I'm on a Scifi kink at the moment and really enjoying reading some old classics.
The Faded Sun Trilogy by C.J. CherryhMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fabulous trilogy. I find it fascinating as a writer the way she starts out deep in the mind of one or two characters, but expands her POV as the series continues.
Most times that would annoy me as I feel I drift away from characters I have come to deeply care about, but the glimpses into minds with totally different attitudes and agendas adds a lot more layers to the story.
Basically this a series about fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of not being true to a way of life (religion?) and fear of that which can't be controlled.
The regul have to be one of the most repugnant races that have ever been written and I must admit Jabba the Hut came to mind when I read that.
As for the People? Is there notion of resistance to change and unwillingness to adapt to new ways a good option?
I think the final message was that there is no "wrong" or "right" way for a race/species to live, but they have to be true to themselves.
It definitely brought into question a lot of aspects pertaining to First Contact and my research of an era when Europeans first came into contact with Maori definitely resonated. The ripples that even the addition of the simple staple, the potato, into their diet caused. Because then they were able to travel a lot further afield, fuelled by a sinpler, stronger source of cabohydrate.
In some scholars minds, that had as much bearing on the intertribal wars that followed as the muskets did.
In the same way, Duncan's arrival in their midst and his ability to adapt and learn their ways ultimately changed them.
The Morgaine Saga by C.J. CherryhMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow, just wow. Stargate meets Lord of the Rings.
Cherryh loves writing strong women characters, but often the effect of this is lost as we experience the story through their eyes. Their concerns are interesting, but the stories lose some of the impact as they are often better told through the eyes of the person most vulnerable to that strong character. The beta watching the alpha.
In this case, we have a beta male viewpoint, Vanye.
Alpha's main concerns are threats against their goals. This can sometimes seem a bit manufactured (as in the Chanur series) where most of the conflict is in what might happen, or what Pyanfar thinks could happen rather than here where the conflict is more in the nature of who and what Morgaine is, as seen through Vanye's eyes.
It doesn't hurt that Cherryh has created such a wonderful secondary character in Rho. His relationship to Vanye, Vanye's inherent goodness and honesty and the twist of Rho's inner fight to remain true to himself keeps the conflict churning along nicely right to the end.
Most stories are stronger when the conflict stems from who they are as well as where they are and what they are doing.
There is definitely a "Lord of the Rings" feel to the trilogy, but the trouble is that classic drew on so many themes that going anywhere near arrows, swords, long lives, items of power can't help but echo some of them.
The inherent premise is good though.
The description in the second book of a world inundated by water and threatened by earthquakes was fantastic. I could almost feel moisture dripping off the page. Lucky I was reading it on an ereader and not paper.
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