The Pride of Chanur / C.J. Cherryh

The Pride of Chanur

category: science fiction, author:

C.J. Cherryh

book 1 of Chanur
original copyright 1982,
read in December 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

Aliens, aliens, aliens... The Compact is a loose arrangement of alien races willing to trade with each other. Now, the first human has entered Compact space.

From there, you expect the human to make friends, save lives, initiate new trade routes and, possibly, lead at least one alien race to victory. Well -- wrong!

One of the the alien races -- the hani -- provides the heroes. The sole human is a catalyst, a cause of much of the action, but with minimal involvement. Almost like a treasure which starts arguments, causes troubles, then is returned to its rightful owner.

The Pride of Chanur is a story of aliens, with one human catalyst. The hani have space travel and politics. And the politics are at least as important as the space travel. Not that this makes the book any less "science fiction" because the politics are, of course, alien :-)

Pride is an action-packed adventure, yet the main theme is the decisions made by the hero. With a growing theme of, the development of the Chanur family within the hani race. The hero recognises that the current hani approach to politics is, perhaps, not the best; this leads to a small shift in attitude, for the hero. (Strictly speaking, for the heroine. Major hani characters are female; the no-space rule for males is one of the problems recognised by the ... heroine.)

I wonder if the heroine's new understanding will spread to other hani, as the book series continues? Since I'm reading a three-in-one volume, I'll soon find out...

Back amongst the action -- and the politics -- this book can be hard to follow.

At many points I'm left wondering, What's happening? The action and interest continue on but the detail is confused. Perhaps Cherryh -- or her editor -- has also noticed this...

I've already read a chapter or three of the next book. In book one (Pride), all characters suffer physical effects from using the warp drive. In the second book, we are given a reasonable explanation as to why. I just hope that this extra clarity will extend to other aspects of the story!

But that's a minor quibble. The book has depth, breadth, good characters and an exciting plot. There is enough to keep any reader... any reader who likes the sort of book that I like... enjoyably entertained, right to the end.

With a solid and satisfactory ending. Though I still hope that the human will come back in book two, and possibly do something beyond being a catalyst.

Although, truth to tell, the hani are interesting enough. The Pride of Chanur is a story of unique people who have to deal with a strange alien. And that alien just happens to be a "human".

..o0o..

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