C. J. Cherryh
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Downbelow
Station by C. J. Cherryh 
This is one of a number of connected books by
Cherryh set in a future where man has expanded across the stars. Sol has become
inward looking and isolated and the main developments in science and technology
come from the space stations originally created to support the outward
exploration. At the time of the action in Downbelow, a war is in
progress between the two contrasting powers, Earth and the Union. The Union has
developed from a group of stations that broke away from Earth dominance some
time before the action commences. The other major force in this future is the
Merchanters. These are the people who provide the ships for commerce. They have
developed their own culture, based on "families," and live permanently
on their ships.
Only one station remains free, which has not been
absorbed by the Union or abandoned by Earth. This station is critical
strategically, both for its location, and for the fact that it is one of very
few to be based above an inhabitable planet (Pell).
The remnants of the Earth fleet are desperate,
abandoned by Earth itself, they continue to fight against the Union with
increasingly less effect. The commander of this fleet decides on a last ditch
attempt to deal a decisive blow against Union. Unfortunately for the inhabitants
of Pell and the station, this action puts Pell at the centre of the conflict.
The book follows the fortunes of Pell in this
conflict, concentrating on the major characters of the Constantins, who have run
Pell for several generations, and one of the fleet captains who finds the
actions of the commander more and more difficult to swallow. Interwoven with
this action, Cherryh takes a look at the ethics of psychological modification,
and the treatment of the indigenous non-human population of Pell.
An exciting plot line and well-developed
characters make this book an entertaining read. In addition, reading this will
provide the reader with a better understanding of the Union/Alliance future in
which Cherryh has set a number of other books.
Reviewed by: Digger
C. J. Cherryh
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Forty Thousand in Gehenna by C. J. Cherryh 
This is one of a number of connected books by
Cherryh set in a future where man has expanded across the stars. Sol has become
inward looking and isolated and the main developments in science and technology
come from the space stations originally created to support the outward
exploration. At the time of the action in Forty Thousand, a war has
just been fought between the two contrasting powers, Earth and the Union. The
Union has developed from a group of stations that broke away from Earth
dominance some time before the action commences. The other major force in this
future is the Merchanters. These are the people who provide the ships for
commerce. They have developed their own culture, based on "families,"
and live permanently on their ships. The Merchanters, fearing forced absorption
by Union, have formed the Alliance.
Union culture is based on the production of
intelligent human clones designed for specific tasks, and the "forty
thousand," are just that. At the end of the war, the Union has discovered a
habitable planet in a strategic location. In order to prevent Earth from
assimilating the planet, forty thousand clones and humans are shipped there and
deliberately abandoned to colonize the planet.
The book follows the progress of this colony over
a period of three hundred years as the civilization breaks down and the
survivors develop means to cope with the intelligent indigenous lizard
population. This progress is seen through the eyes of Alliance scientists from a
monitoring station above the planet, from two scientists working "on the
ground" with each of the two conflicting cultures which have developed, and
also through the eyes of the descendants of one of the clones.
Essentially an allegory for the conflict between
aggressive male behavior and passive female behavior, the book is sometimes hard
to follow. It contains a great deal of pseudo-scientific discussion of social
science theories. A confirmed Cherryh fan, I admit I only managed to complete
this book by skipping large chunks of the discussion, however the basic plot is
sound and the character development, as always, is interesting and entertaining.
Review by: Digger
C. J. Cherryh
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Hunter of Worlds by C. J. Cherryh (out
of print)
Hunter of Worlds is based in a universe
dominated by the Iduve. An intelligent, humanoid race with an essentially
predatory nature, the Iduve are feared by the other main intelligent species,
Kallians and Amauts. They are so far ahead of the others in technology as to
have obtained an almost God-like status.
The book tells the story of an Iduve clan's hunt
for a fugitive, and the fate of two Kallian's and a human mind linked to each
other against their will by the Iduve to pursue the hunt.
As is normal with Cherryh, the plot is sound and
the character development good, and, again as expected, the much more
interesting story is in the underlying ethical base of the novel. In this case,
she explores the moral and ethical responsibility of power.
In their pursuit of revenge, the Iduve are
prepared to obliterate a world, and throw the entire universe of the Kallians
and the Amaut into war and chaos. Humans in this universe are essentially
unintelligent regressives left behind when man withdrew from this sector of
space. The exception to this is the human, Daniel, forcibly linked to two
Kallians. Unlike the Kallians and the Amaut, he is not subject to thousands of
years of hereditary fear of the Iduve, and his actions and attitude, combined
with that of the main Kallian character, has a significant impact on the Iduve
clan. Cherryh explores the ability of two individuals to challenge a whole
society and to bring about change.
This is an exciting and interesting read, although
some of the action is predictable, the outcome of the novel has a certain twist.
C. J. Cherryh
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