Things have calmed down enough for the Aiji's heir, Cajeiri, to have special guests at his (at last!) felicitous 9th birthday celebration, or have they? There's a bit more action in this installment, and character growth that is unexpected but welcome. ( )

http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-of-protector-by-cj-cherryh.html ( )

I can still honestly say that this series is consistently excellent, and while I can't say that this novel broke a lot of new ground unlike the previous one, I was quite amused by Cajeiri's ship friends coming down for his birthday. A little romp through the fields couldn't hurt a few human kids, could it?

I was a little annoyed by all this focus on the Shadow Guild within the Assassin's, however, but I'm sure other readers would get more out of it than me. It does feel like it's drawing on a bit too much, a little too much reusable plots... with one exception. I liked seeing past events come to different light. A broader political view is rather interesting. And impressive.

Fortunately, the characters are really something else and I'm never getting tired of them. Bren is great as usual, but it was really a treat to see Jase again. When are we going to get aliens???

( )

To read more of my reviews, check out my blog at keikii Eats Books!

Quote:

“You are not to tell my parents,” he said, with his arm over his eyes, “but I drank a little brandy from a glass someone left and I am not feeling well this morning. One does not think it was poisoned.”

Review:
Glacial pace.

That is the theme of Protector. I should despise this move in the series. The speed at which events actually happen are so slow. Almost nothing ends up happening in full in this book. It should feel like the author is unnecessarily drawing out the story filling it with sawdust to make it bulkier and justify how long it takes to get anything done. But it doesn't feel that way. Maybe I'm just hopelessly biased because I'm in love.

Protector is the start of the "Cajeiri birthday party celebration." I say start because it isn't over with just this book. It hasn't even been a week and they're supposed to be down for two weeks. Cajeiri's human association is down from the space station visiting as a kind of test case to see how human and atevi can really coexist as not-friends but sort of friends. Plus Cajeiri really wants it and his father promised to make it happen. And it's going to happen no matter how potentially dangerous it may end up being!

This was just so interesting because it was juggling Atevi politics with human children in the mix. The mainland still isn't quite safe after two back-to-back wars that have the occasional flare up. And one of those flare ups just happens to be happening in the middle of a bunch of children visiting the planet. Shocker. So it is a careful balancing act between trying to keep them safe, giving them an actual visit with macheti (horseback) riding and viewing pretty things, and trying to solve whatever is going wrong in the first place.

It is actually as close to a vacation as we have actually had so far. Isn't that sad? Hahaha.

The best part of the entire book is watching Tatiseigi entertaining a bunch of human children. Which is just a mindfuck after everything we have known about him to this point. AND HE VOLUNTEERED FOR IT! Hah! He is supposed to hate humans. He really doesn't seem to know what to do with children in general, being an old man that doesn't really have much of a chance to be around them. Yet he is basically acting like a happy old uncle-type, showing them what being an Atageini Lord is like. It is weeeeird and I love it. ( )

I am a devoted fan. I read everything C.J. Cherryh writes. There is nothing wrong with this book; it's just ~ a bridge, perhaps. ( )