Added by 53 members
For some reason Ms Cherryh had previously gone under my lifelong SF radar, so hearing of her detailed 'future history' settings and apparent resemblance to the earlier works of Andre Norton, I hurried to make good the oversight. And this early work of her’s is indeed good. There is that slight tone of classic Norton, not least the lack of sentiment and excellent depiction of truly alien aliens, plus a well established setting and intimations of more ‘adult' themes Norton couldn��t (due to her time and age-audience) dwell on. And yet… and yet... For all the action (frantic in the latter portion) and ruthless way with the character list (don’t bet on anyone hanging around) and those aliens and a proficient writing style, none of this gripped or involved me much. It's a good story, ditto the setting, but I can only offer faint-ish praise. Indeed, far from wishing for more, I was glad when it ended. So: four stars but I really was expecting or hoping for five. I will try the related sort-of sequel to this, but alas without much zeal. Also, it bears mention that the ‘Science Fiction Book Club’ edition (1981) I got was absolutely riddled with careless typos – and this from an age before publishers dispensed with proof-readers.
Genre: Science Fiction
Genre: Science Fiction
Visitors also looked at these books
Used availability for C J Cherryh's Serpent's Reach