Rating: 
Summary: Some new life for three Cherryh classics
Review: Anyone who has read C. J. Cherryh's five-volume Chanur series should be made aware that this book is a reprint omnibus edition of three of those books, "The Pride of Chanur", "Chanur's Venture" and "The Kif Strike Back". According to the publisher there has been some editing and revising for "The Chanur Saga", but it is substantially a re-release of those three, an effort to bring a classic series from Cherryh's long backlist to the attention of new fans. (Disclaimer: the remainder of this review is based on the original editions.)Here we meet Pyanfur Chanur, her niece Hilfy, and several other of their hani (lion-morph) crew members as they take on Tully, an human stowaway, and are led on a series of exciting adventures. There are no less than eight spacefaring races in this story, some of whom have competing factions among themselves, and at times I had difficulty keeping track of who was who. And Cherryh's writing style tends to be harsh and hard to digest at times. But despite some flaws, the Chanur books are quite enjoyable. The characters are well done, there is a lot of action and intrigue, and plenty to keep you thinking and wondering what is going to happen next. One other note - "Chanur's Venture" and "The Kif Strike Back" were the first two of a three-part epic, of which the third part, "Chanur's Homecoming", is not included in "The Chanur Saga", and is currently listed as publisher out of stock; perhaps the publisher is hoping "The Chanur Saga" will generate enough new interest in this series to justify another printing of "Chanur's Homecoming". In the meantime, if you haven't read the series before, what are you waiting for?
Rating:
Summary: Some new life for three Cherryh classics
Review: Anyone who has read C. J. Cherryh's five-volume Chanur series should be made aware that this book is a reprint omnibus edition of three of those books, "The Pride of Chanur", "Chanur's Venture" and "The Kif Strike Back". According to the publisher there has been some editing and revising for "The Chanur Saga", but it is substantially a re-release of those three, an effort to bring a classic series from Cherryh's long backlist to the attention of new fans. (Disclaimer: the remainder of this review is based on the original editions.) Here we meet Pyanfur Chanur, her niece Hilfy, and several other of their hani (lion-morph) crew members as they take on Tully, an human stowaway, and are led on a series of exciting adventures. There are no less than eight spacefaring races in this story, some of whom have competing factions among themselves, and at times I had difficulty keeping track of who was who. And Cherryh's writing style tends to be harsh and hard to digest at times. But despite some flaws, the Chanur books are quite enjoyable. The characters are well done, there is a lot of action and intrigue, and plenty to keep you thinking and wondering what is going to happen next. One other note - "Chanur's Venture" and "The Kif Strike Back" were the first two of a three-part epic, of which the third part, "Chanur's Homecoming", is not included in "The Chanur Saga", and is currently listed as publisher out of stock; perhaps the publisher is hoping "The Chanur Saga" will generate enough new interest in this series to justify another printing of "Chanur's Homecoming". In the meantime, if you haven't read the series before, what are you waiting for?
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding! Science Fiction at its best.
Review: C.J. Cherryh is every bit the equal of Heinlein, Asimov,
Brin and, yes, even Frank Herbert and J.R.R. Tolkien.
And from amongst an overwhelmingly creative and prolific
output of novels this Chanur series is, to my mind and
taste, her finest and most impressive achievement. It is difficult to describe how thoroughly and yet how
effortlessly Cherryh evokes her alien races; their
psychological, mercantile and poltical twists and turns,
so subtle, so compelling and fascinatingly mature, woven
into plots that are both intriguing and fast-paced.
In other words: C.J. Cherryh offers the sophisticated
reader everything that Star Wars and Star Trek and all the
other rip-off drivel ought to be but rarely are! Yes, she does make the reader work to get acclimated
to the complexities of this strange yet familiar universe,
but that effort pays off because her storytelling skills
are so full-bodied - with plenty of good, old-fashioned
space-opera action to boot! The only drawback to this republication is that it omits the
first volume, The Pride of Chanur, (Chanur's Legacy is a follow-
up though not expressly a sequel), even though it has the
original cover to Pride (which is the poorest of Michael
Whelan's otherwise superb four!). It would have been
preferrable, and more respectful to the genuinely valuable,
though underrated and underappreciated, stature
of C.J. Cherryh's marvelous creation -
to have provided us with a nicely bound boxed set instead of this lack-luster edition. Nevertheless, I urge any and all true Science Fiction
enthusiasts to read the Chanur Saga as soon as possible.
