Third of the trilogy that began with Chanur's Venture and The Kif Strike Back. The three read as though they were conceived as a single novel, but this one stands successfully alone, though the backstory probably works better because I'd read the others.

Pyanfar Chanur--the main character in these books--grows weary of being other folks' pawn and takes control of her destiny. This impacts many others' destiny as an unintended side effect. The joy, here, is watching all this work itself out. As always, Cherryh's stories are deeply imagined, well-written, and grounded in careful research.

I've commented before on this author's methods. She's unusually reticent about revealing more than her characters know, which can sometimes be frustrating. But it makes her stories rich in ways no other author I read can manage. This is a special story, and exceptionally well told. ( )

The four Chanur universe books are my favorite books in the entire universe. Bar none. Cherryh slyly takes on sex, gender, culture, first contact, money, and power, among other issues, all in a rollicking good adventure story. ( )

The further adventures of the cat-like Hani and the humans they have befriended, as they try to keep their place in galactic society. Politics and adventure combined, as the not quite military crew of what is supposed to be a merchant vessel try to protect their people. Excellent science fiction. ( )

The final book in the Chanur series (not counting Chanur's Legacy which takes place at a later time), the story follows Pyanfar Chanur and her ship through space as she tries to save her species from the kif. ( )

A strong finish to an excellent space opera series. Once again C. J. Cherryh's strength is the ability to give complexity and depth to inter-species relations and diplomacy, with all the [mis]understandings and doublethink involved. It can feel a little slow to start, but once you're involved in the universe the author draws, its gripping stuff. ( )