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Chanur #2
Chanur's Venture
In the sequel to Pride of Chanur, Tully returns, and brings with him a priceless trade contract with human space--a contract that could mean vast power, riches, and a mess of trouble for Pyanfar Chanur. Reissue.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
About the author
C.J. Cherryh
307 books3,377 followersCurrently resident in Spokane, Washington, C.J. Cherryh has won four Hugos and is one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed authors in the science fiction and fantasy field. She is the author of more than forty novels. Her hobbies include travel, photography, reef culture, Mariners baseball, and, a late passion, figure skating: she intends to compete in the adult USFSA track. She began with the modest ambition to learn to skate backwards and now is working on jumps. She sketches, occasionally, cooks fairly well, and hates house work; she loves the outdoors, animals wild and tame, is a hobbyist geologist, adores dinosaurs, and has academic specialties in Roman constitutional law and bronze age Greek ethnography. She has written science fiction since she was ten, spent ten years of her life teaching Latin and Ancient History on the high school level, before retiring to full time writing, and now does not have enough hours in the day to pursue all her interests. Her studies include planetary geology, weather systems, and natural and man-made catastrophes, civilizations, and cosmology…in fact, there's very little that doesn't interest her. A loom is gathering dust and needs rethreading, a wooden ship model awaits construction, and the cats demand their own time much more urgently. She works constantly, researches mostly on the internet, and has books stacked up and waiting to be written.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
December 7, 2017
This is my second read and I was hoping I'd enjoy it more this time. Unfortunately, no. It's not bad, but it lacks the sophistication and humor and therefore the bulk of the fun of her later works. It may be cool to see how much she improves over the years, or just treat this as a lesser novel with an alien-rich area of space. Above all, it's a merchantman kind of novel. Trade, cultural weirdness, and much enmity with certain species always getting in the way.
Of course, humans are the odd ones out.
And they're back! Or one is, and he's come bearing trade treaty! Enter greed, guilt, and more chase. :)
I think Cherryh is being a bit sly with the text, rewarding careful readers and turning everyone else (myself included) into chumps, however. She's not reinforcing big events with repetition, just slipping them in. :) It's great for her later series because she's got that skill down pat, but here? It tends to confuse or just reward later re-readers. Some re-readers. Me? I kinda wish I like the feel of this series more, but I don't.
I have started enjoying the deeper cultural aspects and oddities of all the aliens, however. The world-building is fun even if you can't hang a whole hat on it.
All in all, though, it reads with much action and adventure, which is kinda funny for aliens wrangling to get off space stations with their cargo intact and setting up back-door deals and alliances. But it's still fun for all that. :)
Of course, humans are the odd ones out.
And they're back! Or one is, and he's come bearing trade treaty! Enter greed, guilt, and more chase. :)
I think Cherryh is being a bit sly with the text, rewarding careful readers and turning everyone else (myself included) into chumps, however. She's not reinforcing big events with repetition, just slipping them in. :) It's great for her later series because she's got that skill down pat, but here? It tends to confuse or just reward later re-readers. Some re-readers. Me? I kinda wish I like the feel of this series more, but I don't.
I have started enjoying the deeper cultural aspects and oddities of all the aliens, however. The world-building is fun even if you can't hang a whole hat on it.
All in all, though, it reads with much action and adventure, which is kinda funny for aliens wrangling to get off space stations with their cargo intact and setting up back-door deals and alliances. But it's still fun for all that. :)
July 7, 2023
Chanur's Venture takes place a few years after the first installment, but rather than a standalone like The Pride of Chanur, serves as the first of a inner trilogy within the series and ends with a major cliffhanger. Once again, however, it features our wiley captain Pyanfar with one addition to the crew-- her former mate. This is the first time a male han has travelled on a spaceship and lets just say that it breaks some age-old customs.
In any case, Chanur's Venture starts at the same spacestation as last time--Meetpoint-- and it is the first time Pyanfar and crew have been allowed back there since the events last time. The Pride and crew have not fared well in the past few years. Trade with Humanity never emerged for the han, being monopolized by the mahendo'sat (allies of a sort with the han) but they hope that the trade in Meetpoint will turn things around. You guessed it-- something else comes up in a big way.
Pyanfar's old 'friend' Goldtooth immediately meets Pyanfar after she docks and presents her with a present, one human named Tully, with a request to get him and some papers to a different station. Pyanfar is also accosted by some 'neutral' han police who also just happen to be at Meetpoint. Obviously, some pretty high-level political hijinks is going down and Pyanfar and crew are in the dark. Pretty soon, all hell breaks loose and The Pride is once again on the run...
Cherryh seems to move this series into a more political angle here. We know the manendo'sat have a sophisticated, albeit byzantine government, with a few special agents like Goldtooth and Jik, who just happen to captain 'hunter' ships. What we do not know is the status of the human sphere, their negotiations with the mane, or even the potential involvement of the kif. So, we move from a more action based story into a political one. Again, I applaud the world building here, but just once this seemed to get going it just ended. Glad I have the next installment cued up or I would have been pissed. 3.5 stars, rounding down for the ending.
In any case, Chanur's Venture starts at the same spacestation as last time--Meetpoint-- and it is the first time Pyanfar and crew have been allowed back there since the events last time. The Pride and crew have not fared well in the past few years. Trade with Humanity never emerged for the han, being monopolized by the mahendo'sat (allies of a sort with the han) but they hope that the trade in Meetpoint will turn things around. You guessed it-- something else comes up in a big way.
