Explorer, Foreigner Series #6, by C.J. Cherryh. rating: 4.5

Bren, no longer completely clueless. he can annoy the hell out of me when he's clueless. I like him much better when he's in his stride. I'm sure others say the same of me, though.

here he is, aboard a starship, on a rescue mission, trying to figure out just what the previous ship captain *did* to cause such a stir in the interstellar region, nobody forthcoming about answers to this or pretty much anything else. oh and of course, they run into the offended neighbors, and Bren has to patch the ugly first contact and get them out alive. with an alien dictionary and grammar if possible. with no cooperation from the human station that they are supposed to be rescuing... although he does get almost limitless support from the ship itself, now that certain people are in charge of it. (convenient, no?)

quite a busy, busy book. making up for the last installment, perhaps. they simply must be read together. the last book (Defender) has so much introspection and psychological intrigue, but Explorer has no time for such things---too much is going on!

this is perhaps one of the least glorious portrayals of space travel I've read... and, folding space aside, I want to believe it's more realistic... although maybe that's because of the whole sour grapes phenomenon. can't go space travelling myself, but I'm sure it would have sucked anyway. lol.

I can very much relate to the mind-fogging aspects of this FTL. I seem to have come down with the same problems as a result of DST! in fact I hope you forgive the lack of extraordinary insight in this brief review, as I can't seem to even type normal words all that well, and thoughts are sliding all over the place, indeed.

Cajeiri develops into a minor character. still oh so much more to come on that front.

meeting the neighbors is interesting, but somehow I don't seem too fascinated with them. they are realistic though. and the problems inherent in this relationship are quite absorbing. how the household and the aijiin interact with the neighbors is most absorbing indeed.

we hear a lot about Jago, which makes sense as Bren is usually with Jago, Banichi having moved to the fore of any situation and therefore being out of sight most times. but I miss Banichi! I know that Jago is incredible (I've had the jazz song "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets" stuck in my mind for days now, only in my mind it's playing "Whatever Jago Wants, Jago Gets"), and I adore her most respectfully, but I miss Banichi. plus, Tano and Algini are far, far, away and we can't hear about THEM at all. I severely miss Algini (Tano only slightly less so). the introduction of Cajeiri and more of the dowager only partly appeases me.

who is our major antagonist? Deana Hanks is removed, Jase is with the program, Gin has realized Bren is only an bastard when necessary and for good cause, and even Sabin is beginning to understand Bren's worth. Barb, heh, she is not mentioned once, being also left far, far behind, and hallelujah for THAT. no, now we have to put up with the likes of Braddock, and find out more about Jenrette along the way.

well, someone has to seem completely, almost senselessly from our point of view, infuriating.

a good read.

again, one apologises for the dim-witted review. I feel safer sticking to the one-word exhanges between Bren and the neighbors:

Sit, Read, Good.

Defender, Foreigner Series #5, by C.J.Cherryh. rating= 4

Defender is the second book of the second trilogy of the Foreigner series.

it is perhaps the most psychological and convoluted.

Bren has set himself up on the station to represent the aiji's authority and serve as a mediating presence between the atevi, mospheirans, and Phoenix crew/captains that are working and living in such close quarters. in fact he's gotten quite used to the idea--- in the last installment (Precursor), he felt in danger the whole time he was away from the world; but as of this point, it is precisely going back down to the world that makes him the most worried. he feels so entrenched and secure in his new realm that he completely forgets to look ahead... again... the boy is always doing this. well, one can't be a whiz at everything. Bren is nothing if not fallible.

an inopportunely-leaked secret destablizes the station and prompts the crew to mutiny. Bren is so busy trying to hold everything together and prevent drastic action that he is again blind-sided by Tabini's own drastic action in response. not once, but at least three times. features a memorable series of confrontations between the aiji-dowager (with young Cajeiri in tow; yay, Cajeiri!) and the most xenophobic of the captains, neither of whom is going to back down and only one of whom is going to win. plus, of course, a couple of family crises that Bren can't possibly handle--- the usual.

Jase finally takes on the role, and not merely the title, of Captain, and we finally see the powerful young man that we got to know on the planet (instead of the meekly obedient officer). Kroger is back, much happier, and more in the right of things this time around.

do we have any new characters? surprisingly, not really. only Cajeiri. she's teasing us with Cajeiri. we haven't properly met him yet; we've just gotten a taste. we have to wait until the next book to enjoy him further. think: Tabini, as a child.

Barb, god, can't we get rid of her? no, because his mother dotes on her and Bren's an all-forgiving ENFJ. I rather agree with Jago on this matter (as well as many others). I always think of a certain quote when Barb comes up:

It's not that she's bad... She just makes me want to put my finger through my eye, into my brain, and swirl it around! (Gunter to Rachel, regarding Phoebe's singing, Friends.)

ah, the human psychology discussed when Cherryh starts in on Bren's Family! lol

"Baji-naji," Gin said, meaning, in human terms here goes nothing.

And in atevi---here goes everything. (47)

Fairness and kabiu, p. 115. I agree with the Ragi atevi.
I wonder if the matter on page 187 is ever to be mentioned or to be of importance again.



the cover, however, oh don't get me started!