Serpent's Reach (Alliance-Union Universe)

Rating:
Summary: Future of Union and Alliance
Review: Remote contact with Alliance. Dates mentioned do not fit with dates given in other Union-Alliance stories.

The worlds of Serpent's Reach are colonized by Union, but have only contact to Union and Alliance at a single station. They are ruled by immortal families, while the populace consists of azi and mortal "beta" humans. The immortals or "Kontrins" are the link to the four hives of indigenous giants ants.

The female protagonist is the only survivor of her family murdered by rival humans, then of all the ruling families, when humans perish as the hives make war on each other and are united in a single hive, which apparently is part of the natural life cycle of the hive, which spans several hundred years.

Rating:
Summary: Future of Union and Alliance
Review: Remote contact with Alliance. Dates mentioned do not fit with dates given in other Union-Alliance stories.

The worlds of Serpent's Reach are colonized by Union, but have only contact to Union and Alliance at a single station. They are ruled by immortal families, while the populace consists of azi and mortal "beta" humans. The immortals or "Kontrins" are the link to the four hives of indigenous giants ants.

The female protagonist is the only survivor of her family murdered by rival humans, then of all the ruling families, when humans perish as the hives make war on each other and are united in a single hive, which apparently is part of the natural life cycle of the hive, which spans several hundred years.

Rating:
Summary: My First CJ Cherryh Book; Not My Last!
Review: Serpent's Reach has been cut off from contact with the rest of humanity for seven hundred years, and in that time, the settlers of these worlds have engineered fantastic technology with the help of the alien Majat. Against this backdrop, one noblewoman's family is slaughtered and she vows revenge on the perpetrators.

I've heard that CJ Cherryh does a fantastic job of creating believable aliens, and I found this to be true in my first-ever CJ Cherryh read. Not only the very alien Majat, but also the almost-human Kontrin and their genetic creations, the Betas and the Azi, have cultures, ideas, and attitudes that distinguish them from we garden variety Homo sapiens.

This is pretty "hard" science fiction, with frequent breaks needed to page back through what you just read to try and soak everything in. There is very little of the old literary trick of having an ignorant character around all the time so that difficult concepts can be explained in dialogue (like Star Trek) or even of outright exposition by the author. Much is left to the interpretation of the reader. If you like that style of writing (I do!), Serpent's Reach is excellent reading. After finishing, I went out and bought a couple more Cherryh books set in the Alliance-Union universe.

Rating:
Summary: One of my Favorites by Cherryh
Review: Some of her works go slow for me, but I was completely enthralled by this story. Her characterizations are vivid and realistic. I've read it several times now!

Rating:
Summary: One of C.J. Cherryh's best.
Review: There are many reasons I love Serpent's Reach. 1) It is the first book by C.J. Cherryh that I bought (as I was judging it by the cover). 2. The Majat are a insect-like alien race and I like both insects and alien races, so for me it is a real treat. 3. C.J. Cherryh's might SEEM to start out slow, but she is really creating a setting and a foundation for a perfect story.

If you liked this book, I would suggest C.J. Cherryh's 'Pride of Chanur' which is a stand alone book that is followed by FOUR other books (A three book series and another stand alone). Alien cats, but not just your run-of-the-mill alien cats.

Rating:
Summary: One of C.J. Cherryh's best.
Review: There are many reasons I love Serpent's Reach. 1) It is the first book by C.J. Cherryh that I bought (as I was judging it by the cover). 2. The Majat are a insect-like alien race and I like both insects and alien races, so for me it is a real treat. 3. C.J. Cherryh's might SEEM to start out slow, but she is really creating a setting and a foundation for a perfect story.

If you liked this book, I would suggest C.J. Cherryh's 'Pride of Chanur' which is a stand alone book that is followed by FOUR other books (A three book series and another stand alone). Alien cats, but not just your run-of-the-mill alien cats.

Rating:
Summary: A great stand-alone Cherryh book
Review: This is a great stand-alone work by Cherryh about an alien culture and a group of humans that has been genetically modified, with help from the aliens, to live incredibly long lives. As usual, Cherryh paints a very believable future society.

One point should be made about this book being stand-alone. If you read Cherryh's web site, she lists this book as part of the Alliance/Union universe, but the timeline given in the book contradicts this. There ARE some elements in this book that are in the Alliance/Union series (such as the cloned humans called "azi"). However, the colonization of the first planet in this book happens at approximately the same time as most of the events in the "Company Wars" of the Alliance/Union series, which makes it hard to believe that these books are really in the same "universe". I believe the author attempted to fit some of her books written before "Downbelow Station" into the Alliance/Union chronology, but with this one especially, it's something of a stretch. However, it doesn't hurt the book. You will enjoy it just as much, but consider it a stand-alone book.

Rating:
Summary: Complex, intricate and enthralling
Review: This novel is in my "permanent" connection. Serpeant's Reach is a powerful story of betrayal, revenge and survival told by a master writer. The society she creates is rich, detailed and alien, but still recognizably human.

Raen is the sole survivor of the betrayal and extermination of her entire extended family. She maneuvers her revenge with the aid of a non-human species, the Majat. After the ensuing chaos she is allowed autonomy within the confines of powerful, near-immortal, multiplanet aristocracy whose main interests are alliances and assassinations. She becomes an expert survivor, evading assassins and trying to prevent the destruction of the Majat-Kontrin peace. This is a great story.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing World and Culture Building!
Review: What would a world be like if Ants were the evolved creatures?
What would their cultures be like? What would their values be? How could they interact with Humans? You will never look at a trail of Ants the same way again! What would happen if Humans could live for hundreds of years, how wealthy and powerful could they become?
These are the introductery concepts of this amazing story that explores betrayal, revenge, isolation in a new and fascinating way. This short book is plenty to work over for anyone. I just wish that Ms. Cherryh could manage to come back to this story some time and explore more of this fascinating tale.