Pyanfar's old 'friend' Goldtooth immediately meets Pyanfar after she docks and presents her with a present, one human named Tully, with a request to get him and some papers to a different station. Pyanfar is also accosted by some 'neutral' han police who also just happen to be at Meetpoint. Obviously, some pretty high-level political hijinks is going down and Pyanfar and crew are in the dark. Pretty soon, all hell breaks loose and The Pride is once again on the run...
Cherryh seems to move this series into a more political angle here. We know the manendo'sat have a sophisticated, albeit byzantine government, with a few special agents like Goldtooth and Jik, who just happen to captain 'hunter' ships. What we do not know is the status of the human sphere, their negotiations with the mane, or even the potential involvement of the kif. So, we move from a more action based story into a political one. Again, I applaud the world building here, but just once this seemed to get going it just ended. Glad I have the next installment cued up or I would have been pissed. 3.5 stars, rounding down for the ending.
May 20, 2021
Another very enjoyable caper from Cherryh, centered around the delightfully crusty, fiercely loyal, and curmudgeonly captain of The Pride, Pyanfar Chanur. This volume is the first in a trilogy, and leaves many unanswered questions, but it’s packed with Cherryh’s usual inventiveness when it comes to aliens and their cultures, and it was fast-paced and enjoyable. Not as deep and profound as some of her other work; more of a popcorn read, but a fine one at that.
August 30, 2022
The first book in this series was ok. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style, but the story was not without interest. This picks up two years after the event of the previous book. It finished with an open end and apparently forms a trilogy with the next two books, with one major story arc. I will not be picking up the next book.
The story did not grab me at all, I really didn't care what happens next. The characters stayed one-dimensional and lifeless for me, with the exception of Pyanfar and her husband Khym. I did like him and I would very much have liked to see his character and his position in Hani society explored more.
Great idea to explore the difficulties of communication between different species. You do not get to read about that very much in SciFi or at least not to this extent. But the pidgin they used here really got on my nerves pretty quickly.
So, I think I am pretty much done with Cherryh. The first book of the Foreigner series didn't appeal to me either. Great ideas, but her writing just isn't for me.
PS: this review is from 2017. I have restarted reading Foreigner (2022) and this time around I like it. So I am not done with Cherryh just yet…
The story did not grab me at all, I really didn't care what happens next. The characters stayed one-dimensional and lifeless for me, with the exception of Pyanfar and her husband Khym. I did like him and I would very much have liked to see his character and his position in Hani society explored more.
Great idea to explore the difficulties of communication between different species. You do not get to read about that very much in SciFi or at least not to this extent. But the pidgin they used here really got on my nerves pretty quickly.
So, I think I am pretty much done with Cherryh. The first book of the Foreigner series didn't appeal to me either. Great ideas, but her writing just isn't for me.
PS: this review is from 2017. I have restarted reading Foreigner (2022) and this time around I like it. So I am not done with Cherryh just yet…
December 28, 2017
This is a reread for me and part of the buddy read of the Chanur series with the SpecFic Buddy Reads group.
It’s also the first part of the middle trilogy of the Chanur series and ends with a “to be continued”. The victories of the Pride of Chanur are far behind Pyanfar Chanur, with the consequences proving long-lived, including the presence of her husband Khym on-board, controversially the first male Hani to ever crew on a starship. On her first visit back to where it all started last time, Meetpoint Station, Pyanfar and the crew of the Pride, are sucked straight back into trouble when Tully returns looking for help from her and the Mahendo’sat. There’s trouble with the Kif and the Knnn bordering human space which looks difficult to navigate, and even more difficult when the Kif appear divided.
Cherryh’s writing is not for everyone. For me though, this is one of the books and series that I feel define her early career. The aliens are quite alien with opaque motivations and believable linguistic problems, but Pyanfar herself is an island to herself. She has trouble relating to her own people as much as the species that are alien to her. Which all makes the efforts of her friends and family to relate and help her that much more meaningful.
It’s also the first part of the middle trilogy of the Chanur series and ends with a “to be continued”. The victories of the Pride of Chanur are far behind Pyanfar Chanur, with the consequences proving long-lived, including the presence of her husband Khym on-board, controversially the first male Hani to ever crew on a starship. On her first visit back to where it all started last time, Meetpoint Station, Pyanfar and the crew of the Pride, are sucked straight back into trouble when Tully returns looking for help from her and the Mahendo’sat. There’s trouble with the Kif and the Knnn bordering human space which looks difficult to navigate, and even more difficult when the Kif appear divided.
Cherryh’s writing is not for everyone. For me though, this is one of the books and series that I feel define her early career. The aliens are quite alien with opaque motivations and believable linguistic problems, but Pyanfar herself is an island to herself. She has trouble relating to her own people as much as the species that are alien to her. Which all makes the efforts of her friends and family to relate and help her that much more meaningful.
August 12, 2022
I'm a huge fan of the main character, but the story didn't quite manage to pull me in.
This is a solid space opera with hard SF elements, and I enjoyed the focus on economic and social ramifications of first contact.
This is a solid space opera with hard SF elements, and I enjoyed the focus on economic and social ramifications of first contact.
March 30, 2019
Fair warning: This is the first volume of a three-part longer work and it doesn't so much end as simply comes to the end of a chapter, with more of the story to follow directly in The Kif Strike Back.
