Q about reading more Union-Alliance/Company Wars books

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

So I am planning to continue reading C.J. Cherryh’s books about the Company Wars and the Union-Alliance universe. Any suggestions on order after Downbelow Station? Should the Cyteen books come next or Merchanter's Luck? I’ve looked online for reading order suggestions and there are lots of opinions. I’d like to hear from this group...

[Oleksandr]

I should admit that I've so far read only Downbelow Station and Cyteen and they both can be read stand alone, there are enough info-dumps to keep up to date on the story. However, in my edition of Downbelow Station there is the preface by the author where she says that this book is like a backgrounder for Merchanter's Luck, so it looks like a good continuation

[Elaine]

I found DBS very confusing, and followed it with Merchanter's Luck which seemed to cause the setting to gel in my head. So I'd recommend that.

Cyteen is set wholly on Union side and is planet based. It stands alone, really.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Elaine wrote: "I found DBS very confusing, and followed it with Merchanter's Luck which seemed to cause the setting to gel in my head. So I'd recommend that.
Cyteen is set wholly on Union side and is planet base..."

That sounds like a good plan, thanks!

Oleksandr wrote: "I should admit that I've so far read only Downbelow Station and Cyteen and they both can be read stand alone, there are enough info-dumps to keep up to date on the story...."

Good to know, thanks!

[Chris, Moderator]

I have now read four of the books, because those are the ones that I've found in used bookstores. According to CJ Cherryh's site, http://www.cherryh.com/www/univer.htm, most of the books can be read standalone and in any order.

In general, I've found the overall political situation murky, possibly because Cherryh's characters spend so much time internally discussing all the possible ramifications of any situation. But the central characters are well drawn and compelling. My favorite so far is Finity's End; Fletcher's actions and reactions to his changing situation are completely understandable and sometimes distressing.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Chris wrote: "...most of the books can be read standalone and in any order."

Yes, I’ve read this, too. But it is hard for me to just do that, especially since I have so many of the books. So I read Downbelow Station, then Merchanter's Luck. I should have followed that with Rimrunners, but since Forty Thousand in Gehenna was bundled with Merchanter’s Luck in one book, I read that next, but it really is from the “era of rapprochement” and not strictly from “the company wars” sub-series. I am interspersing these books with other things , so I will get back to them one at a time, slowly, with Rimrunners up next.

[Jim]

Something to keep in mind as you traverse these books: Ms. Cherryh is nothing if not flexible in her SF writing style. So if you find yourself happy with a space opera type, like "Merchanter's Luck", you might have a different reaction, say, to "Heavy Time". It gets down to how characters are portrayed as well as the nature of the millieu. I have found by reading just about everything she's written (backed off the Foreigner series a little) that the more character driven the story the better I like it. And I think that is her strength anyway.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Jim wrote: "Something to keep in mind as you traverse these books: Ms. Cherryh is nothing if not flexible in her SF writing style."

Thanks for the insight. I think I will have a better perspective after I have read more of her SF. I have read several of her fantasy books and have liked them.

I also discovered in looking back at my notes that I read the Faded Sun Trilogy, one of Cherryh’s SF arcs set in the Union-Alliance universe, back in 2013. I guess I was not aware at the time how that trilogy fit into her overall universe.