Nearly beyond compare.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic books, bad publishing
Review: I agree with most of the other reviewers, these books. I also agree in that the 4th book needs to be published also. I wuuld like to by 'The Kif Strike Back', because that's the only one I don't have, but can't. Worse, the one missing is the best one! Sorry for my rant, but I am really dissapointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Story & Writing, But Not Complete
Review: I entirely blame the publisher for the bad rating I'm giving this book. The story and the writing are both excellent. However, putting these three stories in one book and saying "Now in one magnificient omnibus edition" is a crime. The first story, "The Pride of Chanur," naturally stands alone. It should have been left as a stand-alone book. The other two stories, "Chanur's Venture" and "The Kif Strike Back," should never have been sold as separate books in the first place: each requires the other. However, the biggest problem is that "The Kif Strike Back" requires (at least) one more book, "Chanur's Homecoming" to tie things up. So, don't expect this "magnificent omnibus edition" to complete the story. You'll definitely have to buy at least one other book. My apologies to Cherryh on this. Her writing is excellent. It's just her publisher that [is bad].
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Story & Writing, But Not Complete
Review: I entirely blame the publisher for the bad rating I'm giving this book. The story and the writing are both excellent. However, putting these three stories in one book and saying "Now in one magnificient omnibus edition" is a crime. The first story, "The Pride of Chanur," naturally stands alone. It should have been left as a stand-alone book. The other two stories, "Chanur's Venture" and "The Kif Strike Back," should never have been sold as separate books in the first place: each requires the other. However, the biggest problem is that "The Kif Strike Back" requires (at least) one more book, "Chanur's Homecoming" to tie things up. So, don't expect this "magnificent omnibus edition" to complete the story. You'll definitely have to buy at least one other book. My apologies to Cherryh on this. Her writing is excellent. It's just her publisher that [is bad].
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: I think this is a fascinating book (actually part 1-3 out of a 5-part series). A real page turner. But why? As aliens go these are pretty stereotypic: a lion-like species, a dog-like species, a lizard-like species, etc. The story line is muddled, to put it mildly. There really is not much action, other than on a personal level, and what action there is remains very vague. The outline of this book looks as if it was thought up by a housewife with a fondness for cats. All in all, the building blocks that went into this book are very meager, less than 1% of what went into "Ring_World". By contents this is a lightweight book: yet it is a pretty enjoyable read. Quite an achievement for a writer!
Rating:
Summary: Great again, but should include Book 4!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this addition to Cherryh'sUnion-Alliance universe, but was also deeply disturbed that Book 4,Chanur's Homecoming, was not included...
Rating:
Summary: Need more Chanur novels!
Review: I'll keep it short, as this is more of a "vote" than a "review". I've been fruitlessly waiting for additional "Chanur" novels for years. Sure wish the publishers would get a clue and work with Cherryh for more of these gems! They are addictive, as, I find, are the novels of the "Foreigner" Universe.
Rating: 
Summary: I wouldn't buy this badly thought out publishing mistake.
Review: I'm not sure why the publisher chose to reprint these books in this particular way, but I'm betting that Cherryh had no say in it. It's like reprinting "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" but letting "The Return of the King" go out of print. STUPID. "The Pride of Chanur" is a standalone novel, and as such, could have been left out of this book to make room for "Chanur's Homecoming", which IS a vital part of the "series". I use the term "series" loosely in this case, since "Venture", "Kif" and "Homecoming" are actually one novel printed in three parts, like Cyteen. Only they got smart when Cyteen won the Hugo and printed it in one book, as it was intended. I'd say one would be better off checking out second hand stores for the entire series. I personally found a numbered, first edition paperback of "Pride" for 75 cents at Half Price books. Like most of the others, this rating does not reflect my opinion of the actual books, just this particular publishing pratfall.
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