Foreigner

Foreigner Sequence 1, Book 1

De: C. J. Cherryh

Narrado por: Daniel Thomas May

The first book in C.J.Cherryh's eponymous series, Foreigner begins an epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft who crash-land on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient alien race. From its beginnings as a human-alien story of first contact, the Foreigner series has become a true science fiction odyssey, following a civilization from the age of steam through early space flight to confrontations with other alien species in distant sectors of space. It is the masterwork of a truly remarkable author.

©1994 C.J. Cherryh (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Good story, but some technical faults in recording

Very character driven, and living inside someone else's head (several someones at that), so be prepared to backtrack and relisten to several portions of the story so you can be sure you understand who is "talking." Reminds me of "Pride of Chanur" and "Cuckoo's Egg" both of which were written by the same author.

As for the "technical faults" - there are portions with a slight echo and some stuttering in a number of places within the recording. These can be very distracting at times, but if you can ignore them (and they don't last too long) just concentrate on the story unfolding. A mystery, intrigue, and sci-fi, all rolled into one. Some action, chases, violence, and much confusion for the human in the story.

You are very much in the dark, as is the protagonist, so the conclusion will come as a bit of surprise, as it is for the protagonist. Definitely worth the time and money. :)

A unfortunate start to a fantastic series

Cj cherryhs Foreigner series is truly one of a kind. Sadly, newcomers face one significant hurdle, the first book.

From the front loaded exposition, the main character spending most of the book behaving in an unlikable, petulant manner and the narrator still figuring out how to approach the material, it's a poor introduction to a great series.

I would recommend skipping it entirely and diving into the second book. Not only is it a much better book overall, but the narrator finds his rhythm and delivers a much better performance as well.

think marco polo in space...

Good story with excellent voice acting. i highly recommend the series. it is definitely worth listening to.

Disappointed in the writing

Too many words devoted to a character with almost no common sense at all. It would have been a much better paced novel if half of his internal dialogue were cut out.

It felt like it was happening to me!

Would you listen to Foreigner again? Why?

I would listen to Foreigner again to pick up on some of the nuances that I missed the first time around. You have to remember that what seems like endless speculation or introspection is the author giving you clues of what is actually happening. She does the same thing in the Chanur novels and took me a while to realize that what seems like a character's endless (and idle) speculation as to what is happening, is actually what IS happening!

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the description of the Atevi world and Bren's slow realization that he is more atevi than human. I also enjoyed the author's attempt to describe an alien social structure that looks deceptively like ours on the surface. Above all, I loved what one reviewer has dubbed the third person limited POV - it felt like I was in Bren's shoes, as if I were in a holonovel.

Have you listened to any of Daniel Thomas May’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I cannot wait to listen to more of his performances. He is incredible.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I found it to be so gripping that I found myself reluctant to get out of the car when I got home. And near the end of the book, I removed the mp3 player from the car and listened to it while I walked the dog - I coudn't bear to wait any longer to find out what was going to happen.

Any additional comments?

The characters are all recognizable individuals thanks not only to Mr. May's outstanding performance but also to the talent of the author. I cannot wait to listen to the rest of the books in this series.