Invader

Rating:
Summary: Political and Social Commentary
Review:      This politically-intricate series takes place on the world of the atevi, a very violent species who keep the peace via registered assassination. Atevi alliances are complex and based on personal loyalties rather than on geography. There are several factions among the atevi, and the infighting among them seriously affects the relationships between atevi and humans. Before the first book begins, there is a war between the two species. The outcome is that the humans are confined to a large island and limit contact with the atevi via one, and only one human, the paidhi.
     This particular book, second in the series, is about the return of the human starship Phoenix, after nearly five centuries, and how the return affects the delicate balance of power between the humans on the planet and the native atevi. The humans on planet are also factionalized, and political infighting is rampant. The paidhi, Bren Cameron, must deal with the situation quickly to avert social collapse.

     If you like Frank Herbert's Dune and The Dosadi Experiment or C. J. Cherryh's The Faded Sun series, you'll like this series. It paints three divergent social structures and the interfaces between them. The alien society is the focus, and is rich in detail -- somewhat reminiscent of feudal Japan breaking into the modern age.

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable trip back to the universe of "Foreigner".
Review: C.J. Cherryh brings us back to the universe first visited in "Foreigner"."Invader" is the continuing story of human/Atevi politics, as witnessed and manipulated by the human Paidhi, Bren Cameron.The main thrust of this novel is a thoughtful exploration of non-human values and relationships, and Cherryh is among the best in the field at realizing alien mindsets. Her Atevi are a wonderfully different race, a species whose bonds exist outside the human concepts of friendship and love. The resulting interspecies interactions are believable and nicely handled. Cherryh's deft handling of character shines throughout the novel, both exploring a human reaction to a people with no concept of trust, and the Atevi view of a race whose basic idea of hierarchy is entirely different from their own. The plot, revolving around the return of a human starship to Atevi skies, is taut and compelling, with political intrigue and personal conflicts intertwining in a weave of fine subtlety. But always through it all is Cherryh's perceptive search of a man's adaptability and a race's hope for their future. The author also has a talented hand at universe-building, with local color and a culture which seems as plausible as our own. While not her best work, this book certainly satisfies the first time reader or an old fan. Cherryh has once again proven she is one of the premier writers of science fiction.

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable trip back to the universe of "Foreigner".
Review: C.J. Cherryh brings us back to the universe first visited in "Foreigner". "Invader" is the continuing story of human/Atevi politics, as witnessed and manipulated by the human Paidhi, Bren Cameron. The main thrust of this novel is a thoughtful exploration of non-human values and relationships, and Cherryh is among the best in the field at realizing alien mindsets. Her Atevi are a wonderfully different race, a species whose bonds exist outside the human concepts of friendship and love. The resulting interspecies interactions are believable and nicely handled. Cherryh's deft handling of character shines throughout the novel, both exploring a human reaction to a people with no concept of trust, and the Atevi view of a race whose basic idea of hierarchy is entirely different from their own. The plot, revolving around the return of a human starship to Atevi skies, is taut and compelling, with political intrigue and personal conflicts intertwining in a weave of fine subtlety. But always through it all is Cherryh's perceptive search of a man's adaptability and a race's hope for their future. The author also has a talented hand at universe-building, with local color and a culture which seems as plausible as our own. While not her best work, this book certainly satisfies the first time reader or an old fan. Cherryh has once again proven she is one of the premier writers of science fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Let me save you some time....
Review: I chose this book because I remembered another Cherryh book from a different series. I was terribly disappointed. Almost nothing happens in the entire book. We get the hero's ruminations almost ad nauseum, very little character development outside the hero (Bren), and overlong, poorly punctuated sentences (it's obvious that English isn't Cherryh's first language).

It was a bit like reading a soap opera - you keep expecting something to happen, but it's all just a teaser so that you'll buy/read the next book. The ship returns at the beginning of the book, and the reader anxiously awaits information on where the ship has been, why it's returned, what its crew is really seeking - but at the end of the book, we've barely seen two of the crew members, who have just touched down. I started skipping over pages, trying to get to some event that actually advanced the plot, but so little happens, that you could skip almost the entire book and still get the key elements.

Even the other human character, Hanks, the nemesis in this story, is poorly developed.

Don't waste your time.

Rating:
Summary: Excelent
Review: I read this book out of order from the series, as I am shure the genteman who made the first review did, but I still enjoyed it. I hope that if you want to read this you will take the time to read "Foreigner, a novel of first contact" first. This auuthors talent in creating an entire world and parts of a language on her own are quite incredable and I look forward to the release of her next book.

Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: I tried to get through this book but I cared so little for the characters (many with really annoying names) that I stopped. I bought Foreigner, thinking if I read that, I'd enjoy this sequel more, but I couldn't get past the first few chapters. I wasted money twice!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent storyline though a bit overdone
Review: Invader is an excellent tale of alien relations and the problems which arise from their interactions. On one side are the unpredictable, sometimes underhanded humans, and on the other are the native atevi, steeped high in traditional, loyalities, and logic. The two groups could not be more different. And in the middle, Bren Cameron, the only sanctioned translator between the two.

The storyline has more to do with Bren's viewpoint than the return of the human's spaceship after a 176 year absence. The ship simply provides the conflicts for Bren to deal with. Bren spends a majority of story being highly introspective, literally questioning his every thought and word. He spends the almost the entire time dodging bullets, both literal and linguistic, while trying to maintain the balance of power between humans and atevi, without getting himself arrested or killed. Add a back-stabbing college brought in during his medical leave, and a couple of radical atevi groups, and you've got yourself more than enough to keep the story alive and the plot moving.

The characters are well developed, and their interactions were well done and thought provoking. The author brings in some very human situations, and sews them cleanly into the atevi mindset.

My only criticism is the occassional over-embellishment of the story. There were several points in the book were brevity would have been better suited. However, it is not so much so as to really detract from the book.

Overall, an excellent book. I would recommend it anyone who enjoys this sort of storyline.

Rating:
Summary: interesting hypothetical future of space exploration
Review: Just when all the fuss had settled down from Foreigner --- more strangers arrive on the scene!
The spaceship which left the colony has come back, some 200 years later, expecting a functioning space station and must find a way to deal with the Atevi and the humans on isolated Mosphei. A way that benefits all parties and alienates none.

Plenty of political jockeying and even more intrigue and personal danger to Bren Cameron, Human interpreter to Atevi court, as well as danger and threat to those who protecet him.

Personal relationsips are tangled as ever among the Atevi, and the scenery is a gorgeous backdrop. Relationships which were forged in the first book are hesitantly budding in the second, as the Atevi's Jago & Banichi are still protecting the human diplomat.

Some have likened the Atevi & their world to feudal Japan, but while there are some similarities, they are faint and do not influence the whole Atevi culture. I find many more fresh and new concepts than the tired old Japanese/alien setting.
The Atevi are distinctly different from humans, both in appearance & mentality. The landscapes and associations are foreign, and wholely fascinating.

This second book passed rapidly and was a much more comfortable read. We were stuffed full with enough background/history & political knowledge in 'Foreigner:Bk 1' that we can relax somewhat through 'Invader' and read at a leisurely, and conversley, speedier pace.

There are still the mental dialogues and much concern and second guessing on the paidhi Bren's part, but one has a feel for the writing and is able to skim or skip non relevant paragraphs/pages.

Not the best series to start a Cherryh or sci-fi novice on, try rather the Chanur series, Mri wars, or Morgaine Saga. Leave this for the enthusiasts (like me!)

Kotori [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: The perfect follow through from Foreigner
Review: Still recovering from his injuries, and with his position within the Tabini camp established, Bren Cameron is forced to return to the atevi mainland to be further immersed in the ongoing political turmoil initiated by the return of the spaceship, Phoenix, that had brought the first humans to the atevi's planet. Now Bren Cameron has to contend with factions amongst the atevi and some new ones from his own side, everyone wanting to make sure that whatever the returned Phoenix has to offer is available to them. And so, Bren Cameron has his work cut out in the struggle to keep both atevi and human interests satisfied as he dodges the assassins' bullets.

This book builds directly onto what went before in Foreigner. It works really well in its elaboration of the plot, and the development of the relationship between Bren and Jago, and Bren and everybody else - atevi and human. Invader was also good because you can read it first without getting lost. The essential elements from Foreigner are reiterated but not so that someone who has read Foreigner first would find it a problem.

Rating:
Summary: Intense Psychological and Political Analysis
Review: The complexity of this book is refreshing in the science fiction genre. Political and societal ramifications of actions keeps Bren, human diplomat to the Ateva, constantly thinking, analyzing and contemplating, as well as the reader. It is necessary to read and reread to truly grasp every detail, every association, every meaning. The result is a truly well defined society and culture, as well as characters with whom the reader can identify and support, be they human or not.

The author doesn't compromise story development for cheap thrills. The depth with which she covers each moment is what gives the Foreigner series its depth and substance.