So with that out of the way: Pyanfar Chanur, captain of the hani trading ship Pride of Chanur has finally gotten permission to come back to Meetpoint Station, the central location of the Compact (a loose trading affiliation of seven intelligent starfaring species), from which they had been temporarily banned after all the foofaraw that ensued in the first book, The Pride of Chanur. And, much to her chagrin/shock/horror, she runs into her old friend(?) Goldtooth (himself a mahendo'sat, one of the Compact's other species) who tells her he has another old friend, one Tully, member of a previously uncontacted species called "human", last seen at the end of the first book heading back to Humanspace after barely escaping all kinds of unpleasantness; and Tully brings documents with him from the leaders of the humans (well, of his faction), who want to enlist other Compact species in helping them stave off the depradations of the kif (another Compact species; nasty fellows, those); or was it actually the Knnnn (methane breathers and entirely incomprehensible in their motives and actions, and poking at them could stir up troubles of a sort undreamed of)? And Goldtooth proposes to smuggle Tully onto Pyanfar's ship in a shipping container full of exotic fruit ...
More compelling nonhuman space opera as we see the Compact starting to sway like a Jenga tower at the potential introduction of a new species (who probably have their own very mistaken ideas about how things work). We do get a few scenes from another point of view this time, but it's Hilfy Chanur (Pyanfar's niece) -- Tully the Human remains enigmatic, able to communicate only by using a not-all-that-great translator box.
And yes, I'll be starting the next book forthwith.
So with that out of the way: Pyanfar Chanur, captain of the hani trading ship Pride of Chanur has finally gotten permission to come back to Meetpoint Station, the central location of the Compact (a loose trading affiliation of seven intelligent starfaring species), from which they had been temporarily banned after all the foofaraw that ensued in the first book, The Pride of Chanur. And, much to her chagrin/shock/horror, she runs into her old friend(?) Goldtooth (himself a mahendo'sat, one of the Compact's other species) who tells her he has another old friend, one Tully, member of a previously uncontacted species called "human", last seen at the end of the first book heading back to Humanspace after barely escaping all kinds of unpleasantness; and Tully brings documents with him from the leaders of the humans (well, of his faction), who want to enlist other Compact species in helping them stave off the depradations of the kif (another Compact species; nasty fellows, those); or was it actually the Knnnn (methane breathers and entirely incomprehensible in their motives and actions, and poking at them could stir up troubles of a sort undreamed of)? And Goldtooth proposes to smuggle Tully onto Pyanfar's ship in a shipping container full of exotic fruit ...
More compelling nonhuman space opera as we see the Compact starting to sway like a Jenga tower at the potential introduction of a new species (who probably have their own very mistaken ideas about how things work). We do get a few scenes from another point of view this time, but it's Hilfy Chanur (Pyanfar's niece) -- Tully the Human remains enigmatic, able to communicate only by using a not-all-that-great translator box.
And yes, I'll be starting the next book forthwith.
March 29, 2024
Cherryh is such an entertaining writer! I love how we are seeing this whole story from the perspective of the catlike female hani captain Pyanfar and the human is the alien. Even better, the thoughts of Pyanfar are written clearly whereas the human who doesn't speak the hani's language comes across hashed and simplistic. The action is excellent here as we pick up the story of The Pride of Chanur some years later. Cherryh describes the universe and her motivation in splitting the tale across three books (this one, The Kif Strike Back, and Chanur's Homecoming) for the story arc due to publisher pressure. Regardless, the book does read well on its own and is just so much fun.
May 7, 2018
Three and half stars
Entertaining science fiction, good space opera.. Awesome alien characters all, including Tully, the only human. Here, he is as stranger as the rest.
Entertaining science fiction, good space opera.. Awesome alien characters all, including Tully, the only human. Here, he is as stranger as the rest.
March 28, 2019
3 stars.
I found the politics of this really confusing. I'm not sure I understood what's happened or what's happening except there is a big cliffhanger! Let's see if the next instalment will clear it up for me.
I found the politics of this really confusing. I'm not sure I understood what's happened or what's happening except there is a big cliffhanger! Let's see if the next instalment will clear it up for me.
December 9, 2015
En la región del espacio que comprende la Saga de Chanur, coexisten siete razas que forman un Pacto. Unos respiran oxígeno y otros metano. Entre los que respiran oxígeno se encuentran los Hani (similares a felinos humanoides), los Mahendo’sat (parecidos a simios), los Stsho (similares a aves) y los Kif (parecidos a ratas). Los que respiran metano, más extraños, son los T’ca (similares a serpientes), los Chi (sirvientes de los T’ca) y los Knnn (que pueden ser descritos como bolas de pelos con múltiples patas).
Si bien C.J. Cherryh escribió ‘El Orgullo de Chanur’ pensando en un único libro, el éxito de este propició la llamada Saga de Chanur, que incluye cuatro libros más (el último nunca llegó a traducirse al castellano). Es por ello que los siguientes libros pueden ser leídos de manera independiente, aunque yo no lo recomendaría.
‘La aventura de Chanur’ (Chanur’s Venture, 1984), comienza con la Orgullo de Chanur y su tripulación en la estación planetaria Punto de Encuentro. Todavía no ha pasado mucho tiempo de las aventuras narradas en el primer libro, y la capitana Pyanfar Chanur intenta volver a comerciar de nuevo. Pero no tardará en volver a verse involucrada en las intrigas entre kif y mahendo’sat, con los misteriosos knnn de fondo. Nuevamente, el tan codiciado comercio con los humanos entra en juego.
Tras muchos años, he vuelto a releer esta novela, y he vuelto a disfrutar como entonces con las aventuras de Piafar y su tripulación. Ahora, a terminar la saga.
