Cyteen

Cyteen, Books 1-3

By: C. J. Cherryh

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Jonathan Davis

Length: 36 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

The saga of two young friends trapped in an endless nightmare of suspicion and surveillance, of cyber-programmed servants and a ruling class with century-long lives - and the enigmatic woman who dominates them all. Narrators Jonathan Davis and Gabra Zackman skillfully split up this sweeping sci-fi epic that is "at once a psychological novel, a murder mystery, and an examination of power on a grand scale." (Locus)

©1988 C.J. Cherryh (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1989

“Strongly recommended…. A future as detailed as that of Herbert’s Dune, with dozens of complex characters…. all the paranoid tension of a spy thriller.” (Newsday)

“A massive, multifaceted novel that tackles a variety of ethical, social, and political issues…. Cherryh’s worldbuilding is ambitious and her main characterizations are well-individualized…. Ultimately fascinating in concept and detail. Decidedly a major work.” (Booklist)

Better in Context

I read this story many years ago shortly after reading Downbelow Station and a few of the other, related novels in the Alliance Space universe. The world depicted in Cyteen made a nice contrast with the other societies created by Cherryh. But listening to it by itself, I found the story excrutiatingly slow with very little plot. If you are an Asimov fan, this book will put you to sleep. If you prefer Heinlein, you might like the introspective nature of the book. I recently purchased the sequel to this book (Regenesis), and I doubt I will give it a try. Of the related novels, I most enjoyed Merchanter's Luck.

Intriguing! Presicient! Very thought-provoking!

What made the experience of listening to Cyteen the most enjoyable?

The voice actress is superb. She imbues the main character Ariane Emory with a very distinct personality both in the 1st and 2nd Ariane. The prescience of the book is amazing considering that it was published in 1988 and seemed so much like our post 9/11 world in the way of security and terrorist threats.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The story starts out slowly and a bit confusing, but once you have the grasp of the characters and the environment, it becomes a very suspenseful and intriguing story that reminds me very much of the Dune universe.

What about Gabra Zackman and Jonathan Davis ’s performance did you like?

Gabra is an excellent voice actress. She does all the voices in a manner that makes them very distinct from one another. She effortlessly switches between the older 1st Ariane Emory into the 2nd Ariane Emory. Jonathan Davis only read the in-between archive notes in a very cold, clinical manner of which they should be read in.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When young Ariane Emory attempted to ride the horse for the first time and got bucked off of it, I really felt terrible for her. That was the first time I realized how innocent and naive she was and also how tragic of a character she is. It really helped increase my perspective of her humanity.

Any additional comments?

As I've said, this book starts out slow and I was having a hard time following it from the beginning. But if you give the book time, it's an excellent listen and certainly makes you wonder about our humanity and our future. It reminded me of Dune and also Star Wars, but only from the political machinations that are going on in the universe. It is very dialogue heavy and most of the situations are the characters conversing with one another. There is not much action as the book focuses more on the intellectual and emotional relationships that the characters have with one another.

LONG AND GOOD

VERY FAR FETCHED, SCI/FI I THINK,GOOD LISTEN ,KEEPS YOU INTRESTED, MANY TWISTS TO THE STORY ,GOOD LISTEN, YES.

Wonderful science fiction!

This is a riveting, meticulously crafted, science fiction novel. I was already a fan of Cherryh' s work before listening to Cyteen. This was quite impressive to me, especially considering when this novel was originally published. If you love science and scientific possibilities, or if you enjoy thrilling stories packed with political intrigue, then this story should appeal to you. The narration was very professional, quite pleasing to listen to, in my opinion. Foreigner series fans should feel right at home with certain elements of this story. I give the book and the narration five stars.

Perfectly wonderful.

If u could, I would buy everybody a copy. It's my favorite. Thank you to the reader.

Love this book and narrator

I've listened to this twice after reading a physical copy the first time. I keep coming back to its ideas and world. Absolutely fascinating concepts, if you like politics and psychology/sociology. Interesting ethical questions and exploration of power and manipulation. The narrator does very consistent and unique voices for every main character. Love it.

A great story

This is a great story and the narrators performances are also outstanding. Yet another great CJ Cherryh novel.

Ms Cherryh never fails

Would you listen to Cyteen again? Why?

Yes - and read it. The narration was great - but you could not do poorly with the worlds, characters (alien and human), societies and plots this author creates. And her prose - it brings me into her worlds.

What did you like best about this story?

The entire idea of creating a person's being - all of it, the brilliant minds working with programs and foreseeing the effects on a manually created human mind going generations; and using the main characters to try to demonstrate what it might be like to dupe a person, not just a body.

Which scene was your favorite?

Ari's bringing the baby guppies to Jason? Also, Gerard's words with the gift of the topaz brooch; the most honest emotion?

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Labs creating people and minds creating souls

Any additional comments?

The way CJ Cherryh creates whole societies, each with it's own set or mores, and physical and emotional aspects; and the way she uses familiar human interaction and reaction take the alien world so....believable. And how a person would respond to it.

Best performance

Would you listen to Cyteen again? Why?

I am enjoying this so much I will probably listen again while sharing it with my husband. I will be sorry when the book is done.

What did you like best about this story?

The story itself is well done in the exploration of a complex psyche against the backdrop of a hard science fiction future that succeeds in suspending my disbelief (well, most of the time anyway). It does show its age a tad with some of the computing details, but that's OK.

What about Gabra Zackman and Jonathan Davis ’s performance did you like?

I have listened to a lot of fantastic audio books, but this is the best performance I have heard. Gabra Zackman handles voices from small girl to old men and makes you believe in the story. This is the first time I have heard her and I will be sure to seek her out again. Jonathan Davis is quite different form other things I have heard him narrate, but his presentation is perfect for the part his is playing in this book.

Still intriguing after all these years

I first read Cyteen 25 years ago; nothing dates faster than imaginings of future technology (talk of fiche and faxes for example), but the core ideas behind Cyteen remain intriguing. The slower first part begins with an ageing Ariane Emory in charge of a sprawling business and scientific empire, the main product of which is gene-manipulated humans, the azi. From the moment azi are born from artificial wombs, they are trained and conditioned by carefully designed drug assisted ''tape' learning to be perfect workers, soldiers, or whatever. There's probably a bit much overview info on the political and scientific history and situation (the sort of stuff easily skim-read in a written novel), but there's also a murder mystery, a sinister security system, political terrorists and plenty of intrigue - all picking up pace as the story goes along.

The reading is excellent.