Cyteen

Rating:
Summary: Intricate and insightful
Review: This Hugo winner is a remarkable novel; the task of keeping the reader engaged for over 700 pages must be a monumental one, but Cherryh manages it extraordinarily well. It requires an initial investment on the part of the reader -- Cherryh's world is so intricate and thoroughly developed that it takes a while to grasp everything that's going on. Don't expect any light reading here. Do expect a fascinating world, depth of character, and a great deal of insight into humanity on both the macroscopic and personal level. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: More human than Truman or Ender.
Review: This is the "young/exploited genius" book you should give your kids ,especially your daughters, when they go to college or maybe earlier if they're mature. Second Ari is raised, & genetically bred, to be a dictator. Yet she turns out to be both that & not-that. Unlike Ender's the emotions seemed real instead of stylized to "grip" us. So it isn't as memorable, but ultimately it's better.

Also inspiring is that it goes against this genetic determinism & blank slatism going on today. Genetics does give you potentials & "rules", but who says you can't play by the rules & do great things? Maybe the rules we have would be better than making up them unthinkingly as we go along. Just a thought. Who knows?

My only complaint is that Cherryh's plots are overcomplicated & can confuse the uninitiated reader. Thereby losing the book some affect.

Rating:
Summary: Expanding across the Universe.
Review: This is the first book I've read from Ms. Cherryh and deeply impacted me.
She creates an astounding backdrop Universe full of intricacies, depicting Humankind's expansion 300 years from now.
In this Universe three human potencies compete for supremacy: Old Earth, Alliance and the Union. The story focuses on what's going on planet Cyteen, the heart of the Union, in the aftermath of the Merchant's War.
The explosive political situation conducts to the murder of Ariane Emory a powerful charismatic state leader. In our days that will mean: end of the question. In Cyteen there is yet another chance: a clone of the murdered personality may be developed. But...will Ary 2 be as brilliant and decisive as her predecessor? Will she survive to adulthood in Cyteen's crushing environment?

The storyline is very interesting with extremely well developed main characters, whose lives are followed for more than twenty years.
The core of the novel however is the description of Cyteen's Universe (as happens with Asimov's "Foundation" or Herbert's "Dune" series). Genetics science is overdeveloped enabling creation of Citizen's replicas and the Azi, bred from human stock but educated thru "tapes" to fulfill specific needs (military, scientific or just plain workforce).
Azi psychology is depicted in detail by Ms. Cherryh and their interaction with "standard" humans is full of complex subtleties.

A thought provoking novel that will be enjoyed by sci-fi fans!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Rating:
Summary: Cherryh's masterwork . . .
Review: When I first read this fat, extraordinary novel a decade ago, I concluded it was one of the best science fiction novels produced in (at least) the past half-century, and, having now re-read it, I still believe that. It's set in Cherryh's Merchanter universe (a couple of generations after the concluding war, the story of which she told in Downbelow Station), but that's really only the distant backdrop. (You'll also find here the back-story to Forty Thousand in Gehenna.) This is a very detailed, very in-depth, very carefully worked-out, very thought-provoking study of power and the claustrophobic effects of its mis-management, of the relationship of "natural born" psychology to manufactured and tailored minds, of the effects on a society of an artificial underclass (the "azi") that is both more and less than chattel slavery, . . . and along with all that, a satisfying and very affecting story of a cold, slightly inhuman genius and the mystery of her death (which was possibly a murder), and the replicate who is intended to replace her -- and who succeeds more completely, perhaps, than her creators ever anticipated. At 680 pages, there are, of course, several other plots moving full-tilt, also filled with detail and nuance, but they all interrelate nearly seamlessly. Her ability to play off one character's collection of concerns against another's is amazing, and she shows a considerable (and very speculative) understanding of the depths of psychological intervention. She's also a master of precise prose . . . when she wants to be. I have never doubted that this book did indeed deserve the Hugo it was awarded. And now I shall put it back on its shelf for another decade.

Rating:
Summary: One of her best
Review: Would give it six stars. Wonderfully complex, very well-written. Interesting characters, fascinating story. Can't begin to imagine how Cherryh keeps the characters and socio, psychological details in mind and in order.

Rating:
Summary: Great book, slow to start
Review: Wow, this was a really good book. I was actually very surprised too, because it starts off so horribly. If you are good at sticking to it, you will probably like Cyteen.

Basically we have a space-age soap opera, but underneath the mass-market varnish is a book with something to say. C.J. Cherryh makes subtle points about genetic engineering, and psychology that are very entertaining. Cherryh, also makes some very thoughtful statement on cloning throughout the book. With all of these topics covered, Cherryh still finds time to address slavery, sexual abuse, and homosexuality.

One warning, this books contains a rape scene, that may give some people the creeps. That particular scene made a good friend of mine put the book down entirely. If you can make it through that though, I would say that Cyteen is defiantly worth the afternoon