Two stand-alone novels in Cherryh’s Alliance-Union universe.

Cuckoo’s Egg is a bit of an oddity. The human Thorn has been raised among an alien race and despite his obvious physical differences considers himself to be one of them. The book follows him from infancy to age 18 when he discovers the truth about himself and the circumstances of his genesis.

As ever, Cherryh delivers a believable alien race and mindset. The shoenoen are mammalian cat-like beings with a society reminiscent of a high-tech Far-Eastern society, albeit still with low-tech overtones.

Serpent’s Reach

A more typical Cherryh S-F novel, and one obviously in the Alliance-Union timeline than Cuckoo’s Egg. The eponymous Serpent’s Reach is an area of space in the Hydra region that has been interdicted to humanity because of the local alien race, the insectoid Majat. They are a hive-mind, with a social structure resembling ants or bees. In terms of memory, they are immortal although individuals can die. Four hives exist - red, green, gold and blue; effectively each is one individual with memories stretching back over at least a million years.

There is a human colony living there with permission of the Majat. They comprise the (possibly) immortal Kontrin who interact with the Majat, the short-lived azi who are clones, and betas who are human-normal and are descended from ova. Trade with the rest of the galaxy happens at a single planet.

The story starts when a Kontrin family linked to blue-hive is all but exterminated by rivals. The only survivor is a teenager. The story is of her revenge on the killers of her family and the wider political interactions. Complicating this is red-hive’s new understanding of death and it’s meaning to humans.

Recommended.

Once again I have found another great book written by C J Cherryh. In this case a two for one because this is a combination of the Books Cuckoo's Egg and Serpents Reach. Both take place in the Alliance-Union universe and deal with human and alien relations. Both are superbly handled and engrossing. I will warn; however, that Serpents Reach takes much longer to get rolling but the conclusion is worth the wait.

In Cuckoo's Egg we witness the raising of a human child by an alien benefactor with ulterior motives. Through the training and handling of this human child we learn the nature of the alien society and the importances of the child.

Serpents Reach deals with a detructive conflict between family members that could lead to the end of a vital source of commerce for the Union. The protagonists is the sole survivor of the family that controlled interactions between the alien hives and humankind. Now she must learn the true role she will play in sustaining human and alien society within the Serpents Reach. ( )

The world had faced a threat that it had never seen before and had never expected to come to pass. This threat was averted, but at a terrible cost to those who faced it. There was only one man that survived the encounter and the world said that it would give him whatever he asked of it. This man’s name was Dunn and he did not ask for fame or for riches.

Instead he asked for something that came from the vanquished enemy that had threatened the people of his world. This came in the form of a young boy named Thorn. It was Dunn’s intention to raise this boy in the ways of his people and prepare him for the day that he would go forward and lead Dunn’s people forward into the future that awaited them in the stars.

Unfortunately Dunn underestimated how tricky humans can be….

This story kept me turning the pages. There is not a lot of violence or action found in this story until the end, but the interactions between the various characters are almost as good as any battle scene. The author keeps the dialogue tight and it’s hard not to feel the tension as Dunn and Thorn test each other as he grows up. It’s also very easy to understand how lost Thorn feels after a certain event unleashes the world on him. The only complaint I have is that I wanted to read more about these characters, but it appears this is a standalone book that was written in the beginning of the author’s but toward the end of the timeline of the universe she created. So the following books never really touch on this story line again. It’s a great read though, and makes you wonder what could have happened after the last page is turned. I would recommend this to anyone that likes books that build their story around how the characters interact with each other versus how many explosions can be crammed into one book. Mac ( )

Interesting stories from the edge of Alliance-Union universe. Worth reading, but not Cherryh's best writing. ( )

Two superb offerings from CJC. Both nominally set in the Alliance/ Union universe. Although neither are part of the main timeline, Serpant's reach is probably closer to 40000 in Gehenna, but not a bad companion for Cuckoo's Egg. Both explore similar themes - what it means to be human, and how varied the possibilities are.

Cuckoo's Egg.
Thorn is raised in a non-human world. Told from both his and his guardians perspective he quickly realises he is unique, but understanding and comprehending why this should be takes a lot longer. Only when the government's internal politics interefere with his learning does he realise the import of his existance.

Serpent's reach.
Out in the backwaters of the galaxy Union come across another intelligent species, ant-like hive minded creatures the majat. A colony is established on their world - by treaty the only one. But with Azi technology it is able to grow. Symbiosis allows the majat to spread, a little, and Serpent's Reach is quarenteened from the rest of civilisation, with only a sole trading post exporting the rare goods - it is unclear if this is rejuv. 700 years later what remains of the Alliance wishes to investigate the system further. Raen in Family, a direct descendant of the original colonists, as she gains maturity she begins to understand the very complex politics that such a closed system has developed with the hive minds of the majat.

Very complex and at times not completely clear, it is still a fascinating read. ( )