Si bien C.J. Cherryh escribió ‘El Orgullo de Chanur’ pensando en un único libro, el éxito de este propició la llamada Saga de Chanur, que incluye cuatro libros más (el último nunca llegó a traducirse al castellano). Es por ello que los siguientes libros pueden ser leídos de manera independiente, aunque yo no lo recomendaría.
‘La aventura de Chanur’ (Chanur’s Venture, 1984), comienza con la Orgullo de Chanur y su tripulación en la estación planetaria Punto de Encuentro. Todavía no ha pasado mucho tiempo de las aventuras narradas en el primer libro, y la capitana Pyanfar Chanur intenta volver a comerciar de nuevo. Pero no tardará en volver a verse involucrada en las intrigas entre kif y mahendo’sat, con los misteriosos knnn de fondo. Nuevamente, el tan codiciado comercio con los humanos entra en juego.
Tras muchos años, he vuelto a releer esta novela, y he vuelto a disfrutar como entonces con las aventuras de Piafar y su tripulación. Ahora, a terminar la saga.
August 31, 2016
TLDR: This is good space adventure.
I previously read all of Cherryh's 'Compact Space' (Chanur) books on paper, and quite enjoyed them. Now I am going through them again in audio versions and find them to be just as good if not better. In fact, I am giving this edition five stars rather than four based on the narration quality.
A note on book structure: There are five books that tell three stories in the Compact Space series. The first book (The Pride of Chanur) is a stand-alone story. The next three books (Chanur's Venture, The Kif Strike Back, and Chanur's Homecoming) all make up one long story. The final one (Chanur's Legacy) is a separate story set some years later. So, if you start this book, be prepared to read the next two.
Anyway, good book. Recommended.
I previously read all of Cherryh's 'Compact Space' (Chanur) books on paper, and quite enjoyed them. Now I am going through them again in audio versions and find them to be just as good if not better. In fact, I am giving this edition five stars rather than four based on the narration quality.
A note on book structure: There are five books that tell three stories in the Compact Space series. The first book (The Pride of Chanur) is a stand-alone story. The next three books (Chanur's Venture, The Kif Strike Back, and Chanur's Homecoming) all make up one long story. The final one (Chanur's Legacy) is a separate story set some years later. So, if you start this book, be prepared to read the next two.
Anyway, good book. Recommended.
December 22, 2017
I love Pyanfar Chanur and her prickly way with everyone. And clearly, Pyanfar's attracted both mahendo'sat and kif notice, and not in a way she likes at all, once she and the Pride finally make it back to Meetpoint a year after book one. Tully's back, and Py finds herself caught between mahen and kifish plots. With her crew and a fragile human caught in the middle.
This book sets up the next two books, and though a little confusing, I love the way the hani interact, and like I said, I love Py, so I'm following her into kifish space with the next book.
This book sets up the next two books, and though a little confusing, I love the way the hani interact, and like I said, I love Py, so I'm following her into kifish space with the next book.
May 24, 2016
I love Cherryh and I've read many of her books and rated them 4s and 5s. It was interesting to read her early work and see some of the same themes she has used and developed over the years, as well as the increased sophistication of her action scenes. So much of her work is psychological but the two Charnur books had more action than not. I found some of it hard to follow, hence the rating of 3 stars.
May 9, 2022
2017 reread notes: 3+ stars. Good, but not quite as good as I remembered. In particular, the business of Pyanfar's husband and his spotty performance aboard ship got old. But it's a taut adventure, with a rousing finish, and nice hooks for the sequel. Which I'll likely reread sometime, especially since I own a copy....
Wonderful cover art! --by Michael Whelan. One of his best covers, I think.
Nice Amazon review:
https://www.amazon.com/review/R3ON4JB...
Wonderful cover art! --by Michael Whelan. One of his best covers, I think.
Nice Amazon review:
https://www.amazon.com/review/R3ON4JB...
July 11, 2021
Après la première aventure de Pyanfar Chanur, qui m’avait réjouie, il était temps de me lancer dans la lecture de ses péripéties suivantes ! Et ça tombe bien, car L’épopée de Chanur prend place une année environ après les événements relatés dans Chanur et l’intrigue va dérouler des conséquences de ces derniers.
Oubliez la quatrième de couverture qui veut mettre un soupçon de romance là où il n’y en a aucune trace (sérieusement, ce résumé m’a fait hausser les sourcils avant et après ma lecture, tellement ça ne représentait pas du tout la relation entre Pyanfar et Tully, que l’on peut qualifier au mieux d’amicale). Pyanfar est embarquée dans les ennuis dès la première page : Or-Aux-Dents lui remet une cargaison mystère alors qu’elle met tout juste le pied sur le quai de la Jonction. Cargaison qui s’avère contenir Tully, accompagné de papiers dont le contenu fait vite comprendre à la Hani qu’elle vient de se retrouver dans un beau noeud d’embêtements.
Si l’action est de mise dès le départ, les ennuis qui accablent Pyanfar ont pour source tout un écheveau d’intrigues fomentés par différents individus appartenant à différentes espèces. Car, il faut remettre les choses dans leur contexte si vous n’aviez pas lu le premier tome des aventures de Chanur, l’humanité est dans ce coin de l’espace une race tout juste découverte. Le personnage principal est hani – une espèce humanoïde aux traits félins – et les autres espèces, toutes plus différentes les unes des autres ! Un glossaire, à la fin, permet d’ailleurs de remettre tout ce petit monde en tête, caractéristiques physiques et, surtout, fonctionnement politique et social compris.
