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72nd out of 360 books
—
423 voters
The Chanur Saga (Compact Space, #1-3) (Alliance-Union Universe)
by
C.J. Cherryh (Goodreads Author)
Here, for the first time in one volume, is C.J. Cherryh's classic adventure of interstellar politics, a spacefaring fugitive, and first contact with a strange race known as "humans."
Paperback, 704 pages
Published
May 8th 2000
by DAW
(first published May 1st 2000)
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May 22, 2009
Carl
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone
Recommended to Carl by:
Creigh Thomas
The writing is brilliant. C.J. Cherryh excels at "the future of mankind in space" and the development of alien cultures. The publication of this omnibus was an error on the part of the publisher though. It includes the standalone, Hugo nominated "The Pride of Chanur" and then 2 of the next 3 Chanur books which Cherryh wrote as a trilogy. Don't buy this without buying either "Chanur's Homecoming" which is the missing book of the trilogy, or "Chanur's Endgame" which another followup omnibus includ...more
In my view, the first four volumes of the Chanur’s Saga (“Pride” to “Homecoming”) are one single big book (although one can read “The Pride of Chanur” as stand alone).
The most challenging book I have ever read.
One of the most feminist books as well. At some places it’s almost outrageous!
The book is told totally by alien point of view. There is only one human mucking about, and the characters have to do some wild guesswork on his motives most of the time. As alien species is described the hani h...more
The most challenging book I have ever read.
One of the most feminist books as well. At some places it’s almost outrageous!
The book is told totally by alien point of view. There is only one human mucking about, and the characters have to do some wild guesswork on his motives most of the time. As alien species is described the hani h...more
After many years of reading anything BUT science fiction, I decided it was time to pick up one of the classics that I'd never gotten around to browsing. This was definitely a good read! I especially enjoyed how the author puts you right into the thick of things, giving you the point of view of Pyanfar, the captain of "The Pride of Chanur" and allowed you to learn about this universe of new alien creatures that way. We weren't just stuck seeing the spacestation and events through the humans exper...more
The Pride of Chanur: For me the story is the most important part of a book and I liked the story in this one. It wasn't the most fast
paced, I guess this is Cherryh's style because when I read Downbelow STation I found it rather plodding to start. Having said that it did have some nice twists and turns.
It was hard to put this story in a box, is it military SF, a first contact novel, space opera? May be a little of everything. My main criticism is I found all the names confusing and lost track o...more
paced, I guess this is Cherryh's style because when I read Downbelow STation I found it rather plodding to start. Having said that it did have some nice twists and turns.
It was hard to put this story in a box, is it military SF, a first contact novel, space opera? May be a little of everything. My main criticism is I found all the names confusing and lost track o...more
[Review and rating for 'The Kif Strike Back']
It's been YEARS since I read the first two books in this omnibus, and I was a bit worried about how well I'd slide back in to this universe. Well, I needn't have worried - I picked it back up as if I'd barely left it, and it was a real pleasure to read. If any word comes to mind for Cherryh's work, it's 'intelligent'; no-one else constructs alien cultures and handles culture clash like she does (we spend no time in the head of the one human in the boo...more
It's been YEARS since I read the first two books in this omnibus, and I was a bit worried about how well I'd slide back in to this universe. Well, I needn't have worried - I picked it back up as if I'd barely left it, and it was a real pleasure to read. If any word comes to mind for Cherryh's work, it's 'intelligent'; no-one else constructs alien cultures and handles culture clash like she does (we spend no time in the head of the one human in the boo...more
Cherryh writes the best aliens. Ah, just perfect space opera. It reminds me of Bujold's Miles series, not at all because of plot or anything except that it's an easy read yet very well-written, and comes alive. Smart and entertaining at the same time.
From the strangely familiar yet utterly foreign Mahendo'sat to the terrifying carnivore race of the Kif, Cherryh's talent for creating believable alien races with their own agendas shines in The Chanur Saga.
I can't believe this was originally published in three volumes -- the pacing was obviously that of a single novel. Great, high tension action and amazing characterization.
Now the trick is to stop thinking in mahen pidgin.
Now the trick is to stop thinking in mahen pidgin.
Early Cherryh the book deals wth her standard Human interaction with alien cultures, but isn't nearly as well thought out or written as her later work.
Cherryh does a pretty decent job at creating alien races, and putting a human in among a variety of species that don't know what to make of him.
