Customer Reviews

Chanur Saga Omnibus

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The Chanur books are among my all-time favorites. From the cover art, I expected them to be kind of silly, but in fact they are poignant, exciting, sometimes hilarious, fast-paced, and just generally fun to read. I recommend all of them to anyone who likes science fiction that focuses more on character than high-tech gadgets. The big problem with The Chanur Saga is that it doesn't contain the entire story. The Pride of Chanur was a self-contained book, the first in the series. It was followed by a trilogy, and then a final self-contained book. The Chanur Saga contains The Pride of Chanur, plus the first two books of the trilogy (The Kif Strike Back and Chanur's Venture) ... but it leaves out the third book of the trilogy, which is the end of that story! If you buy this book, plan on also buying at least the final book in the trilogy, Chanur's Homecoming.

C.J. Cherryh is every bit the equal of Heinlein, Asimov,
Brin and, yes, even Frank Herbert and J.R.R. Tolkien.
And from amongst an overwhelmingly creative and prolific
output of novels this Chanur series is, to my mind and
taste, her finest and most impressive achievement.

It is difficult to describe how thoroughly and yet how
effortlessly Cherryh evokes her alien races; their
psychological, mercantile and poltical twists and turns,
so subtle, so compelling and fascinatingly mature, woven
into plots that are both intriguing and fast-paced.
In other words: C.J. Cherryh offers the sophisticated
reader everything that Star Wars and Star Trek and all the
other rip-off drivel ought to be but rarely are!

Yes, she does make the reader work to get acclimated
to the complexities of this strange yet familiar universe,
but that effort pays off because her storytelling skills
are so full-bodied - with plenty of good, old-fashioned
space-opera action to boot!

The only drawback to this republication is that it omits the
first volume, The Pride of Chanur, (Chanur's Legacy is a follow-
up though not expressly a sequel), even though it has the
original cover to Pride (which is the poorest of Michael
Whelan's otherwise superb four!). It would have been
preferrable, and more respectful to the genuinely valuable,
though underrated and underappreciated, stature
of C.J. Cherryh's marvelous creation -
to have provided us with a nicely bound boxed set

instead of this lack-luster edition.

Nevertheless, I urge any and all true Science Fiction
enthusiasts to read the Chanur Saga as soon as possible.
Nearly beyond compare.

I entirely blame the publisher for the bad rating I'm giving this book. The story and the writing are both excellent. However, putting these three stories in one book and saying "Now in one magnificient omnibus edition" is a crime. The first story, "The Pride of Chanur," naturally stands alone. It should have been left as a stand-alone book. The other two stories, "Chanur's Venture" and "The Kif Strike Back," should never have been sold as separate books in the first place: each requires the other. However, the biggest problem is that "The Kif Strike Back" requires (at least) one more book, "Chanur's Homecoming" to tie things up. So, don't expect this "magnificent omnibus edition" to complete the story. You'll definitely have to buy at least one other book.

My apologies to Cherryh on this. Her writing is excellent. It's just her publisher that [is bad].

I think this is a fascinating book (actually part 1-3 out of a 5-part series). A real page turner. But why? As aliens go these are pretty stereotypic: a lion-like species, a dog-like species, a lizard-like species, etc. The story line is muddled, to put it mildly. There really is not much action, other than on a personal level, and what action there is remains very vague. The outline of this book looks as if it was thought up by a housewife with a fondness for cats. All in all, the building blocks that went into this book are very meager, less than 1% of what went into "Ring_World". By contents this is a lightweight book: yet it is a pretty enjoyable read. Quite an achievement for a writer!

When I think of authors who have the ability to "think like a nonhuman," the first name that pops into my mind is Cherryh's--and the Chanur Saga, of which this omnibus includes the first three volumes, is the prime exemplar of why. The hani, a race of sapient felinoids with a female-dominated culture, are so perfectly portrayed that the reader, observing their reactions to the first human in their experience, feels like an alien herself. A richly imaged background of other species (the mahendo'sat, who are anthropoid, and the stsho, who are somewhat reminiscent of the court of Ancient Japan, are my favorites) provides splendid contrast, and Meetpoint Station, where they all intermingle and trade, is the best-drawn hive of scum and villainy since Mos Eiseley Spaceport. No lover of hard sf, space opera, or alien first-contct stories, which blend seamlessly here, can afford not to have this volume and its sequels ("Chanur's Homecoming," "Chanur's Legacy") in her collection.

This is space opera at its best! Tense in places, funny in others, classic Cherryh. If you don't want politics, don't go there; I don't think Ms. Cherryh can write a-politically.

There is really no need to review this publisher's mistake. Though it is noted that there were some revisions in this edition, they are minor, and unnoticeable and in no way make up for the lack of Chanur's Homecoming. C. J. Cherryh said that Chanur's Venture, The Kif Strike Back, and Chanur's Homecoming actually make up one book, and were broken by the publisher into three parts. To print only part of a book and call it a Saga is lying to the public. My recommendation is to pass this up and buy the whole series on the used market. You will be happier.

The Chanur saga is an excellent selection if your looking for a science fiction novel. The best thing about this book is it's three in one quality. The fact that when you purchase this book your getting three novels instead of one is a big deal. The author really did a masterful job with the characters and the plot her unique pespective takes the reader on a journey that allows him / her to veiw the human race as an outsider. Entering into a technically advanced coalition of races. A most interesting read.

I'm not sure why the publisher chose to reprint these books in this particular way, but I'm betting that Cherryh had no say in it. It's like reprinting "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" but letting "The Return of the King" go out of print. STUPID. "The Pride of Chanur" is a standalone novel, and as such, could have been left out of this book to make room for "Chanur's Homecoming", which IS a vital part of the "series". I use the term "series" loosely in this case, since "Venture", "Kif" and "Homecoming" are actually one novel printed in three parts, like Cyteen. Only they got smart when Cyteen won the Hugo and printed it in one book, as it was intended. I'd say one would be better off checking out second hand stores for the entire series. I personally found a numbered, first edition paperback of "Pride" for 75 cents at Half Price books. Like most of the others, this rating does not reflect my opinion of the actual books, just this particular publishing pratfall.

The thing about Cherryh is that she tends to write some looooong books. Two of them, "Chanur's Venture, etc." and "Cyteen" were therefore published in three seperate books, even though they were really one very long story -- like Lord of the Rings. Chanur's Venture, The Kif Strike Back and Chanur's Homecoming should actually be one book. So, why in the world did this idiotic publisher decide to publish The Pride of Chanur, which IS a stand-alone novel, along with two thirds of the larger story? Most likely, they haven't read it, and didn't consult her. I would think that publishers, in general, like to make readers happy so they'll buy books, so they wouldn't have done it on purpose. I would like to see this story all in one book, like Cyteen. I doubt that will happen, but I can always dream. In any case, it's really crappy to publish these and not the ending. It's like only publishing "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" but letting "Return of the King" go out of print. STUPID.