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5.0 out of 5 stars
Grandiose yet personal, Nov 24 2003
Ce commentaire est de: Chanur Novels #5 Chanur Legacy (Paperback)
The 5th and most recent of CJ Cherryh's Chanur Saga, Chanur's Legacy is very much in the vein of Cherryh's previous work. Captain Hilfy Chanur of the Chanur's Legacy is just trying to make a living in the shadow of her aunt, effective ruler of Compact space. When the administrator of Meetpoint Station offers her one million credits for transport of a simple cargo, the offer seems almost too good to be true. Needless to say, it is, and Hilfy and her crew, along with a few passengers, are sent on a harrowing mission throughout Compact space.
Cherryh is in true form here. Each alien race is uniquely developed, none having those "humans in makeup" or "different just to be different" qualities that often plagues SF in general, and space opera in particular. Moreover, each of the characters is quite well developed, and truth be told, I found the subplot regarding Legacy's male passenger as compelling, or more so, than the main plot.
For better or worse, saying the book is typical CJ Cherryh carries some other connotations: physical description is about nil; the main characters may spend 70 pages in a port and the most we'll ever hear about it its name. Also the plot is extremely, I might say excessively, complicated, and can get difficult to follow if you read quickly.
Still, danger, intrigue, romace, conspiracy: all are present and work together to create a marvelous story I could barely put down (even after it was finished). If you enjoy space opera, the Chanur Saga, or and of CJ Cherryh's work, this one's for you.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
This one's hilarious!, Aug 18 2009
Ce commentaire est de: Chanur Novels #5 Chanur Legacy (Paperback)
This story, the fifth in CJ Cherryh's "Chanur" series, is quite unlike the previous four. It's set a generation later, so that the youngster of the earlier books is now the captain of her own ship, and while the story does have the intrigue, conspiracies and complexity of the earlier books, this one doesn't take things quite so seriously. Especially in the second half of the book, a series of little incidents made me smile, and the story's final denouement is frankly hilarious!
However, the charm of this book is that it is not like its predecessors. If you've read the earlier books, then you know all about the cowardly and conniving stsho, the vicious and unpredictable kif, the optimistic and ever-politicking mahendo'sat, and you also know all about the social structure of the hani civilization. Without this, I suspect the book would simply be confusing -- at best, you'd miss all the humour. If you've read the previous novels, snap this one up, it's brilliant and definitely my favourite of the series. If you haven't, don't start with this one; read the others first.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent End to the Chanur Series, Sep 26 2003
Ce commentaire est de: Chanur Novels #5 Chanur Legacy (Paperback)
As of this writing, this book is the 5th in, and the end of, the Chanur series. It's excellently written and, surprising for a Cherryh book, actually ENJOYABLE to read. Usually, Cherryh's books are so gut-wrenchingly engrossing that you have nothing left with which to enjoy it. This book appeals somewhat more to the intellect than to the intestines. The tension is there, but it's far more subdued than in her other works. One of the interesting tension-makers is how Hilfy Chanur treats the male Hani she gets stuck with. From our Human point of view, it's really tough to understand. However, over time, you come to understand it from a Hani (i.e. lion) perspective. An excellent book and a suitable end/extension to the Chanur saga.
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