Grand Master CJ Cherryh

Here is a great post at SF Signal, in honor of CJ Cherryh’s becoming the 32nd SFWA Grand Master.

SF Signal posed the question: What is your favorite Cherryh work, and where should a reader new to her backlist start? People invited to participate in this post are J Kathleen Cheney, Joe Sherry, Paul Weimer, Nancy Jane Moore, Ian Sales, and me.

Now, you really should click through and check out everyone’s answers to this question, because it’s fascinating how practically everyone picked different works. It seems like virtually every well-known Cherryh title is represented somewhere in that post. Downbelow Station is almost the only work that appears in more than one answer. I find that surprising; I’d honestly have expected more convergence even though Cherryh has such a big backlist from which to choose.

To be sure, I cheated by naming four or five works where someone might start. It seemed impossible to narrow it down to just one.

So, if you’re familiar with Cherryh and have time to click through, who do you most agree with and who do you most disagree with?

And if you’re new to Cherryh, which of the works mentioned do you think sounds most appealing?