Reviews of Invader

Invader takes up the story of Bren Cameron, the human paidhi, or "translator", who serves to communicate and keep the peace between a small group of humans who somewhat inadvertently found themselves on the world of the atevi, and their humanoid but definitely alien hosts. The starship which abandoned the humans 178 years before returned at the end of Foreigner, precipitating a crisis among both humans and atevi. Invader takes up events at the end of the first book and carries them forward.

In the course of the narrative we learn much more about the atevi. Cherryh is clearly more comfortable with her creation in this second book and provides us with fascinating insights into a fully-formed alien society. The insights are largely sociological, political, and linguistic rather than technological, although there is plenty of tension throughout and the story builds to a climax with plenty of action to keep you up late.

We also get to know Bren Cameron much more thoroughly. Unlike some of Cherryh's male characters Bren is a basically a healthy and well-adjusted individual. He makes plenty of mistakes, but he deals with them and goes on. He is a well-prepared, experienced professional who responds as well as anyone could to events which are always somewhat out of his control. Cherryh uses this device in almost all of her books; we reveal ourselves best when we have to deal with the unusual and unexpected, and the measure of a person is how he or she responds. In the different responses of humans and aliens we gain insight by contrast into what it means to be human. This, IMHO, is what is most valuable about science fiction.

Although the arrival of a starship obviously provides plenty of tension for both human and atevi governments, Bren's personal life is also in turmoil, providing an interesting foil to the larger events of the story. In the course of the story Bren becomes estranged from his girlfriend, Barb, and his family, and a disturbing encounter with Jago, one of his security guards, adds a new dimension to the mix.

The cover art by Michael Whelan is, if anything, better than that of Foreigner. The artist, and designer Miles Long, are setting a new standard not just for the artistic quality of cover art but for how it enhances the reader's enjoyment of the story.

Whereas Foreigner stood alone as a novel (although most C. J. Cherryh fans that I know hoped for a sequel), Invader is clearly now part of a series. The action reaches a stopping place on the last page, but all is by no means resolved. We will have to wait for further books in this series to find out what happens next. At the rate Cherryh produces books (three this year!) we have high hopes that it will not be a long wait.

Reading her sequel, Invader, has totally reversed my view: I now think that this series shows promise of being among the best things Cherryh has ever done--maybe even almost as good as Cyteen.

The major reason for my reversal is that I've been taken with Cherryh's description of the Atevi--the alien society in which a relatively small group of humans is marooned. In Invader, Cherryh adds a good deal of depth to her description of these alien people. For example, she makes clearer the grounds for their fascination with numbers, and the nature of _man'chi_ is further elaborated. This concept-- _man'chi_ -- is loosely translated as "association" (though it has no counterpart in any human language), and is the bond that holds Atevi society together. They need some sort of social glue, since the Atevi have no understanding of "liking" another person (telling an Ateva that you like him translates something like, "I would like to eat you for dessert"), and no concept of friendship. I think this is surely one of the best descriptions of a truly alien society in the science fiction genre.

The chief human protagonist, Bren Cameron, is the "paidhi"--a translator/ambassador--sent from the human settlement to keep the peace with the Atevi. Bren must constantly be watchful, lest he anthropomorphosize the Atevi, and think (mistakenly) that they "like" him, or are grateful to him for things he has done for them. Naturally, this is hard on him. Like any Cherryh hero, Bren spends a good deal of his time being mystified, harried, and confused. (In this book he has a recently broken shoulder that he's constantly whining about; I doubt if it'll ever heal, since his massive 9-foot bodyguards regularly leap on top of him to shield him from assassin's fire.) However, unlike some Cherryh protagonists, Bren is a reasonably respectable and likeable human being, and one wishes him well.

Invader is written in Cherryh's usual breathless, ungrammatical stream-of-consciousness style. It's not pretty, but it works--as intended, the reader's eyes are pulled along, devouring the text without noticing the words, eager to find out what happens next. One does wish that Cherryh was more parsimonious with the introspective angst-filled soliloquies that pad Invader. Yes, the book would be thinner--but nothing significant would be left out.

Peculiarly, there is no indication in Invader whether Cherryh intends to continue this series. One hopes so--but then again, maybe she will just leave us in the lurch, with nothing resolved. Surely the cat is out of the bag with this second book--would it really have killed the people at DAW to clue us in on what the plans are for the continuation of these books? Courtesy seems to be a rare thing in the publishing industry.

Oh yes, I have one other gripe. I think it's forgiveable if a writer doesn't know the difference between the use of the words "principle" and "principal"--but if a _proofreader_ doesn't know the difference, then it's a much grimmer matter. I noted several instances in Invader where "principle" is used as an adjective (e.g., "His principle protector"). When I pay $19.95 for a book, I expect better.

In case you missed it amid my griping, I highly recommend these two books--even in hardback.