Explorer (Second Foreigner Series #3) by C. J. Cherryh

From the Publisher

The final installment to this sequence of the Hugo Award-winning author's most successful series. Explorer follows a human delegate trapped in a distant star system facing a potentially bellicose alien ship.

Publishers Weekly

A third intelligent species makes its appearance in this sixth superior installment in Cherryh's much praised Foreigner Universe series (Defender; Precursor; etc.). The starship Phoenix, manned by a human crew but with a significant contingent of the gigantic, nonhuman atevi aboard, has spent the last year in interstellar transit from the atevi home world to the ruins of Reunion Station, where the repressive Pilots' Guild still clings to power and a mysterious and deadly alien starship lurks on the fringes. Diplomat and translator Bren Cameron and the Phoenix's newly appointed junior captain, Jason Graham, must keep the peace between two powerful, but short-tempered women: Sabin, the ship's senior captain, and Ilisidi, the imperious atevi matriarch who has been entrusted with looking after her species' interests on the voyage. When they reach Reunion Station, the Pilots' Guild first refuses to allow the starship to refuel and then attempts to take it over by force. Sabin's ill-fated attempt to negotiate the release of the fuel leads to some suspenseful complications. As with previous volumes in this intense series, detailed character development, highly charged dialogue and an eye for subtle differences in cultural preconceptions are of central importance, although Cherryh also manages some fine action scenes. This is serious space opera at its very best by one of the leading traditional SF writers in the field today. (Nov. 5) Forecast: There may be nothing flashy or cutting edge about Cherryh, hence she's not going to attract a lot of younger readers or people new to the genre, but she will continue to do well with established SF fans who appreciate fine writing and traditional story-telling. The dust jacket by leading SF cover artist Michael Whelan clearly identifies this as space opera. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA

After a one-year voyage, the spaceship Phoenix, with Paidhi Bren Cameron and an Atevi delegation aboard, finally nears the space station Reunion. When First Captain Sabin is belligerent and secretive concerning the Phoenix's last visit to the station, Bren and Second Captain Jase Graham take matters into their own hands. Detecting an alien ship hovering nearby, Bren uses his diplomatic/interpreting skills to establish communication with the aliens, much to the alarm of the survivors on the station. It is soon obvious, however, that the aliens are not necessarily the enemy. Upon arrival, Phoenix finds the station refueling ports locked and booby-trapped. When Sabin goes aboard Reunion to negotiate, she is held hostage by Station Captain Braddock. Discovering that an alien is also held captive by the station, Bren and his Atevi allies storm the access ports, depose Braddock, and rescue both Sabin and the alien prisoner. Pamphlets, encouraging station personnel to return with the Phoenix, are distributed, and the planned evacuation of the station is finally explosively begun. Bren and Jase return the alien to his ship and establish grounds for continued diplomatic relations. Plenty of action reminiscent of Foreigner (DAW, 1994/VOYA April 1994) and Invader (1995/VOYA August 1995) makes this book a quick read. A completely satisfying conclusion to the long-standing Foreign Universe series leaves all favorite characters safe and accounted for. Excellent characterization, intense political tension, and truly unique alien races make the six-part series an essential component in any science fiction collection. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P J S A/YA (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broadgeneral YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2002, DAW, 408p, Wallace

Library Journal

Bren Cameron, raised on a planet colonized by humans and home to the race known as atevi, receives an assignment to act as mediator between the human space station Reunion and a nearby mysterious and potentially hostile alien ship. Threading his way through the delicate lines of power aboard the ship taking him to Reunion, however, poses almost as much of a danger as confronting the alien and human threats that await him upon arriving at his destination. Cherryh superbly crafts complex intrigues and alien races possessed of integrity, as well as a sense of otherness, making this conclusion to the second trilogy (Precursor; Defender) set in the universe of human-atevi relations a good choice for most sf collections, particularly where the author has a following. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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