Inheritor (Foreigner #3)[June 12, 2024]

[Yanique, Thread Master]

This is a Buddy Read for Inheritor by C.J. Cherryh starting on June 12, 2024.


Happy Reading

[Nirkatze]

Thank you!

Foreigner is a huge ongoing series, but is largely sorted into three book arcs. I figure we can request trilogy by trilogy, and adjust as necessary. If we go straight through, here's a schedule:

Arc 1:
1. Foreigner (Apr 12) [Link]
2. Invader (May 12) [Link]
3. Inheritor (Jun 12)

Arc 2:
4. Precursor (Jul 12) [link]
5. Defender (Aug 12) [link]
6. Explorer (Sep 12) [link]

7. Destroyer (Oct 12)
8. Pretender (Nov 12)
9. Deliverer (Dec 12)

4th Trilogy, 2025
10. Conspirator (Jan 12)
11. Deceiver (Feb 12)
12. Betrayer (Mar 12)

13. Intruder (Apr 12)
14. Protector (May 12)
15. Peacemaker (Jun 12)

16. Tracker (Jul 12)
17. Visitor (Aug 12)
18. Convergence (Sep 12)

19. Emergence (Nov 12)
20. Resurgence (Dec 12)
21. Divergence (Jan 12 2026)

22. Defiance (Feb 12 2026)
Probably have a book or two more by this time.

Audio: 1-19 are on Audible as Audible Only. Apparently the audiobook contract fell apart so the last few have yet to be converted, and the audio is in limbo.

Ebooks: no library/subscription copies available. Check your Libby!

Open Library has a lot of books in this series on ebook (but not all). It also has volunteer-made audiobooks.

https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL264...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'm committed to this series, after how much I loved book 2... bought audiobooks for the next 10 months of BRs on the Audible sitewide sale that just dropped...

Most books are $3.49 or $4.19, with a few randome exceptions that are more expensive (that, and how many books I was buying led me to stop there, and see if the more expensive later books might be cheaper in November's Black Friday sale)...

Also, starting now, a bit early...

[Tammie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I'm committed to this series, after how much I loved book 2... bought audiobooks for the next 10 months of BRs on the Audible sitewide sale that just dropped...

Most books are $3.49 or $4.19, with..."

Thanks for telling us about this. I'm going to buy them.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Been devouring this book last night and this morning...

Sometimes I struggle to make sense of the mental gymnastics going on with the Atevi factions, on audio, even when it's all being explained to Bren by Ilsidi/Jago/etc, but I love it anyway, and things are coming to a head now at the 85-90% mark... in very interesting ways...

I read blurbs for these first 3 books, and some overviews of the trilogies of the series, but I don't know which characters are short-term vs long-term, except for a few key ones like (view spoiler)[Tabini, Ilsidi, and one of Tabini's kids... and Bren/Jago & the other Assassin's Guild guardsman that Bren trusts (b-name?)... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

The characters I remember being long-term are (view spoiler)[Bren and his 4-person security team--Banichi & Jago, Tano & Algini, Tabini and his wife Damiri and her uncle Tatiseigi and their son Cajeiri, Ilsidi and her security.

On Mosphera, Bren's family continues to make appearances, and I think Sean does too, maybe even Susan... but I barely remember them.

Jake for sure sticks around. I think Yolanda is recurring, but honestly didn't remember her at all. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Zoomed through this today... these really are comfort reads, almost... also totally did not remember anything about this one...

Chapter 2 (view spoiler)[Poor Bren, juggling Mospheran stubborn ignorance and Atevi mathematical beliefs...

I'm glad this little tidbit explained why Bren is always in white on the covers--that it's apparently a color not claimed by any society, and helps make him stand out... thus it becomes the Paidi's color... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 3 (view spoiler)[I loved this little note about Algiri--that he was so quiet that he had withdrawn from society and everyone thought he was dead... until someone noticed he still voted on guild issues. Very Cherryh-style humor. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 5 (view spoiler)[This whole sequence with Jake's temper is reminding me of how Bren was in the first book... did we think Bren was whiny? Now meet Jake... and then we get reasons... culture shock, family member dead... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Chapter 11 (view spoiler)[Damn Hanks. Stirring up trouble. Grrrrrrr.