Ces intrigues ne sont pas forcément très claires – ni pour Pyanfar ni pour nous, mais la lumière se fait au fil des pages. Et les ennuis, eux, se multiplient ! Jusqu’à la dernière page, qui ne résout pas du tout l’arc narratif, qu’il faudra poursuivre dans le volume suivant. Il est impensable d’entamer le cycle de Chanur par ce volume, si la série vous intéresse, je vous recommande de la lire dans l’ordre – elle a été rééditée dans une intégrale en deux volumes depuis. Et il apparaît évident que les aventures de Chanur ont besoin de ces volumes pour trouver leur juste place.
Les amateurs de space opera sans temps mort seront ravis avec ce livre, mais ce qui m’a le plus ravie, c’est l’inventivité et la soin dont fait preuve Carolyn J. Cherryh dans la conception de ses races extraterrestres. Que ce soit les Knnn, tellement étranges que même les autres ne les comprennent pas, à part peut-être les chi ou les tc’a, dont la façon de communiquer est des plus particulières ; les Kifs si agressifs ou encore les Hanis. Chez les Hanis, ce sont les mâles qui constituent le sexe faible, et j’avoue avoir éprouvé un plaisir vif face à cette inversion des rôles, car dans ce volume, Pyanfar a embarqué son époux dans son vaisseau, où il souhaite se rendre utile. Et clairement, elle le considère avec le même mépris que les hommes regardaient de haut les femmes s’immisçant dans les métiers dit « masculins ». Un renversement qui souligne bien l’absurdité de l’inégalité des sexes et qui trouve sa logique dans le fait que la société hanie est basée sur celle des lions. Tout cela fait réfléchir, de façon subtile, au sexisme humain, sans éclipser l’action présente ni le dépaysement offert par ces espèces et ces voyages mouvementés à travers l’espace.
En résumé, je me suis régalée avec ce deuxième volume comme avec le premier ! Vite, la suite ! :)
Oubliez la quatrième de couverture qui veut mettre un soupçon de romance là où il n’y en a aucune trace (sérieusement, ce résumé m’a fait hausser les sourcils avant et après ma lecture, tellement ça ne représentait pas du tout la relation entre Pyanfar et Tully, que l’on peut qualifier au mieux d’amicale). Pyanfar est embarquée dans les ennuis dès la première page : Or-Aux-Dents lui remet une cargaison mystère alors qu’elle met tout juste le pied sur le quai de la Jonction. Cargaison qui s’avère contenir Tully, accompagné de papiers dont le contenu fait vite comprendre à la Hani qu’elle vient de se retrouver dans un beau noeud d’embêtements.
Si l’action est de mise dès le départ, les ennuis qui accablent Pyanfar ont pour source tout un écheveau d’intrigues fomentés par différents individus appartenant à différentes espèces. Car, il faut remettre les choses dans leur contexte si vous n’aviez pas lu le premier tome des aventures de Chanur, l’humanité est dans ce coin de l’espace une race tout juste découverte. Le personnage principal est hani – une espèce humanoïde aux traits félins – et les autres espèces, toutes plus différentes les unes des autres ! Un glossaire, à la fin, permet d’ailleurs de remettre tout ce petit monde en tête, caractéristiques physiques et, surtout, fonctionnement politique et social compris.
Ces intrigues ne sont pas forcément très claires – ni pour Pyanfar ni pour nous, mais la lumière se fait au fil des pages. Et les ennuis, eux, se multiplient ! Jusqu’à la dernière page, qui ne résout pas du tout l’arc narratif, qu’il faudra poursuivre dans le volume suivant. Il est impensable d’entamer le cycle de Chanur par ce volume, si la série vous intéresse, je vous recommande de la lire dans l’ordre – elle a été rééditée dans une intégrale en deux volumes depuis. Et il apparaît évident que les aventures de Chanur ont besoin de ces volumes pour trouver leur juste place.
Les amateurs de space opera sans temps mort seront ravis avec ce livre, mais ce qui m’a le plus ravie, c’est l’inventivité et la soin dont fait preuve Carolyn J. Cherryh dans la conception de ses races extraterrestres. Que ce soit les Knnn, tellement étranges que même les autres ne les comprennent pas, à part peut-être les chi ou les tc’a, dont la façon de communiquer est des plus particulières ; les Kifs si agressifs ou encore les Hanis. Chez les Hanis, ce sont les mâles qui constituent le sexe faible, et j’avoue avoir éprouvé un plaisir vif face à cette inversion des rôles, car dans ce volume, Pyanfar a embarqué son époux dans son vaisseau, où il souhaite se rendre utile. Et clairement, elle le considère avec le même mépris que les hommes regardaient de haut les femmes s’immisçant dans les métiers dit « masculins ». Un renversement qui souligne bien l’absurdité de l’inégalité des sexes et qui trouve sa logique dans le fait que la société hanie est basée sur celle des lions. Tout cela fait réfléchir, de façon subtile, au sexisme humain, sans éclipser l’action présente ni le dépaysement offert par ces espèces et ces voyages mouvementés à travers l’espace.
En résumé, je me suis régalée avec ce deuxième volume comme avec le premier ! Vite, la suite ! :)
August 25, 2021
To everyone who warned me that this one wasn't standalone: I should have listened. The Pride of Chanur wrapped nicely. This did not; the ending is extremely abrupt. If you're not prepared to go immediately into the next book, maybe hold off.
Other than that, this was a decent read. Pyanfar Chanur and her crew have just started to claw out of the consequences from the first book when the mehendo'sat [spy? hunter?] "Goldtooth" reappears with the human Tully in tow. Cue chaos.
