Title: Forty Thousand in Gehenna (Unionside Book 1)
Author: C.J. Cherryh
Published: New York: Daw Books, 1984 (1983)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 445
Total Page Count: 201,290
Text Number: 593
Read Because: fan of the author/bond animal trope, purchased used from Powell's (as a gift from![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
century_eyes)
Review: The Union settlers that come to Gehenna as part of a political expansion find themselves abandoned there in the company of the native giant lizards who may have more sapience than it first seemed. This novel chronicles the fall and creation of civilizations, and as such has a strange structure. The first two thirds is an overview of broad swaths of time, seen in glimpses from various denizens; the staccato pacing helps balance the distant narrative. Only the final third introduces characters to appeal to reader investment; it also engages some bond animal tropes and brings to fruition issues of civilization, definitions of sapience, and a truly alien species interfacing with humans. Cherryh's novels are often one part politics and one part id—and Forty Thousand in Gehenna is a particularly pronounced example. It's a slow burn with a too-quick end, but pays off for readers that enjoy Cherryh's style or the tropes at play. I imagine it holds up well to rereads.
On Tumblr: regarding maps, crossposted below:
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Author: C.J. Cherryh
Published: New York: Daw Books, 1984 (1983)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 445
Total Page Count: 201,290
Text Number: 593
Read Because: fan of the author/bond animal trope, purchased used from Powell's (as a gift from
century_eyes)Review: The Union settlers that come to Gehenna as part of a political expansion find themselves abandoned there in the company of the native giant lizards who may have more sapience than it first seemed. This novel chronicles the fall and creation of civilizations, and as such has a strange structure. The first two thirds is an overview of broad swaths of time, seen in glimpses from various denizens; the staccato pacing helps balance the distant narrative. Only the final third introduces characters to appeal to reader investment; it also engages some bond animal tropes and brings to fruition issues of civilization, definitions of sapience, and a truly alien species interfacing with humans. Cherryh's novels are often one part politics and one part id—and Forty Thousand in Gehenna is a particularly pronounced example. It's a slow burn with a too-quick end, but pays off for readers that enjoy Cherryh's style or the tropes at play. I imagine it holds up well to rereads.
On Tumblr: regarding maps, crossposted below:
( Read more... )
