Foreigner

No cover

C. J. Cherryh: Foreigner (1994, Legend paperbacks)

Paperback, 378 pages

Published Aug. 18, 1994 by Legend paperbacks.

ISBN:
978-0-09-944391-9
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

(1 review)

Humans stranded on an alien world. Accepted by the aliens, until suddenly it was war. Because when the aliens are hard-wired in their brains to not even be able to understand the concept of friend; and loyalty to your boss is unbending and forever, until you realize a higher boss has pulled you away -- and that's not betrayal just natural, well, then, how can humans possibly interact? So, now, one man, Bren, is the sole interpretor for all human-alien interactions... and then the whole dynamic changes. A fascinating insight into what it really means to discover an "alien" culture. Gripping story that sets off a series now more than 13 titles strong.

6 editions

Intriguing

This book started out strong with the exciting plot of a spaceship lost in space and fighting for survival. Some of the occupants consider colonising a planet inhabited by an alien race as their only option for survival. An examination of the psyche and moral conflict of one of the colonisers who acts as a liaison to the aliens follows, which is probably necessary to build the character, but was rather tedious to get through. It is interesting from a post-colonial perspective though. Surprising to read that someone from the South gave so thought to this issue in the mid 90s. The pace picks up at the end of the book however as a conflict between multiple rival human and alien groups arises. There is a bit much focus on an alien horse race, which I found a bit disconcerting since I'm not in the least bit interested in horses, …

Subjects

  • Fantasy
  • Science fiction