I really like the way Jake's culture-clashing is explained--and as more than just culture, but the very idea of horizons and peripheral vision, having grown up where one is always enclosed, and every minute is scheduled... But he's grown up following orders--why are Bren's orders so grating? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 14 (view spoiler)[Bren v. Toby--family v. duty... I come down on Bren's side here, especially hearing about how emotionally demanding (abusive? manipulative at least) his mother is... if it was just a regular job... but Bren's job isn't regular. If there's a crisis that could potentially devolve into war, you can't take a break to go home for family... And there is literally no one whom Bren can delegate to--his alternate was Hanks, for crying out loud... they need to train more translators... (hide spoiler)]

[Barry]

Finished.

This series is fast becoming one of my favorites. Very well-written, and well-developed Atevi society. Although the climax is a bit too short in this book. Anyway some thoughts:

Jago (view spoiler)[ Finally, Bren!

I love how easy Banichi teases her and Bren. Shows their camaraderie.

And how Ilisidi never misses a thing lol! (hide spoiler)]

Bren (view spoiler)[
I thought he could've handled his family crisis a bit better. I mean, he should've known that his family would be in danger as a result of his political position.

I don't know why he didn't ask Tabini to have his family transferred to the Mainland immediately after the end of the 2nd book. I would've thought it was obviously the prudent thing to do, considering that Hanks' faction was ascendant in Mospheira. But, I guess it's a tough position for Bren. Do you really want to have that much debt owed to Tabini? (hide spoiler)]

Hanks (view spoiler)[
Like I said, I thought the climax was way too short. I'd love to see more prolonged conflict between Hanks vs Bren. Felt a bit cheated that Hanks died that easily.

Having said that, I think it's a good place to move on, considering the world-shattering news that Jase told Bren should be the main focus going forward. (hide spoiler)]

Jase (view spoiler)[
Haha, I agree with Nirkatze's assessment about how whiny Jase is. And I understand Jase's frustration. The paidhi is Atevi's hostage, so to speak. Political hostage. And from Jase's pov, I'd guess he thought Bren has gone "native", and perhaps isn't a reliable judge of the political aims of Mospheira. But, I'm glad that Yolanda managed to inform him of what's really going on, without his relationship with Bren deteoriating beyond repair.

Having said that, I thought Bren, again, could've handled Jase's transition and adjustment period better by explaining the political situation much earlier. But, then, I also understand why Bren didn't do so, because he felt (and I also felt) Jase was hiding something.

And Bren was right. What a bombshell of an announcement. I knew the Phoenix was hiding something. Otherwise, it didn't make sense why they gave away basically a world-changing technology like a spaceship freely to BOTH Atevi and Mospheira. I thought they accidentally got into an emergency (many crews died) when they set up their galactic post. But, this reveal is so much more interesting. I'm so excited to see how Atevi adjust to space. And how Atevi-human collaboration would tackle the bad-mannered alien, as Ilisidi put it. (hide spoiler)]

Ilisidi (view spoiler)[
I suppose she's resigned herself to support Tabini's aiji-ship as much as she could. I don't know if Tabini and Ilisidi coordinated their political maneuverings. But, damn. It seems that those two have been making perfect moves so far. Master strategists, both of them.

Which makes me wonder, why Ilisidi couldn't overcome the opposition to her aiji-ship? Seems like she could cultivate any favor from most provinces.

I'm also wondering what's her role going forward. Now that the focus seems to be shifting towards preparing the Atevi society for fighting aggressive alien species. (hide spoiler)]

Really looking forward to the next book!

[Anny]

Barry wrote: "Finished.

This series is fast becoming one of my favorites. Very well-written, and well-developed Atevi society. Although the climax is a bit too short in this book. Anyway some thoughts:

Jago ..."

Saw the discussion, do you mind if I join the conversation now and then?

Re: Family (view spoiler)[ I think most likely they would've refused anyway. Who in their right mind would want to live surrounded by killer aliens in foreign place and far away from any other humans? I don't think his mother and Toby would've ever agree to move no matter the danger. (hide spoiler)]

Ilisidi (view spoiler)[opposition to her aiji-ship was mostly because she was outsider to the Central Padi Valley Association, iirc. No one liked to see an outsider grabbing the seat of power in their turf. Regarding her future role, well it's safe to say that she's not the type to sit and do nothing XD (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Welcome Anny! I have to say I agree on family--(view spoiler)[I don't think they would have joined Bren at that time... and he really hasn't had time since Jace touched down... or since the ship was seen in the sky--I really liked the conversation Bren had with him about how his appearance caused upset, that people like him were living very normal lives until he showed up--like there is a very clear before and after in Bren's life. Before the ship, he was little more than a mouthpiece intermediary. After, he's become a political power in his own right... though he hasn't quite realized it yet.

