I'm very disappointed that Cherryh's work has not achieved the status that it deserves. But I understand why - she writes well above the level of many readers. While she doesn't win the popularity contests, she obviously has achieved great success working for her audience.

There are plenty of places to find out what this book is about - what I want to discuss is the framework she created to house this book. I once read that Frank Herbert spent many years doing the preperation for writing DUNE, and that's why he was able to continue writing so many books based on the series. We all know how much time Tolkien put into his universe before he published his first Middle Earth book.

Cherryh has accomplished something similar with this book - the first of the Merchanter series. But this book deals with important human issues - politics, ethics, government, love, relationships, friendship, human rights, environmental issues, etc... - in ways that none of those others do. Her world is gritty and realistic - you can actually envision living in it. And this is the first of many set in this universe.

I've read other reviews claiming it is too complicated with too many characters and too many motivations. Uhm... Okay. The beauty of the book is how she makes this complex world come together and really hum. Amazing. Well worth the effort to read. And not in any way a chore to work your way through.

Cherryh is one of my favorite authors - and this is my favorite book by her. She does an amazing job of showing us the culture of a starship in this book through the eyes of a young tortured soul who is brought in as an outsider. Since he doesn't know anything about the way that ship life functions - he's an excellent guide to learn from.

Give Cherryh a chance if you haven't read anything by her before - you won't find lots of shoot-em-up action, but you'll find amazing characters within the best framework that Science Fiction has to offer. And this is a great one to start out with. She's written many books and you'll have many days to spend with each of them if you like her writing.

Cherryh is at her best when she's letting you live within varying perspectives of her characters. I've never experienced this with any other author - the ability to set two characters in diametrically opposed directions and have you support both sides of the issue.

Cyteen is long. Personally I found that to be a blessing - I love this book, and spending lots of time within its worlds was wonderful. But if you don't like to think... Or if your idea of a good Science Fiction novel is one with lots of hot alien babes and star fights... Well... Go back to you usual fare.

Cherryh is one of those writers you either love or hate. She's written enough books that if you find that you love her, you have uncovered a monumental treasure trove of books to read. Give it a shot.

Cherryh is one of my favorite authors, so you'll need to temper my enthusiasm with that knowledge. I haven't ever read anything by her that I didn't like. And many many books (she's extremely prolific) that I absolutely loved. This is not one of her best - but it is very good. Combines science, genetics, sociology, psychology and great story telling.

The reason this isn't one of her best books is that it doesn't spend the kind of time with characters that it could. Her greatest strength is placing very real and complex characters into real and complex environments. But this book takes place over hundreds of years, and doesn't ever get deeply involved with any one or group of characters. So it doesn't shine like she typically does. But there is a greatness to this book and I recommend it to anyone who has read any Cherryh fiction. As a first exposure I'd stick to Downbelow Station, Finity's End, Merchanter's luck, or Cyteen.

I took a graduate creative writing course with Josip at the University of Cincinnati. I have not finished reading this book, but it immediately brought me back to my studies with him. He is a knowledgeable and excellent teacher. I highly recommend both this book and his fiction.

This book is a ceremony - the Laguna Pueblo people believe that all stories are magic. Rather than mixing up a potion, they tell a story. This is a healing story, and therefore, a healing Ceremony. Every time you read it, you're performing magic. I give it to everyone I care about when they are in need of emotional or physical healing.

It's rare to come across a book that drives me to buy and send it to friends. Usually I will just recommend a book - but this one I happily have sent on at my own expense. I'm very cheap.

A well-written X-Files meets Sherlock Holmes meets Lovecraft, meets Emma Bull and Steven Brust. Throw in the beginnings of communism and the 19th Century British Labor movement, elite British families, and a hearty dose of feminism, and you've got magic. (really - it works far better than you'd imagine!)

Emma Bull is one of the great unsung writers of her generation. I stumbled across her 'War for the Oaks' in a used book store years ago, and was blown away. I then did the same with 'Falcon' and was again surprised. Unfortunately, she has been sucked into 'genre' writing and storylines that just plain don't differentiate her. But she writes so very well!

I've never read anything by Steven Brust before, and I would guess that I'm one of the few out there that read this for Ms. Bull's reputation. But I'm going to be picking up his work soon.

Outstanding just for the style. A VERY SMART BOOK!

I own the original classic novels that this combines in one volume, Heavy Time and Hellburner. Cherryh is great at putting believable characters in crisis, surrounding them with a hard-science SF environment, and showing us what it is to be human. These two books are excellent examples of her work.

Paul Dekker is an amazingly talented pilot. His partner is killed to hide illegal activity by a large corporation. His mind is fractured by his near fatal attempt to save her. He ends up being rescued by a young 'belt born' navigator, and his aging earth born pilot - a pair of miners in the asteroid belt.

This raises the interesting emotional/pshychological differences in humans raised on earth, those raised in a hypothetical 'space station' environment, and amazing ethical questions. What happens when human culture starts dealing with time dilation between vast distances? Does the culture fracture?

Should these two miners 'take' Dekker's ship as salvage, which would finally get them financially ahead of the mining company that is slowly driving them to indentured servitude, or should they stand by him and support him when the company is trying to bury him?

These books are full of intigue, action, science, psychology, and an amazing description of skill. Two for one! Highly recommended! If you like this, try Tripoint, Merchanter's Luck, Finity's End, Downbelow Station, Cyteen, etc... She's extremely prolific, so if you give a try and enjoy it, you'll have dozens of novels to read down the road.

This book changed me. It will change you too. It is one of the most 'complete' books I've ever read. The characters are so real that I have contemplated writing them letters.

de Lint is a better storyteller than most - I've described his writing to friends as "as clear and inventive as Steven King, but with actually well-written prose and resolved characters - not just good storytelling." But don't let any mention of Steven King push you away if it's likely to. My main point is that his writing is going to appeal to a broader market than the typical SF/Fantasy crowd that it's aimed at.