Rating: 
Summary: so much potential
Review: Ok, Alien mercenaries for hire have their culture wiped out by their employers mismanagement and distrust. Basically, a human is cast with the FORIEGN aliens, decides he must save them, and totally immerses himself in the culture.
Tough to get into initially, had to learn the lingo of the culture.. The primary protagonists are interesting, but never really fully developed. The story line really is good, but.
This trilogy had great potential, but never really delivered; seems almost a PRECURSOR to a similar story line by this author.
Rating: 
Summary: Sprawling but worth the time
Review: Originally three novels now available in a gigantically thick paperback, the books known as the Faded Sun trilogy probably aren't generally spoken of when you list Cherryh's classics, but they do belong in the "very good" catagory of her work. Jamming all three novels together was a good idea, since the books contain the same themes and basically tell one sustained story, even if each individual novel has its own goals and climaxes. Cherryh is at her best when dealing with her massive Alliance-Union setting and the history that it entails, especially when she sets the story in the aftermath of a long and tangled history. Basically the human race is finishing up a long war with the regul race, big aliens who are normally traders, who have perfect memories, don't lie (but don't always tell the truth) and really don't move either. To fight the war they used the race known as the mri, who have hired themselves out as mercenaries for thousands of years. The mri are a race wtih their own rigid customs, especially involving fighting, and since they tend to value one on one combat, humans go and wipe them out because we have no problem throwing a million soldiers at a problem. The story opens as preparations are wrapped up for handing over the current mri homeworld to the humans. In the process, the regul make a decision that is not all that beneficial to the mri and things escalate from there. If Cherryh has one excellent attribute, she knows how to write alien species and make them seem alien, so that their weird logic and customs feel absolutely natural to the species, even as it's something we can't completely understand. She shines when depicting the mri and the regul, who are polar opposites, but equally alien. In the course of the story, a human, Stel Duncan, gets involved with the mri and helps them figure out where they came from. Spread out over the course of three novels, things move slow at times, but Cherryh layers on enough political manuevering to keep things interesting without it getting too talky, sprinkling it with secrets about the mysterious mri culture. While they come across as noble warriors (perhaps stereotypically so) she doesn't hesitate to point out their failings as a species as well, and really nobody is perfect in this work. The second book is probably the most interesting since we've already dispensed with the introductions (the first novel takes a while to get started, as we're introduced to the declining mri culture and the aftermath of the war) and showcases Duncan taking steps to become invested in the mri culture. The third novel can get confusing at times and there were several sequences where I wasn't sure what was going on, as all the machinations come to a head and everyone is trying to kill everyone else, but things are wrapped up in a satisifying manner and after seven hundred odd pages you don't feel like you wasted your time. And again I want to point out how solid Cherryh makes her backstory, especially with details involving the regul-human war. You get the sense that the conflict could carry a series of novels on its own and it's interesting that for all the talk of mri fighting prowess, we really don't see them in battle, which I think is the point. The focus of the story is on their culture and not how they fight. Due to its size, it's probably not the first place for the Cherryh newbie to start (I would recommend Cuckoo's Egg, followed by Downbelow Station and then Cyteen) but for those who have exhausted those books and are looking for the next step, this is definitely the place to go.
Rating:
Summary: Cherryh at her best.
Review: Possibly one of Cherryh's most engrossing series of novels, the Faded Sun Trilogy takes the reader into a rapidly shrinking civilization with a history so old that one must rediscover it-- and all the shocking possibilities it holds for humanity. I found myself falling into the strange culture Cherryh created, and was both fulfilled and disappointed when the last page was turned. Published at the same time as Dune, this book far exceeds the other in depth and possibilities-- a true science fiction for an erudite reader.
Rating:
Summary: A must have read
Review: So I'm purusing the racks of the local used book store trying desperately to find something to read. After about a half an hour in the fantasy/sci-fi section, I come across a slightly ratty, well-read _The Faded Sun: KESRITH_ by C.J. Cherryh. Okay, I've read C.J. Cherryh before many years ago in anthologies and also the hauntingly eery _Rusalka_, and the cover sucked me right in... I love fantasy novels set in the desert, so I pick it up. And find it's a series, so on goes the hunt for the other two books... After looking around for another five minutes, I finally find the second book, after first finding the third one. Total cost of all three books...
I say all that to say it was sheer luck me getting this set or perhaps fate, who knows, but I have read them about six times now and it remains my all time favorite sci-fi series ever. Having said that, I prefer fantasy, but I'm not a total newbie of the sci-fi scene either. As I type this, I am about to embark on the journey for the seventh time.... this is one trilogy every fantasy/sci-fi fan should have one their shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Character Building Master
Review: The Faded Sun is a wonderful story. Strangely, this was my first introduction to Cherryh. I was impressed so much that I am now on a quest to own her entire body of work. The Faded Sun is so rich in plot, location, and prose that those traits alone would make it worth reading. The story is exciting and full of wonder. However, the true beauty of this book is in the development of character. I am sure we have all read works in which we enjoyed the story but could have cared less about the characters. This is not the case with Cherryh. The characters come to life. They become the reader's "friends." I cared about what happened to them. Truly an amazing work!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, Haunting, and absolutely Incredible!