Before--he could make it home to family on occasion. Before, his family wouldn't have even thought to come to live or visit in alien Atevi society. After... he really hasn't had the time, or the emotional space, to deal with family--and his news from Mospheira has been largely strangled... maybe he would have thought to invite them, but that idea itself was pretty alien... I don't think he would have had it without Tabini's invitation--which is what it eventually took. I do think he could have played the situation better, or maybe realized from his mother's & Barb's messages that it wasn't just idle harassment going on, but by the time he did realize, he had no power to act... it never occurred to him that it would be possible to use his influence on the Atevi side to affect his Mospheiran side... Now though, I think he knows better... he's just... not the fastest learner in personal areas. (hide spoiler)]

re: Ilsidi--love her! And her grandma-voice in narration is great... (view spoiler)[I also have to wonder how much power she has had as a behind-the-scenes influencer rather than front-row power. Her grandson Tabini obviously respects her opinion and she has enough power to justify him allying and playing with her instead of against her. Dittoing @Anny--Ilsidi does not take a back-seat in any of these books though... she's always in the midst of everything.

And I love how she teases Bren, and Bren politely flirts back with her... such a great on-page relationship. On par with Banichi's ribbing of Jago after she & Bren start their relationship. (hide spoiler)]

re: Climax--(view spoiler)[I agree that Hanks just dying from a blown-up ship was somewhat anticlimactic... really, all of her antagonism was off-page, an amorphous cloud of worry on an island we had no eyes on... I do find it interesting how with Bren as our POV, we are always left in the dark about a lot of aspects... it's an interesting way to tell the story. We figure things out as Bren does, and he's just one human. (hide spoiler)]

re: Reveal--(view spoiler)[I love the reveal that for all Jace was accusing Bren of hiding things, it was really Jace who was lying... See in others the faults you yourself have. And that he has no living father to die, that it was all code... he was worried about Yolanda, not his mom... I also find it pretty funny that even the Ship's folks realize how crazy the Mospheirans are getting, and would rather deal with the unknowable Atevi. Great ending. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

I take it that everyone is interested in continuing! Does keeping the 12th and going onwards at 1/month work for everyone? If so, I'll put in requests for the next trilogy.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I bought through book 12, and expect to buy the rest on a future sale... I'm in for the long haul...

[Tammie]

I'm continuing. I bought all the available audio books but two.

[Tammie]

Nirkatze wrote: "Zoomed through this today... these really are comfort reads, almost... also totally did not remember anything about this one...

Chapter 2..."

Chapter 2- I'm glad that is explained. I had noticed that about him on the covers too.

The chapter 3 thing about Algiri had me giggling.

Your chapter 5 spoiler- Good point. Bren has grown so much since then.

[Nirkatze]

I love the sneaky humor in these books!

I'll go ahead and request the next set of books then, per schedule above.

[Tammie]

Nirkatze wrote: "Chapter 11

I agree with you about this. I really liked how the author explains these things about Jake. I probably wouldn't have thought about some of this if she hadn't brought it up. Jake has at times annoyed me with his attitude, but I can also understand him because of this.

Chapter 14..."

I agree! (view spoiler)[ Bren's family is not understanding at all. And why are there not more translators? (hide spoiler)]

[Tammie]

Up to chapter 21. (view spoiler)[I don't particularly like reading detailed love scenes, but I was a little disappointed that we didn't get a little more detail about what it was like for Bren to make love to an Atevi. I appreciated that it had it's awkward and embarrassing moments, but what were the differences? That would have been interesting to know. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

re: Translators--seriously!! Why aren't there more? I wonder if it has to do with aptitude, or interest? Most Mospherans seem to be pretty self-centered... or cultural centered... but I find it hard to believe that like, basic Atevi isn't a requirement from elementary school... at least the children's language...

re: Chapter 21--lol... (view spoiler)[me, on the other hand, I felt like there was too much detail already.... This scene stuck in my memory for decades afterwards, as how awkward sex is... and how neither of them seemed to really know what was going on... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

You'd think they'd divert any mathy kids into a Translator program... there have to be more than 1-2 in a generation, right?...

