Invader, Foreigner Series #2 by C.J.Cherryh. rating =4.

I finished this several days ago, though I forget when exactly, and am now halfway through the #3 book, and just now have time to post this.

"Nand' dowager, in all seriousness, Malguri touches human instincts so, so deeply."
"What, greed?"
"Respect, nand'dowager. A sense of age, of profound truths. Respect for something that hands made, that's stood through storms and wars and time. It persuades us that the things we do may last and matter."
"That's the best thing I've ever heard said about humans."
(p. 128)

"If you give a ribbon, my father will believe I've achieved distinction. Give me one for me to give to him, paidhi-ji, and I'll hear no more of being an engineer."
(p. 264)

He rolled over on his face and tucked the freed arm up close, in possession of both arms at least. Say that for the situation.
(p. 288)

God, what a morass of reasoning. Sometimes---
Sometimes he was such a construction of his own carefully constructed censorships and restraints he didn't know whether there any longer was a creature named Bren Cameron, or whether what he chose to let bubble to the reflective surface of his past defined the modern man, and the rest of him was safely drowned under *that shiny surface that swallowed childhood ambitions, childhood dreams, childhood so-called friends--- about whom he didn't like to think...*
(p. 330--- that's not about Bren; it's about me)

"I take it that's not code?"
(p. 189)

and I'm agreeing with many others when I say there's one of the best dream-sequences ever used in a book starting on p. 191.

hey, it's not just the male heroes that are angry all the time. a lot of the female characters (in this case she is definitely NOT a hero) are quite angry as well.

Deana Hanks, who is only mentioned in Foreigner and doesn't show up until Invader (book 2), is quite an argument for the anger culture. I have a hard time understanding why SHE is angry all the live-long day too, otherwise. of course it doesn't help that she and Bren do not get along even in good circumstances, but I think that is only reinforcing her pattern of behavior brought about mainly by culture (and particularly by her sub-culture of Separatism and all that malarky about the supremacy of humanity yadda yadda yadda).

and Deana has good reason to be scared. esp after Tabini point-blank told her he would shoot her in the head. but I don't think she is scared on a conscious level. I think she is scared but has habitually used this fear to fuel an angry front, and on the conscious level, she is only angry. and she's directing that anger at Bren (who is the obvious choice for several reasons, one of which being extreme political differences, one of which being professional ambition, one of which being that if Bren goes, Tabini goes, and the whole structure goes which might be what she wants in light of the current events). there seem to be moments when she realizes she's in deep and the fear becomes conscious, but she subjugates it yet again and we're back to square one.

now, as I went on about last time, Bren does this to a certain extent as well. so what's the difference?

one is inclined to reply, Deana is an out-and-out fool. I know that Bren thinks she has some potential in there somewhere, but if she can't see reality enough to know what she's doing, or to care what she's doing, as it will come back to bite her in the ass, then I think "fool" still applies. nobody is only a fool; even fools can have good intentions or potential...

of course I suppose she could be trying to do harm, even knowing that it will be her undoing, in a sadistic martyr kind of way. I suppose.

oh but let's get back to Bren vs Deana. Bren relies on courtesies and apologies and quiet behavior. yes he does curse sometimes, but mostly only in private situations, and it's obvious it was a slip, and he almost always (every single time) apologizes specifically for being rude and assures people he didn't mean it that way. Deana does not believe in courtesies, never apologizes for her behavior which she sees as perfectly appropriate (disregarding the native courtesies and traditions and language and behaving brazenly human as appropriate for a diplomat!), and, again, is outspoken, brazen, and bold. She curses all the time, every other remark--- although we only see her talking to Bren, so maybe that's it, but it is always in public or in front of an audience, as part of the strategy.

then when that doesn't work, she takes it personally, and takes it upon herself to disregard the atevi head of state (because apparently it's not her behavior that is the problem, instead the entire continent of atevi and all their leaders didn't choose a worthy aiji) and seek out alliances with rebels and the opposition.

I'm inclined to say that she is just a damn fool. out of touch with reality in every regard, and not just because she is fresh from the island enclave and hasn't adjusted to political immersion yet, not just because the situation is incredibly unstable.

she's a damn fool and she's angry at everyone else because of it...

we are not privy to her inner thoughts and (possibly) doubts, as we are with Bren. maybe if we just saw Bren's actions and heard what he said, we'd think he was a lot like Deana. and in many disturbing ways he is a lot like Deana. and really I think that the difference is that Bren appreciates the atevi on a fundamental level, and the pettiness of his thoughts/policies dawns on him in Malguri where his inherent appreciation grows to full bloom. Deana, even given the chance of some Malguri-like character-building episode, is not going to come around because she has no inherent appreciation. only disregard. she doesn't care. the only thing that might dawn on her is that her anger is based on fear, and as she sees the might and glory the atevi are capable of, the fear is growing.

(see also the flashback---one of my favorite parts of the whole series---beginning on page 328.)