It's a high-stakes adventure wrapped in inscrutable alien thought. The species of the compact don't quite understand each other, and so neither does the reader. The culture into which the reader has the most insight--the Hani--are just starting to experience what Cherryh explores in other books as the blue-sky/stationer/merchanter conflict. In this case, the feudal, planetbound interests of "downworld" Hani vs. the broader perspective of spacefaring Hani captains like Pyanfar. This can be seen readily in Pyanfar's push to keep her husband Khym on crew, as well as her dealings with other species.
Humans are new to all this, and because of the translation issue we only get a vague sense from Tully of what exactly is happening back in Alliance*-controlled space, except that humanity has clearly bitten off more than it can chew.
All of this to say that, in typical Cherryh fashion, there is a lot of talking. If you like that, good. If you don't, look elsewhere. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I wanted to.
Still reading the next one, because gosh darn that cliffhanger!
---
*I'm a little unclear as to exactly when in the timeline the Chanur books are happening. Probably sometime after Merchanter's Luck? I could be wrong. Mostly a personal note, as (despite taking place in the same universe) the Alliance-Union books and the Chanur books don't directly reference each other.
Other than that, this was a decent read. Pyanfar Chanur and her crew have just started to claw out of the consequences from the first book when the mehendo'sat [spy? hunter?] "Goldtooth" reappears with the human Tully in tow. Cue chaos.
It's a high-stakes adventure wrapped in inscrutable alien thought. The species of the compact don't quite understand each other, and so neither does the reader. The culture into which the reader has the most insight--the Hani--are just starting to experience what Cherryh explores in other books as the blue-sky/stationer/merchanter conflict. In this case, the feudal, planetbound interests of "downworld" Hani vs. the broader perspective of spacefaring Hani captains like Pyanfar. This can be seen readily in Pyanfar's push to keep her husband Khym on crew, as well as her dealings with other species.
Humans are new to all this, and because of the translation issue we only get a vague sense from Tully of what exactly is happening back in Alliance*-controlled space, except that humanity has clearly bitten off more than it can chew.
All of this to say that, in typical Cherryh fashion, there is a lot of talking. If you like that, good. If you don't, look elsewhere. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I wanted to.
Still reading the next one, because gosh darn that cliffhanger!
---
*I'm a little unclear as to exactly when in the timeline the Chanur books are happening. Probably sometime after Merchanter's Luck? I could be wrong. Mostly a personal note, as (despite taking place in the same universe) the Alliance-Union books and the Chanur books don't directly reference each other.
February 26, 2018
The first book gives good back story and sets up this book, but they stand separate.
Chanur's Venture starts a new multi-book story where this book just cuts out in the middle when something seems like it's finally going to happen. Most of the book is just characters flailing about not knowing what's going on, or who is ordering what, or why they're going there.
And as the start, there's no resolution, making it rather annoying to slog through. Finished it, so may as well read the next and hope for resolution.
Chanur's Venture starts a new multi-book story where this book just cuts out in the middle when something seems like it's finally going to happen. Most of the book is just characters flailing about not knowing what's going on, or who is ordering what, or why they're going there.
And as the start, there's no resolution, making it rather annoying to slog through. Finished it, so may as well read the next and hope for resolution.
August 2, 2019
I really want to like this series but it's not singing to, and it felt like the book stopped in the middle of the story
January 4, 2023
Number one good book
March 25, 2021
After the charm of vintage tropes wore off there was nothing interesting left. Might finish this series when there is nothing else to read.
May 2, 2016
Storyline: 1/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 2/5
World: 2/5
If you enjoyed The Pride of Chanur, then this book is not bad enough to deter you from the next in the series. If you didn't like the first of the series, then this probably will settle your disinterest definitively. In so very many ways, this is like the first. It has the same characters, many of the same places and ships, the same heroes and villains, and it even has the same basic story. The similarity between the two books was overbearing, frankly. An author might get away with this sort of overt parallelism by playing the nostalgia card, but you would expect to see that happen at the fifth or eighth of a long-running series - not on the second.
This carried over all the weaknesses of Cherry's writing without adding anything novel to her universe. I was feeling more forgiving until the book ended dramatically and abruptly with a to-be-continued stamp. One might be more forbearing if they had read these two at a five year interval (the interval at which they were originally published). By reading these within two months of one another, I may have given myself an overdose.
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 2/5
World: 2/5
If you enjoyed The Pride of Chanur, then this book is not bad enough to deter you from the next in the series. If you didn't like the first of the series, then this probably will settle your disinterest definitively. In so very many ways, this is like the first. It has the same characters, many of the same places and ships, the same heroes and villains, and it even has the same basic story. The similarity between the two books was overbearing, frankly. An author might get away with this sort of overt parallelism by playing the nostalgia card, but you would expect to see that happen at the fifth or eighth of a long-running series - not on the second.
This carried over all the weaknesses of Cherry's writing without adding anything novel to her universe. I was feeling more forgiving until the book ended dramatically and abruptly with a to-be-continued stamp. One might be more forbearing if they had read these two at a five year interval (the interval at which they were originally published). By reading these within two months of one another, I may have given myself an overdose.
April 13, 2013
Kind of sad when the best part of a novel is the Appendix, but I spent the whole book wanting more background on the various races and cultures than I'd gotten in the first book of the series, and the appendix is the only part that offered any!
