Three years after the end of the previous book, the atevi had built their shuttle and have somewhat regular flights to the space station. Bren had officially become part of Tabini's court - he is more an atevi these days than human (despite his biology) although he is still the translator (the padhi) between the two cultures and he is still paid by the human side. So here he is, at the start of the novel, trying to get back to the continent after a trip home. Before long, he is bound for the space station - where things go wrong exactly at the worst time and it looks like the previous 3 years of cooperation may not be enough to help. And Bren is back to trying to translate cultures and thoughts - this time three-way - the humans on the ground, the atevi and the humans of the ship. Because when languages and the meaning of words come into play, culture and thought and biology matter.

The novel is the start of the second trilogy of the much longer series so as with the very first novel of the series, it is just the start of a story. It takes its time to get moving - we spend a lot of time in Bren's head while he is trying to puzzle out what is going on. Except that even in these moments, things move - the series was never about the big battles (and smaller skirmishes) - they are the supporting action of a story about cultures and meeting the unknown.

It took me while to warm up to this novel - it is different from the first 3 (getting Bren where he is was partially the point of the first 3 and I enjoyed the journey). It is important to remember that we get only Bren's story - we know what he knows and he can be an unreliable narrator occasionally. So some of the weirder moments (he and Jesse need these last few hours to talk after all that time?) make sense if you are Bren - the man who learned to think against his own biology and senses. By the end of it though, I was back in love with the series - in some ways this novel is better than the first 3 exactly because it has everything already established so it can tell a story. And even when you know what is coming (because by now we know that there will be surprises and Tabini does not have that many reliable people to send when he needs something), it still rings true when Bren is surprised (although he is getting better at anticipating Tabini's and Ilisidi's actions).

I am not entirely sure what the novel is setting up for (and I do not want to look up the summaries of the next novels yet). The aliens (the ones that attacked the other station) will need to come into play sooner or later and the way this trilogy is shaping, it probably will at least start in it. So onto the next novel. ( )

Bren Cameron finds himself in a life-threatening situation aboard a derelict space station, trying to negotiate with irrational humans who seem determined to provoke another war with the Atevi. Exciting, mentally stimulating, great characters...typical Cherryh!

I loved the first three books in the Foreigner series but stopped reading them due to real life issues. Twenty three years later I picked up where I left off, and thoroughly enjoyed this installment. ( )

Back to one of my favorite SF series!

It's amazing how hopping into space after having such a thorough grounding in Atevi society can feel like coming home.

Really. Like a holiday where all the in-laws are fighting and sending coded messages across the small and cramped house, where both tradition and the cold vacuum of space keeps everyone cramped and anxious as the great uncles square off against each other...

And in the meantime, Assassin's Guilds and being steeped in truly alien emotions feel like a welcome surcease of conflict.

Humans. They're the real monsters. At least the Atevi are very logical and practical even if they think that liking someone is on par with a preference for salad. It's the captains in the spaceship that are the real aliens!

Conflict, intrigue, mutiny, and a certain Dowager make this fourth book a real delight to read. One might say it's the start of the second trilogy. These things are rather well organized. :) I can't wait to sink my teeth into the next book!

( )

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Quote:

“He ventured into the security station to fill in his staff on what he’d learned, and Banichi was there, looking like death.
“You, nadi,” he said to Banichi, “ought to be asleep.”
“A superfluous habit,” Banichi said. “Conducive to ignorance.”

Review:
BREN IN SPACE! WOOOO!

This is the start of the second Foreigner trilogy and goddamn I love this series. I loved the game that Bren played between the atevi and the stupid humans on Mospheira in the first trilogy. I was reluctant to start this one because I didn't want it to be over. Well, rejoice! Now it is Bren the almost-atevi vs the idiotic humans part 2, now with even stupider humans! And I wouldn't have it any other way.

That is seriously basically the whole book. The humans are stupid, Bren has to try and out-think them. All while in a very precarious position because they finally have the space program up and running. Bren has to go up to the space station and set up the Atevi side, but first we have to make the space station secure for the atevi (and humans).

Oh and his home life is suffering some turmoil. Again. He has such an interesting family dynamic, with the mom who cannot let go, the ex-girlfriend who cannot let go, and his brother who's family life is falling apart because of both his mom and Bren's precarious position. Minor, but it keeps coming up all the time. Not my favourite part of the series but it certain is an interesting addition and adds to the depth of the series.

I love Bren's interactions with the Atevi. This is book four and Bren really just..feels accepted by the Atevi. In a way no human has ever been accepted by an Atevi before. He and his bodyguards feels like a family. Bren feels like he has a position of power in their government when other paidhi before him were little more than dictionary-makers. Mostly because he actually does have power, he isn't just a figurehead. He has carved out his place amongst them. And it is awesome.

This series just keeps getting better! ( )

This is the fourth book in the "Foreigner" series, picking up three years after the end of Inheritor. Bren Cameron has settled into his new position as a member of the aiji's government and not a representative of the human government of Mospheira; Jason Graham has become fluent in Ragi and reasonably comfortable, both with the atevi and with being on a planet. Bren's family is able to visit him at his private estate on the mainland.

This is way too comfortable for anyone to be in a Cherryh novel, so of course things start changing on the first page--before the first page, in fact, as Cherryh dumps us into the middle of Things Changing Unpleasantly. The captains of Phoenix, having recalled their paidhi (translator/diplomat) from Mospheira on the last shuttle trip, are now recalling Jason Graham from the atevi mainland, too. Tabini, the aiji of the Western Association, has decided to respond by granting immediately the request of the Mospheira government to send a delegation up on the shuttle (the Mospheirans had expected that this would take a year or so to approve), and to send Bren up as well.

Bren is informed of this the day he returns from a rather trying visit to Mospheira, where his family is as clueless and difficult as always.

In short order, Bren and his household are on the long-abandoned and only partially restored space station, with their only potential allies the Mospheiran delegation, the head of which is a member of the Heritage Party, the political party which opposes cooperation with the atevi. Jason and the other Pilots' Guild translator, Yolanda Mercheson, are incommunicado, "in conference with the captains" whenever Bren tries to reach either of them. A promising start to the negotiations with the senior captain, Ramirez, is followed by confusion, delay, and a battle of wits in which the captains attempt to completely isolate Bren, and Bren and his household resist this, attempting to keep contact with the atevi shuttle crew and build an alliance with the Mospheirans, as well as make contacts among the Phoenix crew. As might be expected with Cherryh, things get really bad before they get better. Precursor doesn't stand alone; you really do need to have read earlier books in the series to understand the pre-existing relationships and political forces, but as a part of the series, this is a very strong book. ( )