[Tammie]

Nirkatze wrote: "re: Chapter 21--lol..."

LOL that's funny!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Something about that spoiler comment (not sure I read it before), makes me think of First Law world, and Joe Abercrombie's gritty sex scenes... sex scenes, not lovemaking :D

[Tammie]

Finished! I enjoyed this one. I especially am interested in (view spoiler)[these other aliens (hide spoiler)]. I also liked the way it ended (view spoiler)[with Bren's family there, and so glad Hanks is dead (hide spoiler)].

[Anny]

Nirkatze wrote: "re: Translators--seriously!! Why aren't there more? I wonder if it has to do with aptitude, or interest? Most Mospherans seem to be pretty self-centered... or cultural centered... but I find it har..."

I believed it had to do with the war. The war was said to be caused by miscommunication due to humans contacting various Atevi or different Atevi contacting different humans? Frustratingly , the war itself was never really explicitly explained to us.

In any case, the solution to this miscommunication problem was the ruling that at any one time there will be one and only one Paidhi that will serve as the translator between human and Atevi. It was to prevent possible misunderstanding where one translator said A when another translator said B. That was enough to cause war with Atevi apparently.

[Nirkatze]

Anny has a good point... but maybe it's time for that law to be revisited... I wonder how long humans had cohabited with the Atevi before the war broke out? You'd think they'd realize that humans can't be evaluated on the same criterion as Atevi after enough time... but I suppose if Atevi as a whole perceived humans as a whole as a threat... it's not as simple as someone getting in trouble for being impolite...

[Choko]

I have the audio up to 21... I am in for the long haul:)))

Through Ch. 5 ... (view spoiler)[ I am trying really hard to be sympathetic to Jake, but he has been PlanetSide for a while now and he should be able to understand why it is so important to get the nuances of the language ! One wrong word or phrase, and you could offend someone so badly, that it could affect you, your family, the people that back you, it could start a murder streak, a rebellion or a war! It reminds me of the scene in Shogun, where he had that pheasant hanging for stew, and threatened anyone who touches it with death... A figure of speech. However, it got so bad, that the household gathered to decide who is going to sacrifice their life and remove the bird. The old Gardner decided he is old and sick and he will do it. So when the British dude came home and saw the bird was gone, he didn't really care. But when he asked where the Gardner was, and they started crying, because he was killed for touching the bird, because this was what the master had said, it really drove the point home, how every word has weight!

Same here. What if Bren took him to one of the diplomatic meetings and someone gets offended by something careless that Jake said. The consequences could be devastating.

I also agree with Nirkadze, Jake is having a nervous breakdown and this is obviously not a good place for him to do so... I feel for his grief, but I think it is exacerbated by the fact that he is really struggling with physical and mental culture shock. Cherryh does an amazing job showing how even a fly, an everyday insect which to planet folks is nothing, he could perceive as a threat, because he just doesn't know what is normal or not in this environment...

Bren's mother is going to be a problem, isn't she? By doing what he is doing, he is ruining his brother's life??? Bitch please! (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

About the translators. I read it as Anny said, it is part of the treaty to have only one. I can kind of see the point of the miscommunication. Look what happened when Hanks got to the Mainland. She had her agenda and I am thinking, the politics are rife for a rebellion, but if such actually starts, I think her actions are the catalyst. Translators in this case are not just translators, but diplomats more than anything. This is why, if there are going to be more than one, they have to have a strict code of ethics and a strong understanding that they have to speak with one voice, sticking to the same strategy. So they should be thought not only language, but everything that goes with kind of being a secretary of state... History, diplomacy, economics, psychology, sociology and so on... Otherwise they can become pawns in anyone's game...

And Nirkadze, a great point about having to learn at least the Children's Atevi language, maybe teach it in school from first grade on...

[Nirkatze]

It seems like the main issue there isn't necessarily translation though, but policy... individual low-level man'chi Atevi aren't going to be making decisions that could cause inter-species conflicts... maybe if there was more interactions, there'd be less mis-understandings... If all Atevi had met humans, they'd be less likely to see them as the monsters in the closet. But restrict access to higher level political peoples...