I was also oddly bothered by the fact that these space-faring critters seemed to think in two dimensions. For instance, there's a "Map of Compact Space" in the front that makes me think of "compact" as in "small," because all the stars seem to be on the same plane (technically, compact refers to the agreements between the various groups). It isn't just the map -- the characters will talk of one species as having another species living to one side or the other, but up until the appendix (which says the Knnn homeworld is on the "underbelly of the Compact"), no indication of above or below.
Wasn't particularly irked that the book is only "volume one" of a longer story, because I have been caught by that trap before, and had the other books on hand.
I was also oddly bothered by the fact that these space-faring critters seemed to think in two dimensions. For instance, there's a "Map of Compact Space" in the front that makes me think of "compact" as in "small," because all the stars seem to be on the same plane (technically, compact refers to the agreements between the various groups). It isn't just the map -- the characters will talk of one species as having another species living to one side or the other, but up until the appendix (which says the Knnn homeworld is on the "underbelly of the Compact"), no indication of above or below.
Wasn't particularly irked that the book is only "volume one" of a longer story, because I have been caught by that trap before, and had the other books on hand.
November 17, 2017
Chanur's Venture felt like a remix of The Pride of Chanur. Tully returns and Pyanfar and company have troubles on station. Why was the plot so similar? It also ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, stating it will be continued in The Kif Strikes back.
The only large change is the presence of Pyanfar's husband, Khym, and I enjoyed his presence. Mainly because everyone acted like he was an overgrown baby always getting into trouble. It was a new dynamic compared to the previous book.
It's unclear exactly where the plot is going. Tully returns because humans want to make contact, but we don't get anymore information because Pyanfar is dealing with all the other meddling aliens. There is action although not as many space battles as the first book, they tend to be station based.
It's a rather short book, and I'm finding I don't have too much to say about it.
The only large change is the presence of Pyanfar's husband, Khym, and I enjoyed his presence. Mainly because everyone acted like he was an overgrown baby always getting into trouble. It was a new dynamic compared to the previous book.
It's unclear exactly where the plot is going. Tully returns because humans want to make contact, but we don't get anymore information because Pyanfar is dealing with all the other meddling aliens. There is action although not as many space battles as the first book, they tend to be station based.
It's a rather short book, and I'm finding I don't have too much to say about it.
May 26, 2010
C.J. Cherryh writes gripping novels, layered with texture, filled with well defined characters, and woven together plots and subplots. Reading her work is a mini-camp in writing well.
Why then did I rate Chanur's Venture with two stars? The reason is simple. The book is not a book; it is the beginning of a book. The back cover copy calls the work "a rousing good tale." Well, it's not. After reading 293 pages, the reader is left stranded. In order to get 293 pages, the book is set in a larger type font than the second and third portions of the story.
If I sound disgusted, That's because I am.
To read the second part of this review go to The Kif Strike Back.
Why then did I rate Chanur's Venture with two stars? The reason is simple. The book is not a book; it is the beginning of a book. The back cover copy calls the work "a rousing good tale." Well, it's not. After reading 293 pages, the reader is left stranded. In order to get 293 pages, the book is set in a larger type font than the second and third portions of the story.
If I sound disgusted, That's because I am.
To read the second part of this review go to The Kif Strike Back.
August 17, 2024
Classic space adventure that you will definitely enjoy if you liked the first book. The main flaw is that the background political schemes can be hard to follow both because it gets complicated and because much of the important reveals are in pidgin English. Also, the plot does feel a little like a retread of the first book.
Still there is an interesting mystery as the crew of The Pride get in above their heads again. This one ends on a cliffhanger and I am eager to read the next one.
Still there is an interesting mystery as the crew of The Pride get in above their heads again. This one ends on a cliffhanger and I am eager to read the next one.
December 20, 2020
This is the second volume in a five-book series. Having recently re-read the first book, "Chanur's Pride," and vastly enjoyed it, I proceeded immediately to book two. Book two proved almost, but not quite, as enjoyable. Spoilers ahead.
Highly recommended, but begin with "Chanur's Pride."
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
Highly recommended, but begin with "Chanur's Pride."
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
August 15, 2023
After her banning due to her actions in the first book of the Chanur Saga, Pyanfar Chanur and her ship The Pride of Chanur are once again at Meetpoint Station. As she steps off the ship an old acquaintance, the mahendo’sat, Goldtooth, offers her a present. This turns out to be Tully, the human Pyanfar rescued from the kif in the earlier book and he carries with him a valuable contract for trade with humans, a contract the kif would have for themselves thus necessitating a quick exit from the station. Before this can happen, though, Pyanfar’s crew has to extricate her husband, Khym, from a bar fight which turns out to have been set up by kif. That Hani males like Khym are widely known to be unstable off-planet provided the perfect excuse for the brawl.
Internal factions among the Hani force Pyanfar to allow Tully and his escort, Pyanfar’s niece Hilfy, to be taken to a supposedly safe holding space at the station’s administrative centre but on the way they are abducted by kif.
The ship also needs repair and new drive vanes of mahendo’sat design and manufacture are fitted as part of the deal with Goldtooth.
Cherryh knows how to spin a story, her plotting and intrigue are intricate and the characters, albeit with their alien habits, recognisable psychological types. She does however have a tendency to overdo Pyanfar’s Hani imprecations. “By the gods “ is very much overused.
Unfortunately, this instalment doesn’t so much finish as just stop mid-plot. At its end Hilfy and Tully are still in kif hands and the Pride is about to launch into space using the new, and to Pyanfar’s mind untested, drive vanes.
