically exhausted leonine crew of 'The Pride of Chanur' struggle desperately to save themselves, their species, and all space-traveling races from war on a scope one recently tortured and terrified character describes as: "New kind thing. Not with rule. ... This new kind word. ... War, Pyanfar, all devils in hell got no word this thing I see." This is not a stand-alone book. To receive the full impact you have to read the series in order. There are politics involves, species defined words and concepts; the technologies behind starship travels, warped time and the fragile Compact that holds all together. Even beyond the storyline I think the best thing about the Chanur saga and other of C. J. Cherryh's novels is the underlining theme that just because something/someone thinks and reasons other than yourself and your ways, that does not make them evil or wrong.
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The funniest and most thoughtful of the Chanur series
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I almost always rate Cherryh's books high, but this one's
definitely one of her best. The Chanur series as a whole is
so much fun that I've read every book in it half-a-dozen
times at least. Cherryh's hani are one of the most inspired
species ever created in the science fiction genre; creative,
smart, short-tempered and tough, they're always at the
center of a great story. Cherryh in general excels at this
sort of anthropological science fiction; any of the Chanur
books are definitely worth reading.
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