Sep 21, 2009
Carl
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Space opera and xenolinguistics fans
Shelves:
fantasysci-fi
Enjoyed this very much! Will have to give a more detailed review later, but the Chanur series is easily one of my favorites in sci-fi now. I had avoided it for years since it looked so cheesy, and I'm skeptical of alien-viewpoint books, but it turned out to be not only very engaging and interesting, but had very realistic-feeling science (though any time you deal with FTL you have to make it up at some point), and, unlike most sci-fi series (ahem, STAR TREK), allowed even machine-aided translati...more
3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, but it hasn't grabbed me as much as her later books. I found it hard reading with the pidgin English, all the hard names, the kkkkt's, etc. Still, it was tense at times. I plan to continue with Homecoming. Am reading something non-Cherryh first though.
This one turned into a DNF. I couldn't get into the political stuff and the dialogue was horrible to follow. I couldn't understand what they were saying half the time. Started out promising, but I just don't have the energy to try and finish the series.
Jun 12, 2012
Pablo Martinez
marked it as abandoned
You can have a book with questionable Sci-fi concepts, like Miles Vorkosigan saga, or outdated like Dune or Asimov's but still be a very good read.
You can have a book with GREAT concepts and hard sci-fi like Ian M. Banks, or Stephen Baxter, or Asimov, where the writing is dense and the characters uninteresting.
In the few chapters I read from CHANUR I found both. Poor writing with uninteresting characters and plots, and severely outdated and poorly done sci-fi.
Do not read.
You can have a book with GREAT concepts and hard sci-fi like Ian M. Banks, or Stephen Baxter, or Asimov, where the writing is dense and the characters uninteresting.
In the few chapters I read from CHANUR I found both. Poor writing with uninteresting characters and plots, and severely outdated and poorly done sci-fi.
Do not read.
Great story. I haven't read a lot of books like this and it was a nice change. I have already ordered the 4th and 5th in the series.
Mmmmmph. The back of the book doesn't lie: It's the rare Science Fiction novel that manages to make humanity seem like the alien weirdos......Cherryh really needs to give the pidgin talk a fucking rest, though - all the complex political finagling is tough enough to figure without all the You Go Your Ship Now Me Friend You Friend stuff. For reals.
I liked this series almost as much as Larry Niven's 'known space' books. I loved the fact that it was completely from the alien perspective and the human contact was limited and we never saw these novels from the human viewpoint. I liked the inclusion of non-bipedal life (the methane breathing races) and just how bizarre their technology and behavior were.
I am rereading the Chanur Saga by Cherryh. She's my favorite sci-fi/fantasy writer. I could read her stuff over and over again. Plus, I just got a Kindle (an ebook reader), and I've found the etext series on-line for free. I've uploaded it to my Kindle and now I am enjoying all of my currently reading books at the same time! I love it!
Sep 18, 2009
Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
marked it as decided-not-to-read
Shelves:
science-fiction
Somehow this just didn't grab me. Possibly because at least three other authors that I can think of have done the whole cat-like aliens thing. (Anne McCaffrey with the Hrrubans in the Doona books, Larry Niven's Kzinti in the Man-Kzin Wars collections, and Janet Kagan with the Sivaoans and Eeiauoans in Uhura's Song.)
Cherryh does an excellent job of writing a world in which the humans are the 'aliens', without removing their humanness. Add to this a world steeped in multiple cultures, an intergalactic war (as backdrop), and this Saga is Epic SF if ever it exists.
Complicated alien politics can be hard to keep track of and understand, but once (if) you manage to wrap your head around it, it makes for a stimulating read.
For my full review of the Chanur series, see http://bit.ly/bZvj6T
Jun 12, 2013
Alice-marie
marked it as to-read
Jun 12, 2013
Amy
marked it as read_fiction
Jun 08, 2013
Sandy
added it
Jun 06, 2013
Tia Alswyn
added it
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SciFi and Fantasy...: Good Sci Fi? | 15 | 97 | 25 jan. 10:42 |
Currently resident in Spokane, Washington, C.J. Cherryh has won four Hugos and is one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed authors in the science fiction and fantasy field. She is the author of more than forty novels. Her hobbies include travel, photography, reef culture, Mariners baseball, and, a late passion, figure skating: she intends to compete in the adult USFSA track. She began...more
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