LOL I love how we're trying to solve planetary problems in books!

[Choko]

Hahaha! We are, and we can't solve our problems here ...

This was awesome! I am completely in love with this series! Once again, feel so lucky to be reading several excellent Sci-fi series this year! It has been such a treat!
As you guys were saying (view spoiler)[ The sex scene was awkward, but it was supposed to be. I am with Ilsidi - how was it? How did it work???

I love the old lady! Favorite character for sure!

There is hope for Jace! He is teachable, and that is what matters. And his girlfriend is now with him, so he should be calmer and concentrate on what matters.

It looks like the two sides are going to be more open to each other now, with trade and some more visitors... Let's see how that goes...

I am very intrigued by the Bad Aliens. Are they going to be a real presence in the series, or are we getting them as this cloud of danger over our heads? (hide spoiler)]

Great series!!!

[Nirkatze]

LOL Ilsidi is awesome!!! And I agree on labelling Jace as "teachable"--good word for him. As for (view spoiler)[the "bad aliens"--my biggest takeaway from that is that it is a situation where Bren's skill--translating across completely disparate cultures--will become a superpower... (hide spoiler)]

[Anny]

Nirkatze wrote: "Anny has a good point... but maybe it's time for that law to be revisited... I wonder how long humans had cohabited with the Atevi before the war broke out? You'd think they'd realize that humans c..."

I think the history said that at first humans and Atevi got along swimmingly well and some form of relationship started to form between them. Then inevitably some human would have done something that offend the Atevi and then war happened.

I mean cultural difference was something that was hard to explain, simply because usually everyone know what to do and what not to do. Like in certain culture in my country, if you don't provide certain items to guests, you're considered insulting them. Even outsider who lived there were expected to honor this norm.

In other example, if you're invited to dinner and you praised the hosts food instead of his family, he would ostracize you because he assumed that you insulted his family. This despite the guest coming from different culture. I guess people had this unreasonable expectation that what they considered polite to be something that every reasonable people should know regardless where they come from.

Another example, if a guest arrived at your house and suddenly spit on the floor, would you be horrified? You might decide that this person was barbaric and rude. But in other culture (notably mainland China a few decades ago), this behavior was considered normal and people there wouldn't bat an eye at this.

But in Atevi case I supposed the problem was made worse because in some ways, Atevi was society that put high value on honor and pride and face. An Atevi might chose to go to war with humans not because humans were perceived to be a threat but because they cannot let themselves being embarrassed or slighted since that would cause them to lose face/standing in Atevi society.

[Nirkatze]

Top post has been updated with links to the next arc's BRs!

[Nirkatze]

Thank you for sharing all the cool cultural connections, Anny!

I'm really curious if the war was an cultural insult misunderstanding, or if the Atevi thought that the humans were dangerous due to something they did... I think it's said that they still don't know or understand what it was that set the Atevi off...

[Barry]

Also, it seems like Mospheirans are really so casual about the Atevi. Like, there's no curiosity at all. I'd imagine if they're stuck with the Atevi as their next door neighbors forever, more people would be more interested in learning about the Atevi, including its language. And they would have more ... positive view of the Atevi in general. I don't know if there has been deliberate attempt by the more conservative faction in Mospheira to influence the education curriculum and to depict the Atevi as the enemy.

Although, I do agree that the policy of limiting contact to just a single paidhi is probably a good idea. Considering Mospheirans got Hanks in their midst ... And judging from Bren's experience, relationship with the various power brokers in Atevi is fraught with ... the risk of deadly consequences due to slight misunderstanding.

***************

I'll be continuing with the series. At least the next trilogy. I'll probably finish it, but there are still a lot of books until the end. So I can't really make that promise right now hahaha.

[Choko]

Anny, great examples! Thanks for sharing!

Barry, reading fiction it sure makes no sense to us that the humans wouldn't be more curious and learn about the Atevi culture and language. However, look at Americans. How many, unless they are forced to by proximity or jobs, are interested in learning more Spanish or French? Just because of the neighbors, let alone other, more distant languages. Yes, we have scholars and very few intellectually curious folks, but the majority believe that everyone should learn English and be grateful that we are interested enough in them to chat, but not bother with cultural differences, because everyone should live the way we do, right?! On paper, in a fictional series, we see so clearly how important it is to understand the other culture's point of view, but we don't even bother in real life... It's very sad...

