Alternative cover to ISBN 0886772273.
Downbelow Station is a science fiction novel written by C. J. Cherryh and published in 1981 by DAW Books. I...
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Jul 19, 2007
Sean
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If you’re going to say you know something about the science fiction genre (and for my own odd reasons I want to be able to say that*), you have to read C.J. Cherryh. She is one of the genre’s most respected writers both for the depth of her “world building” as they call it, and for the application of social and political theory that she brings to her works.
Downbelow Station is a book about war. The fact that it is war that takes place on spaceships and is fought with laser beams is More...
Downbelow Station is a book about war. The fact that it is war that takes place on spaceships and is fought with laser beams is More...
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Feb 07, 2012
Joey-Joey-Jo-Jo
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While slightly space opera-ish, this book mainly looks at the people who are usually on the sidelines of such stories. The novel focuses on the politics and life experiences of refugees, workers, administrators, and merchants caught up in an escalating war between two great powers. The common dilemma they face is how to react in the face of threats and coercion by the warring military powers. How much should they cooperate, how much of their old life can they save, and how can they protect th
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Dec 31, 2011
Ken
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Downbelow Station was my introduction to CJ Cherryh and it had me hooked by the fifth page. It tells the tale of the climatic struggle between the old Earth fleet and the rising power of Cyteen at the lonely space station around a distant world called Pell. The book follows the paths of the ruling class of the space station, an Earth Fleet commander, and a Cyteen operative/refugee amid a nearly apocalyptic confrontation between Cyteen and Earth.
Having never read her Cyteen books, I fou More...
Having never read her Cyteen books, I fou More...
Dec 24, 2011
August
rated it: 
This book had a good premise, an interesting sort of gritty hard-sci fi method of space travel and the general tech of spaceships felt pretty cool and real. Then you started reading it. The characters in this book are racist, ignorant idiots, and completely unbelievably so. The planet below their space station has ewoks (yes, they're basically straight up ewoks) that happily serve as slaves to the humans of the space station.
"yes massa! yes massa!"
That's what I rea More...
"yes massa! yes massa!"
That's what I rea More...
Jul 27, 2011
Andreas
rated it:
Stuck between the “old world” Terrans and the “new world” Union, Downbelow Station struggles to survive in an increasingly hostile universe. The book follows the denizens of the station and their machinations.
This novel won the Hugo Award in 1982 so I was expecting a lot. Sadly, I found it very dull. The story itself is very interesting, as is the setting. Unfortunately I dislike Cherryh’s style. It has been described as “limited third person”, meaning that the author only describes wh More...
This novel won the Hugo Award in 1982 so I was expecting a lot. Sadly, I found it very dull. The story itself is very interesting, as is the setting. Unfortunately I dislike Cherryh’s style. It has been described as “limited third person”, meaning that the author only describes wh More...
Jul 14, 2011
Roger
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I just finished C. J. Cherryh's "Downbelow Station". This is the first "foundational" novel of her "Alliance-Union" space opera series. This is NOT the first book in the series (that would be "Heavy Time"). According to the author, these books (with a couple of exceptions) can be read in any order. From her website...
"The novels in this universe, except Hellburner and Heavy Time, and Cyteen and Regenesis, can be read completely out of order...jus More...
"The novels in this universe, except Hellburner and Heavy Time, and Cyteen and Regenesis, can be read completely out of order...jus More...
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Sep 24, 2011
William
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Downbelow Station is categorized as Science Fiction but it would be more accurate to categorize it as Political Science Fiction, as the plot focuses mostly on the politics and nature of societies at war. The science fiction backdrop feels more like an afterthought than an integral part of the story.
The plot revolves around Pell, an independent space station orbiting a planet called Downbelow, that is caught in the middle of two warring colonial powers and a large group of mercantile sh More...
The plot revolves around Pell, an independent space station orbiting a planet called Downbelow, that is caught in the middle of two warring colonial powers and a large group of mercantile sh More...
Jun 04, 2008
Terence
rated it: 
CJ Cherryh is one of the best SF authors around, and Downbelow Station, the first of the Union/Alliance novels, is still the best in the series. It's nearly flawless in terms of plot, characterization, and pacing.
