Inheritor (1996)

http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-of-inheritor-by-cj-cherryh.html ( )

Review: Inheritor (Foreigner 3) by C. J. Cherryh
(ISBN 0886776899)

The Atevi have taken to the idea of racing the planet-bound humans in their rush to reach the space station. Bren Cameron, the only human diplomat on Atevi soil, is firmly in the Atevi camp. So much so, in fact, that it's creating trouble for friends and families on the island the Atevi gave the humans -- and to which they are restricted. The cultures do not mix well, and they've already fought one war.

It seems as though the humans may be pushing for another one. The reactionary people have gotten control, none of Bren's family is safe, and he can't reach anyone who will protect them. Even when his mother is in the hospital, he can't go home, much to the dismay of his brother.

Bren doesn't need the extra human emotional baggage. He's having trouble enough with Jason, the man the ship sent to train as the Paidhi between them and the Atevi. Jason is prickly, morose, unused to open spaces, mistrusting -- but he is working hard to learn the Atevi language. That he and Bren don't get along as well as Bren had hoped might, in fact, have more to do with Bren's inability to relate to humans as well as he should.

And then when Jason learns, in a circular way, that his father has died, the relationship been Jason and Bren and Jason and the Atevi take a turn for the worse. With an important Atevi about to visit the apartment, keeping Jason in line is going to be very difficult.

And perhaps a vacation afterwards would be nice. Jason would like to see the sea. The redoubtable Ilisidi agrees to help -- and that is Bren's big mistake. Illisidi, grandmother of the most important person in the world, literally has her own agenda.

It doesn't help that Jason has been lying about a number of things and that Deanna Hanks is trying to encourage a rebellion in the Atevi world -- and that the human government is doing nothing to get her in control.

And it doesn't help Bren that he's feeling more and more drawn to his Atevi guard, Jago.

Nothing is going to work well.

I did feel that this book perhaps started out a little too slowly. I enjoyed the characterization, but there were times when I wanted less talking and more action -- however, by the end of the book there was more than enough going on! ( )

This series doesn't drop off any in the third book. It does get a little predictable, but the human vs. human and alien vs. alien interactions are really done well. ( )

See Foreigner. ( )

in Foreigner, we had a dissection of Bren. in Invader, we took a good long look at Deana. in Inheritor, we get a view of Jase. not that they are, respectively, the sole focus of the books in any regard whatsoever, hardly so!, but Cherryh does try to add some new faces in to the mix every time to explore what it means to be human (or atevi, for that matter). my talking just about the new faces is a great simplification of the story! if I were to actually delve into all the possible topics in each story, why, I could write an entire anthology for each book! I never claim to cover all the possibilities ;)

ah, Jase. he's got sensory issues. that, I understand! sheer unadulterated panic, with no regards whatsoever to logic or rationality or even to the obvious non-presence of danger or to a million billion reassurances from all around.

and it's a reversal of situations. not even Bren tells Jase anything, and when Jase asks what's going on, Bren just says, "Don't worry. Just relax." that didn't work for Bren, and Bren has a much better grip on his temper, at least physically. but it takes Bren a long while to understand that source of Jase's frustration. it also doesn't occur to Bren that Jase is in physical pain from riding, until Bren starts to feel the pain himself, and even then I'm not sure that he recalls how much worse it is for a beginning rider. or figures ALL the things going on with Jase into one equation. it's not just not knowing what's going on, or not knowing whom to trust, or that Jase has problems processing sensory input, or that Jase is in physical pain and fear of his life. it's ALL of them, compounded. Bren doesn't seem to grasp that very well. for all the self-analyzing he does, Bren doesn't appear to try to figure out other humans naturally, or at least he doesn't do it very well (when dealing with all the other crises HE has, on top of things. it's not as if Bren is not distracted!). my point is that--- Bren's TRAINED to dissect his own feelings, and to try very hard to dissect what might be going on in an ateva's mind (a double-and triple-checking to avoid interspecies mistakes), but he's NOT used to trying to figure out the humans in his life. when he does actually sit down and concentrate on it, he amazes himself with things he never realized before. analyzing himself and the atevi is something he does all the time, without hardly thinking about it; analyzing humans he doesn't seem to do until things (start to) go wrong.

but, honestly Jase, if you're going to trust anyone on the mainland, it should be Bren. you can't even tell him what specifically is your difficulty? ah these people are so proud. Jase is angry most often because he's too proud to just say what needs to be said. does he think that Bren automatically understands what is bothering him, when Bren says he doesn't? does he think Bren is lying about that too? gee, Bren is a criminal mastermind or something. Occam's Razor, please. but Jase has never seen outsiders before in his life, and can't open up even that much, even when it's the smart thing to do. even probably when he wants to do so. well, well, well.

layers upon layers. these characters are all onions, I tell you. haven't found a non-onion character in Cherryh yet. ( )