Serpent's Reach

A young woman is part of a clan on a planet on the outskirts of human space. The planet is also inhabited by an intelligent insect species and she and her clan are important go-betweens with the insect hives. She and her clan are caught in a vast conspiracy and she spends decades uncovering the plot. The main character, Raen, is a good character and the setting is great. Unfortunately, there's just not enough shown of what's going on, so every action of hers feels mysterious and murky and at the end, it doesn't feel resolved. There are a lot of thought provoking concepts here though.

Hard-edged science fiction set in a quarantined region of space where early human settlers entered into a relationship with insect hive-minds to produce valuable sought-after goods, creating a rigidly stratified society ruled over by the ruthless and decadent Families with their mind-boggling weatlh, absolute power and vicious feuds. This one is epic and fast-moving and constantly veering away unexpectedly, creating many memorable scenes and moments.

I love CJ Cherryh, and have never read anything of hers that I didn't like. This book is no exception. While I found myself confused at times over what exactly was happening (especially as the war began - although this could be partially beause I'm dreadful at imagining any type of battle scene), I found the premise of the book, and the Majat, utterly fascinating.

I also love anything Cherryh writes with the azi in it - they make you wonder what exactly it means to be human in the first place. This book is a well written, early work of Cherryh. Perhaps not as good as the Faded Sun trilogy, but definitely worth reading.

Raen is 15 when a power grab between ruling clans leaves her an outcast, alive but with nothing but her family name and a desire for revenge on those who have taken her home and family from her. But Raen is special, able to communicate with the Majat, members of a large insect-like species that inhabit her world.

While I felt this story started very slowly, more so than previous reads by this author, it held my interest until the plot suddenly 'took off' and I was hopelessly hooked. Ms. Cherryh has a talent for creating worlds and characters that are believable and fascinating.

Not one of CJ Cherryh's best works, but enjoyable and satisfying.

This book is an example of what I read science fiction for: good alien intelligence. In this case sentient hives. The odd thing--and somewhat disquieting--is the idea of a sentient species with only a handful of persons expressed in a handful of hives with many individual, but dependent, components.

I love CJ Cherryh, and have never read anything of hers that I didn't like. This book is no exception. While I found myself confused at times over what exactly was happening (especially as the war began - although this could be partially beause I'm dreadful at imagining any type of battle scene), I found the premise of the book, and the Majat, utterly fascinating. I also love anything Cherryh writes with the azi in it - they make you wonder what exactly it means to be human in the first place. This book is a well written, early work of Cherryh. Perhaps not as good as the Faded Sun trilogy, but definitely worth reading.

An exceptional stand alone Alliance-Union novel from Cherryh.

As another reviewer pointed out, she hasn't quite reached her trademark character focus by this point in her career (1980)

This revenge novel, has well formed characters, and fantastic Aliens, and it never feels like there is a slow moment.

I will certainly re-read. The writing here has a great deal of clarity.

Some people find Cherryh overwhelming, if you're looking for an easy entry point to begin reading her books, then this might be it.

4.5 Stars.