Search - Foreigner: A Novel of First Contact

This was a very good science fiction novel about different cultures interacting. I liked how Bren Cameron has to figure out what's going on without inadvertently offending his atevi hosts. I look forward to learning what happens next in the second book in the series, Invader.

I'm not a fan of C. J. Cherryh, but I have to admit I enjoyed this book. Well paced, aggressive action and doesn't have her usual annoying attempts to humanize her aliens. Human protagonist is totally lost and overwhelmed in a society that cares for his safety but completely fails to understand his emotional needs or social cues.

C.J. Cherryh uses a clever approach to write a story about "otherness". She places her lead character in a situation in which he has no control, and no knowledge of events. He is kidnapped early in the novel and remains a hostage to circumstance through the entire story. Interesting, but also irritating as hell. There is no protagonist, no antagonist - just a lot of action to people who can do very little to affect their environment except experience it with flair. This method helped emphasize the alien and the human, and was an interesting way to reveal a story.

(In truth, I found it a bit boring.)

Not her best effort, in my opinion. The book hints of many ideas, but full development of same is lacking. This seems to be a popular book among genre fans, but I suspect more out of respect for her abilities than actual content.

At first, I was very confused by this book. It starts with, really, a short story setting the far background for the whole series. I think I wouldn't have spent as much energy with the first part if it didn't talk about specific names of people, but talked about them as their jobs. The first part is really ignored once you get into the main part of the book; basically, it is a throw-away part, except that I assume it sets the stage for some events to come (there is some foreshadowing about tying that first part into the story later).

After a confusing and slow-moving first part, Cherryh is quite successful in getting you hooked into the different characters, and their interactions. As the human, Bren, tries to navigate the various political and relational landmines around him, you really come to empathize with him, and then root for him to tie it up.

Luckily, he doesn't tie up everything, just diffuses the situation with a LOT of help from his "friends" (I know, atevi don't have friends). I say "luckily," because then we can enjoy more books that follow!