Three years since the publication of the preceding book in Cherryh’s now long-running Foreigner series, Inheritor (1996, USA), and three years in internal chronology as the fourth book, Precursor (1999, USA), opens. It is also the start of a new trilogy.
In Foreigner (1994, USA), Invader (1995, USA) and Inheritor, Bren Cameron, the paidhi, the licensed interface between the humans of Mospheira Island and the alien atevi, found himself embroiled in a power-struggle for the atevi leadership. No sooner had his patron, Tabini, won control, then the starship, Phoenix, which had left behind those humans who now lived on Mospheira Island two hundred years before, returned. And they sent down a couple of representatives, which triggered another round of political violence. But Cameron and Tabini won through again, and understandings were made — between the atevi, the humans on Mospheira Island, and the human crew of the Phoenix.
Three years have passed since then, and the Western Association, Tabini’s “empire”, for want of a better term, has progressed so much it has built a shuttle so the atevi can reach the station in orbit. The Phoenix’s paidhi, Jason Graham, is suddenly and inexplicably recalled to the ship. Tabini suspects all is not as it should be up there, and sends Cameron to persuade the four ship captains to start making good on what they’ve agreed. Namely, the Mospheirans will provide electronics, and the atevi will provide heavy engineering, plus orbital workers and miners.
Cameron’s first meeting with two of the captains goes well — they even agree the atevi will own and maintain the station. But then a xenophobic captain who wants nothing to do with the atevi, and mistakenly believes the Mospheirans will happily follow the captains’ orders and provide everything the ship needs, seizes power. Unfortunately for him, the humans who settled on the planet are not well disposed to the ship’s crew and captains, for understandable historical reasons.
So there’s a small atevi embassy, led by Cameron, aboard the station, a paramilitary organisation that thinks it’s running the station but has no idea how sophisticated the atevi are, and the ship’s leadership has split into two antagonistic groups… And when the anti-atevi captain takes power, he tries to intimidate Cameron and the atevi aboard the station, but they’re much too smart for him…
Oh, and a station the ship founded in a distant star system was destroyed by some mysterious alien race the Phoenix is worried may turn up and do the same in the atevi system.
I bought this book years ago, but only recently managed to get past the first novel in the series, Foreigner. Not because it was a bad book — on the contrary, it was good: but the sheer length of the series (twenty-two books to date) was, and remains, somewhat daunting. And, much as I’d enjoyed Invader and Inheritor, I’d not been especially motivated to move onto book four — for the same reason. But once I started reading Precursor, I found it hard to stop, and pretty much demolished the book in two days.
Much of it takes place on the station in orbit, and while atevi psychology, and physiology, is important to the plot, it’s not as integral as it is in the earlier books. Plus, the politics of the ship captains is much simpler. If the Foreigner series is a science-fictional Shogun (1975, UK/US) by James Clavell, and it really does feel like it, then Precursor focuses more on the factional politics among the English sailors, rather than the Japanese lords.
On the one hand, this demonstrates Cherryh’s skill at depicting alien societies; on the other, it does reinforces the feeling Cherryh simply files the serial numbers off non-Western historical cultures when creating her alien races. As a technique, it’s effective, and certainly so in her hands; but it does rely on ignorance of the culture that inspired Cherryh (I’ve seen both the old and new TV adaptations of Shogun, and I have the book on my TBR).
I thought the first Foreigner trilogy somewhat belaboured the point the books were making — that is, lone human (Westerner) embroiled in atevi (Far East) politics: so, Shogun in Spaaace (a reference that no doubt dates me). But the books did it really well, and Cherryh gave the atevi a level of cultural and historical depth that was unusual in science fiction.
But Precursor is a much pacier read. There was action a-plenty in the earlier novels, but a lot of interiority and a lot of background to impart. Precursor starts off with Cameron wrong-footed by Tabini’s speed of response to the Graham’s recall; and then has Cameron’s understanding of the atevi and Mospheiran politics instrumental in resolving everything that subsequently happens. This is excellent stuff.
And now I want to read the next book in the trilogy/series, Defender (2001, USA).