Signy Mallory is one of the more memorable ships' captains in SF, making Kirk and Picard look like colorless wimps. (Sigourney Weaver would be perfect in this part.)
Signy Mallory is one of the more memorable ships' captains in SF, making Kirk and Picard look like colorless wimps. (Sigourney Weaver would be perfect in this part.)
Aug 22, 2011
Lindsay
rated it:
Premise: When humanity spread to the stars, they were contained to ships and stations, and tethered to Earth by commerce. That was until Pell, the first new living world, was found. From there, humans spread to the stars, and grew apart. Now the struggle over who will rule out there is coming to a head, between the Earth-Based Company, the space-based Fleet which ostensibly works for the Company, and the cloning-friendly spacers who make up the Union which has claimed the Beyond. The citizens of
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Jan 03, 2011
Lorena
rated it:
While none of the characters in this book are particularly sympathetic, they were very well-written and layered (which I have come to expect from Cherryh). Since many people before me have already written reviews of this book, I'll just mention two of my impressions -
- I didn't get a sense of sympathy from the Stationers for the influx of refugees, which was actually kind of refreshing and honest. Most people don't like it when hungry, needy people show up at the doorstep; it was real More...
- I didn't get a sense of sympathy from the Stationers for the influx of refugees, which was actually kind of refreshing and honest. Most people don't like it when hungry, needy people show up at the doorstep; it was real More...
Aug 24, 2011
Nemo
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I really enjoyed this book when I read it- 9 or 10 years ago.
I actually liked t so much that I tried to copy its stile and some of its background setting for my first, long forgotten attempt at writing science fiction.
I was rather young at the time, and the ideas of space combat intrigue, and espionage captivated me at the time, sadly the many years have thoroughly wiped out some of the details, but I still think it is worthy of a five star review.
The character development was int More...
I actually liked t so much that I tried to copy its stile and some of its background setting for my first, long forgotten attempt at writing science fiction.
I was rather young at the time, and the ideas of space combat intrigue, and espionage captivated me at the time, sadly the many years have thoroughly wiped out some of the details, but I still think it is worthy of a five star review.
The character development was int More...
Feb 09, 2012
Richard
rated it:
I was initially put-off by its initial information dump, and the first few chapters were a bit rough, but it quickly settled into a comfortable pace and created a really interesting world centred around the station.
The greatest strength of the book was creating the rich world and filling it with clear and easy-to-understand, but still complex problems for the characters to overcome. The sense of foreboding and the scale of the challenges the characters faced was very powerful and k More...
The greatest strength of the book was creating the rich world and filling it with clear and easy-to-understand, but still complex problems for the characters to overcome. The sense of foreboding and the scale of the challenges the characters faced was very powerful and k More...
Oct 04, 2010
Jenny
rated it:
It took me about 200 pages to really get into this one: I'm not used to hard political science fiction, and keeping track of the various parties vying for control of a space station (and their ever-changing loyalties) was a bit of a challenge. One that definitely paid off--Ms. Cherryh managed to maintain the suspense for *hundreds* of pages and then top it off with a very satisfying ending.
Also, I have to note: this is how you write good female characters. Not the "kicks butt More...
Also, I have to note: this is how you write good female characters. Not the "kicks butt More...
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Aug 10, 2011
Jesse
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Well, I'm a little late to the party as this is 30 years old at this point, but well plotted, loved the characters, and varying points of view. I think for some people the characters may appear a bit unbelievable, but I found the chaos in their spur of the moment actions and reactions to be very human, more so than what is in most books. This will leave tech-fiends wanting a lot more, as the scene sets constraints and opportunities as opposed to being about the tech, but the tech that is there
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Jan 07, 2011
Dirk
rated it:
There is an entry in Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia regarding Downbelow Station. It reads: "...a 'chamber' opera like Downbelow Station highlights human actors, stagefront, ashen with stress."
Downbelow Station reads like a classical historical epic, with a large cast of characters, many of whom are family, lots of intrigue, shifting allegiances, backstabbing (sometimes quite literally), and of course, tragedy. I'm mentioning this, because many reviewers compla More...
