rmh@bookwyrm.social reviewed Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh (Foreigner (1))
Intriguing
4 stars
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, …
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, but I can imagine it interesting others. Anyways, I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