Since I bought this as part of a trilogy I wasn’t too miffed at this lack of resolution but had I thought it was a stand-alone I would have been seriously dischuffed.
Internal factions among the Hani force Pyanfar to allow Tully and his escort, Pyanfar’s niece Hilfy, to be taken to a supposedly safe holding space at the station’s administrative centre but on the way they are abducted by kif.
The ship also needs repair and new drive vanes of mahendo’sat design and manufacture are fitted as part of the deal with Goldtooth.
Cherryh knows how to spin a story, her plotting and intrigue are intricate and the characters, albeit with their alien habits, recognisable psychological types. She does however have a tendency to overdo Pyanfar’s Hani imprecations. “By the gods “ is very much overused.
Unfortunately, this instalment doesn’t so much finish as just stop mid-plot. At its end Hilfy and Tully are still in kif hands and the Pride is about to launch into space using the new, and to Pyanfar’s mind untested, drive vanes.
Since I bought this as part of a trilogy I wasn’t too miffed at this lack of resolution but had I thought it was a stand-alone I would have been seriously dischuffed.
May 21, 2019
CJ Cherryh has found a very clever way to deal with some of the gender issues which have floated about in our time. The captain Chanur Pyanfar is a female in command of a female crew because among her people--who resemble lions--males are considered too volatile to allow to go out and be part of the trading among aliens. Thus when she is approached in the first novel by Tully a human male who is fleeing an especially nasty group of aliens who have kidnapped him, she and her crew go through all sorts of concerns about whether he is to be trusted, whether he is able to present his case clearly and so forth. After all, males are so emotional. Some of this reminded me of the Kzinti from Larry Niven's works. I do, however, give Cherryh credit: there is no interspecies romance here. Chanur is already married to an old Lion Lord.
In this sequel, Tully returns with possible papers from the human race to encourage trade. It continued to be interesting but I confess that I wearied of Cherryh's continued depiction of difficult communication between species. We the readers understand Captain Chanur fine but Cherryh depicts Tully as speaking in what comes across as the way Native Americans were depicted in old westerns. It's ok for a while but before long I was thinking, "just activate the universal translator!"
I won't give the plot away, but I was also annoyed that this ended with an incomplete plot. If you sell me a novel, sell me a whole novel not just the first group of chapters. Tolkien himself did not intend to publish his books the way they came out, and this has less reason than his work did.
In this sequel, Tully returns with possible papers from the human race to encourage trade. It continued to be interesting but I confess that I wearied of Cherryh's continued depiction of difficult communication between species. We the readers understand Captain Chanur fine but Cherryh depicts Tully as speaking in what comes across as the way Native Americans were depicted in old westerns. It's ok for a while but before long I was thinking, "just activate the universal translator!"
I won't give the plot away, but I was also annoyed that this ended with an incomplete plot. If you sell me a novel, sell me a whole novel not just the first group of chapters. Tolkien himself did not intend to publish his books the way they came out, and this has less reason than his work did.
August 2, 2018
Chanur 2 sigue la historia donde la dejó la parte uno y casi es un recordatorio de todos los personajes que allí aparecen (así como también los prejuicios), menos mal porque retener tanta información es complicadísimo. Al inicio hay tantos problemas que parece tirarnos todo el argumento de golpe, pero no, continúa y se vuelve tranquilo como preparativos para el tomo tres.
Los lectores que califican menos de 3 estrellas este libro están dejando de lado ciertas cosas: 1) Fue durante mucho tiempo la historia que volvió a innovar la space opera; 2) Sí, Cherryh creó un mundo enorme para un único libro y después le pidieron más al ver que fue un éxito; 3) Obviamente, si existen especies alienígenas habrá niveles de entendimiento más y menos fluidos, por ello que algunos enloquecen con los que apenas pueden comunicarse; 4) Además, esto es parte del universo de la Alianza / Unión que conforman otras de sus sagas.
Si se van a perder con tanta cosa, justo en el final tendrán aclarado las razas, su historia, algunas curiosidades y cosas que sucedieron pero será como leer una enciclopedia. Si creen que las razas deberían ser totalmente humanas por más extrañas que fueran, les deseo buena suerte si es que encuentran alguna.
Me niego a colocar la edición en español por la portada con la tanga. Quien fuera que creó esa portada no leyó ni la más mínima descripción, ¿en qué parte dice que las aleonadas hani tienen pechos, mmm? ¿Y la tanga de dónde diablos salió si ellas viven usando pantalones?
Los lectores que califican menos de 3 estrellas este libro están dejando de lado ciertas cosas: 1) Fue durante mucho tiempo la historia que volvió a innovar la space opera; 2) Sí, Cherryh creó un mundo enorme para un único libro y después le pidieron más al ver que fue un éxito; 3) Obviamente, si existen especies alienígenas habrá niveles de entendimiento más y menos fluidos, por ello que algunos enloquecen con los que apenas pueden comunicarse; 4) Además, esto es parte del universo de la Alianza / Unión que conforman otras de sus sagas.
Si se van a perder con tanta cosa, justo en el final tendrán aclarado las razas, su historia, algunas curiosidades y cosas que sucedieron pero será como leer una enciclopedia. Si creen que las razas deberían ser totalmente humanas por más extrañas que fueran, les deseo buena suerte si es que encuentran alguna.
Me niego a colocar la edición en español por la portada con la tanga. Quien fuera que creó esa portada no leyó ni la más mínima descripción, ¿en qué parte dice que las aleonadas hani tienen pechos, mmm? ¿Y la tanga de dónde diablos salió si ellas viven usando pantalones?
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