This was a very good science fiction novel about different cultures interacting. I liked how Bren Cameron has to figure out what’s going on without inadvertently offending his atevi hosts. I look forward to learning what happens next in the second book in the series, Invader.

Some odd muscle pain in my shoulder yesterday, but i made it to work. This book was on the “please take” table, so when i finally had to go home, I took it with me. I’d read “Inheritor” last year (B46), picked up at the used book store in the RDU airport. I realized I would be getting the back story here. The book cover claims, “A novel of First Contact,” so when it opened with the Phoenix crew overshooting the destination, i thought, “Ah, really deep back story,” then the novel jumps ahead to the landing on the planet. “Ah, yay, back story on—maybe the war,” but then it jumps ahead to … the same character in “Inheritor.”

A bit of a surprise, but enjoyable. Certainly took my mind off the pain.

I haven’t read any of Cherryh stuff (except Cyteen, which I liked), so thought I would try this one. It’s OK. Nothing too novel, although I like atevi as a fictional species. I’ve heard all the “human but not” implications many times before. Not a big fan of the style of this book – too much of it is the main character’s internal dialogue. That gets really tiresome, although it makes sense given the plot of the book (he’s in the dark a lot of the time, and trying desperately to figure things out on his own). But I found it interesting enough that I’ll definitely read more Cherryh, although probably not anything in the Foreigner series for awhile.