The Pride of Chanur Author:C.J.Cherryh Pyanfar is justifiably reluctant to shelter the strange Outsider that had dashed aboard her merchant starship, THE PRIDE OF CHANUR. First, she had business to transact at meet point. Second, Pyanfar, following the traditions of her haniculture, takes only females aboard starships (after all, males are notoriously unstable and emotional), and thi... more »s outsider seems to be male.
Morever, it's not a particularly attractive one; Pyanfar critically compares its nearly hairless flesh to her own luxuriant, red-gold fur. But it knows some sort of written symbols, it seems intelligent-and it is fleeing from its captors, the kif.
Any hani captain worth her salt is familiar with the underhanded dealingsof the kif; thier reputations are beneath contempt. Even thier demeanor is repulsive-wrinkled gray skin, uniformly long faces, and constant, whining catalogs of grievances. No, Pyanfar knows, any Outsider would have good reason to flee a kif. She'll keep the Outsider with her, return to her home planet, and take the matter to court, if necessary....
Human, the Outsider calls itself. More specifically, Tully. Through a translating machine, he tells about his species. But Pyanfar cannot know, when she first harbors Tully, that the kif will use all thier most vicious tactics to retrieve thier victim.
As the kif pursue the Pride, accusing the hani of piracy, maliciouslydestroying another hani ship, Pyanfar finds herself in a desperate race for her species' survival. She knows that the kif will risk destroying all civilization to capture Tully, for to learn the habits and defenses of humanity is a first step toward a kif-controlled universe.
And as yet another species-the mysterious, methane-breathing knnn-enters the race motives unknown, Pyanfar's live contraband may provide the key to the galaxy's future.
Enthralling space adventure,in worlds populated by some of the genre's most fascinating alien creatures-from the author of "The Book of Morgaine, The Faded Sun trilogy, and Downbelow Station.