[Nirkatze]

Good point about Americans... I was thinking about along Barry's lines when reading Anny's analysis--as a teacher of a World Language, I find lack of curiosity to be almost criminal. One of the most frustrating tropes I find in SFF is when people of one culture blame people of another culture for not knowing all the nuances of the culture they are just visiting. I think I remember this happening a lot in Wheel of Time--with the Aiel especially. Like, why do they not get that cultures are different and take that understanding with them before they judge or make decisions? Why don't they make active effort to find out more? But it took characters almost 12 books to get to that point... and like Choko says, many people around the world don't ever consider it....

[Choko]

What is even worse is when people learn about culture specific differences and use them as a bludgeon, against them, without trying to understand the reasoning behind them first and then judge....

[Anny]

I suppose the problem with learning Atevi language was the level of difficulty. Let's not forget how Bren said to speak proper Atevi you have to do simultaneous calculation in your head for every word you speak. Even Bren who was professionally trained used to get headaches trying to work all the math all the time. That would be a pretty huge barrier for normal people. I think this point actually was trivialized in the book, since we read the English version and of course there were none of these supposed complications that were actually supposed to be there.

[Nirkatze]

I do remember some of the math aspects popping up regularly--things like felicitous odd numbers and 8 being a particularly nasty number... details like that showing up.

I read The Sparrow a few weeks ago, and one thing the aliens in that society do is raise a child dedicated to learning the language of any new culture they come into contact with. I also grew up in an immersion program--so I can't help but think if they started young enough, they could raise a generation of people who were fluent in Atevi... but for that to happen, they'd really need cooperation of native Atevi teachers.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Nirkatze wrote: "I do remember some of the math aspects popping up regularly--things like felicitous odd numbers and 8 being a particularly nasty number... details like that showing up.

I read [book:The Sparrow|33..."

Did this come out before or after Discworld started?... with it's hate of the number 8 / Octarune?

[Anny]

Nirkatze wrote: "I do remember some of the math aspects popping up regularly--things like felicitous odd numbers and 8 being a particularly nasty number... details like that showing up.

I read [book:The Sparrow|33..."

For some reason all math lovers seemed to especially love prime numbers. Eight was terribly infelicitous because it was dividable into two and four (which further was dividable into two twos). Ten was marginally better because it was only dividable into two and five. Thirteen being prime number seemed to be very felicitous :)

Not sure if this was mentioned already, but Mospheiran government did not want a person fluent in speaking Atevi. They want someone who will take note of what was said, pass said note to the relevant department that will parse them and crafted appropriate response and pass them back to the translator who will pass it to the Atevi in writing. This was what Bren's predecessor did, he never spoke a single word to the previous Aijin or any other Atevi. Speaking directly to the Atevi was a breach of conduct and the government was terribly unhappy with Bren because he was overstepping his role.

[Nirkatze]

I don't remember that aspect, so I'm not sure if it's been pointed out already or not, it's easy to forget or overlook things on audio--but that is a really cool point, about Bren breaking norms even before crap hit the fan...

[Tonari no Emily]

I'd hate to think what they thought of #12 lol

Love all the discussion here! I'm about halfway through now and it's weird how much we live in Bren's head, but still get so much info about the world and the well three cultures now... Would like to know more of what Jace's culture is like back on the ship.. Very structured as Bren conjectured..
Also Ilsidi is my all time favorite. Love me a badass grandma!

[Nirkatze]

Badass grandmas are the best! I feel like we made a list in some other BR that featured one... trying to think of more now and coming up blank...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Ilona Andrews is all about badass grandmas...

Kate Daniels: (view spoiler)[Erra (hide spoiler)]
Hidden Legacy: Grandma Frida
Innkeeper Chronicles: Caldenia (kinda)

Ilona Andrews is also all about monster dogs...

[Choko]

Grandma Mazur, I think of the Sea Witch as such, the different grandma witches in WI, and a ton of others... They are always the best!

[Nirkatze]

Yes!! Luideag!!

[Barry]

Ilisidi reminds me of Olenna Tyrell and Avasarala.

[Nirkatze]

Two more awesome grandmas. The best!!

[Tammie]

She reminded me a bit of Avasarala too.