Cherryh's Chanur Series

[J-Sun]

Tully (Chanur) is in many ways just like Bren (Foreigner), a human in the midst of Aliens.

The "fish out of water"/outsider motif is present in a lot of Cherryh's fiction - it's probably her most pervasive theme. The Faded Sun Trilogy is one of my favorite works of hers and that has a human amongst aliens. It's also true of Cuckoo's Egg and a lot more. Even when they aren't literal aliens, there's usually a fish out of water, from the Devil to the Belt duo to Finity's End and others.

In the end I find that Chanur universe doesn't hold together nearly as well for me. I find the Foreigner universe more believable.

As far as the Chanur universe, those specific books held together pretty well for me but it was eventually attached to the Union/Alliance universe and that was (a) written over a long period of time with a lot of other items interrupting it and (b) more a marketing umbrella than a true, thought-out, structured, rigorous universe. (Compare the azi in Serpent's Reach to those in Voyager in Night or whichever other early novel it was and its timeline to those in Cyteen and the other timelines she's published.) Foreigner has been virtually all she's written non-stop since it started (a few exceptions, but little) and seems to basically tell one story (by initial, explicit design) rather than cover a galaxy from dozens of points and times of view (though I have no idea what she's been up to in that series after the first few so am probably wrong - just the impression I get). Anyway, I find most any given non-Foreigner Cherryh book is often a lot more independent than it's given credit for and holds up well as such. I know people love the Foreigner series and it's a huge success but I can't imagine reading 18 or 21 books (and counting) that aren't as varied (and sometimes inconsistent) as the U/A universe. But that's the thing - between the two universes (not to mention a little other SF and her fantasies), she's got a few billion fans.

 

[WarriorMouse]

As far as the Chanur universe, those specific books held together pretty well for me but it was eventually attached to the Union/Alliance universe

I won't be to surprised if the Foreigner series some how ends up attached to the Union/Alliance universe.
Also, after reading your post, I suddenly realized that even Merchanters Luck (my intro book to C.J ) was a fish out of water story.

 

[Parson]

I won't be to surprised if the Foreigner series some how ends up attached to the Union/Alliance universe.

I'm not sure how. Space travel in both series seem to be considerably different. Much more difficult and much more risky in the Foreigner Universe than in the Union/Alliance universe.

 

[2DaveWixon]

Well, C.J. managed to connect the Chanur books -- at least, I read it that way...
Sometimes it just takes a while to, ahem! make the connection, eh?

 

[Parson]

Really? It's been so long since I've read them I probably wouldn't remember. But the trading aspect could probably be bent that way.