Review: The Faded Sun is an incredibly well written and enjoyable book. While it is long page wise it takes you on a journey that seems short once you are done. The characters are believable, with deph and facets that allow one to care deeply about them and what happens to them. The plot is very involving and well thought out, with the nessary deph given to why events occur. I truly enjoyed this book, being barely able to put it down while I was reading it, and I look forward to reading it again and again. The only problem I had was that the ending was in my opinion a little iffy, but it was still OK. (However I am often very critical of the endings to the books I read) All in all I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read. It is an absoulutely wonderful book.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow beginning, excellent middle, and confusing denouement
Review: The Faded Sun is the first book I've read by C. J. Cherryh, and I wouldn't be averse to picking up another of her books. At the beginning, however, I didn't feel that way. Faded Sun takes a long time to get going. The first two hundred or so pages are very dry and very boring. I was tempted to put the book aside at several points. The only reason I didn't was because the book had been highly recommended to me, and I wanted to see just what was so good about it.Well, I'm glad I stuck with it, because suddenly it all came together. The slow beginning sets the stage for the explosive action to follow, and really puts events into perspective. At first, I thought the book was a blatant Dune rip-off. There are several obvious correlations: a desert planet, a hero named Duncan, a mystical nomadic society, and giant sandworm-like creatures that eat everything. But you could say pecan pie and dumplings are also the same because they both have sugar, flour, and salt. What Cherryh does with these ingredients is turn out something completely different. The book demonstrates the relationship between three distinct species: the humans, the mri, and the regul. Technically, it shows the relationship between four, with the dusei, as well, but the dusei are only semi-sentient, so they can't exactly tell their own side of the story. Unfortunately, the regul come across as the bad guys in the book. It would have been nice if they were portrayed a bit more sympathetically, but they really do seem to be a despicable kind of creature. One problem I had with this three-way portrayal is the way it generally portrays each species as being rather homogeneous. The humans have their disagreements, but still seem to only have one culture. This could be because we were presented only with a rather militaristic group, but I'm not so sure this is why. The reminiscences of various humans on their past seems rather similar, despite their coming from different planets. In any case, the book is a fascinating ride until the very end when it all seems to fall apart. Perhaps I was just overtired, but I had a difficult time understanding what exactly happens at the denouement. When I read the last sentence of the book, I turned the page, honestly expecting more, but it was over, rather like this review....
Rating:
Summary: A favorite, from a favorite author.
Review: The Faded Sun Trilogy is about personal freedom, commitment and responsibilities. It's also about hierarchies and bureaucracies. And there's just a hint of Zen.
Rating:
Summary: Honor and Adaptablility
Review: The mri are a proud warrior race; mercenaries for the regul for thousands of years. But when the regul went to war with humans, the mri lost. Now the regul have ceded the mri homeworld to the humans. With the mri numbers dangerously depleted, and humans coming to claim the planet Kesrith, they are left facing a dire situation. Two surviving mri, Niun and Melein, are thrown into a very unlikely, and very uneasy, association with a human soldier, Duncan. Together the three of them embark on a quest to explore the origins of the nomadic mri in hopes of saving the species from the regul and humans both.
Cherryh does an excellent job of creating aliens that don't act too "human" and function logically within the framework she constructs for them. The characters are definitely the highlight of this book - their motivations, feelings, and relationships are explored in depth. This makes for fairly slow pacing, especially in the beginning when the scene is being set. But there is enough action and political intrigue to keep things interesting and the pace picks up after the first third. Cherryh has several books where characters seem to endlessly toil through a desert setting, and this is definitely one of them. But if you make it through the slow set-up and occasional repetitiveness, it's a thought-provoking and compelling book. One of the main themes showcases human adaptability in the face of alien thought patterns.
The three books contained in the Faded Sun Trilogy (Kesrith, Shon'jir, and Kutath) were originally published in the late 70s. They don't feel dated, and it's nice to have them all in one book, because I don't think they'd be good as stand-alone reading. Taken together, the trilogy is much stronger than the individual books.
Rating:
Summary: First Book is Slow, But After That it's Great
Review: The title for my review pretty much says it all: the first book of this trilogy is SLOW, but after that, Cherryh picks it right up and produces an excellent trilogy. Well worth reading. I've included my individual reviews of each title in the book, below: "If something had actually happened in "Kesrith," I'm sure it would have been a great book. Well, I'm probably exaggerating a bit. But, for the first 170 pages of this 250 page book, absolutely nothing happens. It's essentially the background social, political, and military information of all the major players. Around page 170 and for the next 80 pages, lots of really interesting things happen. Unfortunately, they don't really end. This book is merely the prologue for its sequels. I have no problem with book trilogies. But, there has to be SOME kind of closure in each of the books. This book just gets going and then stops. Highly frustrating." "Shon'jir, the 2nd book in the "Faded Sun" trilogy, is much better than Kesrith (the 1st book). It's not a matter of writing styles or ability (which are the same in both books: very good). It's just that in Shon'jir something actually happens. It even ends at a reasonable point (for the 2nd book in a trilogy). In the 1st book, Cherryh basically introduces the mri and the main characters. In this book, she brings us through Duncan's journey (in all senses) towards the mri. A very good, very interesting book." "Kutath, the final book in the "Faded Sun" series, picks up where the 2nd book, "Shon'jir," leaves off. In this book, Duncan has completed his journey towards the mri and Cherryh takes us towards a final resolution of the mri/human/regul relationship. The book is just as well-written and interesting as "Shon'jir." About the only negative I can come up with is the somewhat drawn-out initial tableau involving walking across the desert: it gets a bit tedious after a while. A very good book."
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