Downbelow Station reads like a classical historical epic, with a large cast of characters, many of whom are family, lots of intrigue, shifting allegiances, backstabbing (sometimes quite literally), and of course, tragedy. I'm mentioning this, because many reviewers compla More...
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May 10, 2011
Mark
rated it:
Downbelow Station begins with thousands of war refugees from a destroyed space station arriving at and being packed into frantically evacuated sections of the Pell station. Fabulous opening. I was saying to myself "Yes, see everybody, interstellar sf doesn't have to be about military/politics/aliens, it can also tell human stories about a refugee camp." Great......and then promptly the book turns into a story about military/politics/aliens with the refugee situation in a minor role.
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Feb 21, 2010
gargamelscat
rated it:
This is an above par space opera.
The pace dragged but it finished with a satisfying bang, leaving me willing to read the next in the series.
It was hard to sympathise with any of the characters for most of the book - from the elite entitlement-hog Konstantins running the station, the self-interested merchanters, the piratical company fleet (some resonance with this era's high-handed military/security activities), the totalitarian Union or the truculent yet wilfully helples More...
The pace dragged but it finished with a satisfying bang, leaving me willing to read the next in the series.
It was hard to sympathise with any of the characters for most of the book - from the elite entitlement-hog Konstantins running the station, the self-interested merchanters, the piratical company fleet (some resonance with this era's high-handed military/security activities), the totalitarian Union or the truculent yet wilfully helples More...
Apr 28, 2011
Mary
rated it:
This book is one is a series of what I have seen described as a space operas. I am not sure if this is the first in the series or second or third but it does just fine I think as a stand alone novel. Cherryh actually wrote several interconnected series, it is quite convoluted, but Downbelow Station seemed to be a good jumping off point. I'm not sure what a space opera is but I would describe this book more as a political and military adventure that takes place in space in human's distant future.
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Jun 23, 2011
Mawgojzeta
rated it:
I read this book the first time when I was quite young. After reading this I went on to others in the Alliance/Union universe a few years later. I remember that I really enjoyed the book, but I was maybe too young (not enough life experience) to really "get" some of the character motivation and what-not.
This time, I chose to re-read Heavy Time and Hellburner before revisiting this book. I think this was a good choice. The order change combined with being 20-something ye More...
This time, I chose to re-read Heavy Time and Hellburner before revisiting this book. I think this was a good choice. The order change combined with being 20-something ye More...
Jul 14, 2011
Nikola
rated it: 
Downbelow Station has unusualy realistic space battles - which is great, but is not military SF and has very few battles. A pitty, since this was the strong side of the book. It has very realistic characters, but I don't think it uses them wisely. It is an above average politics and social SF, with a touch of space/planetary economy. The story went too slowly for my taste, and ended without the kind of climax that I was expecting. For that, I would give it 3 stars, maybe 3 and a half.
An t More...
An t More...
Jun 12, 2009
James
rated it:
This is a fantastic novel. Cherryh succeeds in creating a rivitting story that weaves together lots of twists and turns.
Pell is the last station that hasn't been captured or destroyed by the Union in their relentless advance to Earth. The story opens with one of the last Earth controlled miltary vessels high handedly bringing in and abandoning the refugees from another station. What follows in a fantastic story of the station owners trying to handle these refugees which bring multipl More...
Pell is the last station that hasn't been captured or destroyed by the Union in their relentless advance to Earth. The story opens with one of the last Earth controlled miltary vessels high handedly bringing in and abandoning the refugees from another station. What follows in a fantastic story of the station owners trying to handle these refugees which bring multipl More...
Jun 03, 2010
Isil
rated it:
Ce space opera a obtenu le prix Hugo en 1982. On y suit parallèlement différents personnages. Il y a Damon Konstantin et sa famille qui dirigent Pell et Jon Lukas qui en veut aux Konstantin de lui avoir retiré la direction de sa société. Signy Mallory est capitaine de la Flotte terrienne, qui escorte un bateau de réfugiés. Josh Talley est un étrange jeune homme soupçonné d’appartenir à l’Union, ennemie de la Terre et qui demande une Adaptation (sorte de lavage de cerveau qui permet de se créer u
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May 02, 2008
Lighthearted
rated it:
Cherryh takes us into a future in which Earth has established colonies in deep space—some are stations orbiting stars, some are stations orbiting planets. Over the centuries, as colonies have extended further into “The Beyond”, conflicts have developed. No longer the only livable planet, Earth has lost its importance as an anchor to its colonies—Earth Company, aka “The Company” has lost its influence. The Union, a faction first formed on the outskirts of the colonies, is extending its influence
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Jan 23, 2012
Mike
rated it:
I had never read any C.J. Cherryh prior to this book and so it was my first exposure to her work.
Downbelow Station was slow to start, in fact after the first chapter I had to ask someone who had read it if it was even worth going any further. After some positive re-enforcement I ploughed on but the first half of the book was dull and boring, however about half way through the pace started to pick up and the second half of the book was a very enjoyable read.
I would have ra More...
Downbelow Station was slow to start, in fact after the first chapter I had to ask someone who had read it if it was even worth going any further. After some positive re-enforcement I ploughed on but the first half of the book was dull and boring, however about half way through the pace started to pick up and the second half of the book was a very enjoyable read.
I would have ra More...
Sep 11, 2010
Adrian
rated it:
C.J. Cherryh is a great author. She is incredible at writing characters who are detailed, three-dimensional, and well thought out. That's why I was a bit confused when in this book, she describes an entire species as being communally at the same first-grade level of consciousness, and spends countless pages extolling the problems of mob mentality. It isn't her strong suit, and the book, with an otherwise interesting plot and good sci-fi elements, suffers from it.
Dec 06, 2009
Terse. Establishes mood. Maintains tension. Drops many subjects.
I was reading this for book club, but only made it about halfway through so far. I'm enjoying it so far, and will have to go back to at some point.
Though I must say that opening with a full chapter infodump on the world/universe was a fairly large turn-off. I don't care if this is book #3 in a series -- giving the reader background could still have been handled more gracefully.
I was reading this for book club, but only made it about halfway through so far. I'm enjoying it so far, and will have to go back to at some point.
Though I must say that opening with a full chapter infodump on the world/universe was a fairly large turn-off. I don't care if this is book #3 in a series -- giving the reader background could still have been handled more gracefully.
May 04, 2010
Jeremy
rated it:
A fascinating novel of space politics and war. Initially it was a bit confusing keeping the multitude of characters and locations straight, but that issue does resolve itself eventually. The "geography" of space was difficult to place at first too. Trying to figure out spacial relationships between all the different space stations, and Earth, and Pell, and the Hinder stars, and the Beyond... and so on. Again, eventually the story hones in on it's central story and these issues are reso
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Oct 21, 2007
http://nhw.livejournal.com/187631.html[return][return]Oogh. It really took me a long time to get into this. Roughly 450 pages (out of 520) to be precise. In fairness I thought the end was indeed exciting, but I spent the beginning and middle utterly baffled about who was in which faction, why the factions were in conflict, and really why I should care. The aliens were not particularly alien, I had difficulty distinguishing between the human characters, and the plot seemed incomprehensible. Perha
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Feb 17, 2011
Snail in Danger (Sid)
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This was the first book I read in this setting and by this author, if I recall correctly. (It might have been Cyteen, but I don't think so. Plus, I have vague memories of reading Rusalka or maybe a collaboration with Mercedes Lackey, which would have been fantasy ... but I'm not sure. It would have been a really long time ago - before I graduated from high school.) This is a good book for displaying the complexities of this fictional universe in an interesting way. It's where almost all the
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May 29, 2008
Terryw
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This is a re-read for me because I've just been watching Battlestar Galactica which often reminds me of Cherryh's writing. This book has a little more dullish stuff explaining the setup of this universe and its politics than most of the others but it helps to read this first (even though the books are mostly stand-alones) just to get a good foundation in the background of this world. But even with the encyclopedia type stuff, it still has plenty of action. I love all her books about the Allia
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