Intruder

Foreigner Sequence 5, Book 1

By: C. J. Cherryh

Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the wake of civil war, Bren Cameron, the brilliant human diplomat of the alien atevi civilization, has left the capital and sought refuge at his country estate, Najida. But now he is trapped inside Najida - which has been surrounded by enemies - with the powerful grandmother of his ally, Tabiniaiji, atevi leader of the Western Association. Ilisidi, the aiji-dowager, is not inclined to be passive and sends Bren into enemy territory, to the palace of the leader of the rebels.

Bren's mission is to negotiate with Machigi - a young atevi lord who has never actually seen a human - and somehow persuade him to cease his hostile actions against the west. Is Bren a shrewd enough negotiator to stay alive, and not alienate Ilisidi or Tabini, while also representing the interests of their enemy?

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

Excellent!

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

As good as ever. Ms.C J Cherryh's continuous plot for the Foreigner Series is as good as ever. Can't wait for the next volume.

What does Daniel Thomas May bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Daniela's narration beings the characters to life. Something I won't be able to ever imagine if I were to read it myself.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, can't put down the book until the end. In fact I can't wait for the sequel!.

Any additional comments?

Please continue delivering such good books!

Definitely not a place to start reading the series

C.J.Cherryh is an established and revered master of the SF/F genre so, not having read any of her work for a while, I snapped up this book and its sequel when I saw them on sale. Unfortunately that was a mistake. This is the 13th book in the series, the first in the 5th three book sequence, and I was almost completely lost for over half of the nearly thirteen hours it took to finish listening. Joining in the middle of any series is difficult and ill-advised, but Cherryh made it an almost insurmountable task in this case. She creates extremely intricate and fully realized worlds for her stories, including an entirely alien system of names and titles, a culture which is completely distinct from humanity, and byzantine social and political structures which, while brilliant in their conception and consistency, resist every effort to understand them when joining a narrative "in medias res." Add to that the difficulty of retaining it all as spoken without being able to see the alien terms on the page, and the result was glassy-eyed bewilderment. All of Cherryh's literary assets of imagination, plot integration and subtlety of effect conspired to make it a real chore to get through the book.

In addition this is a book about diplomacy with dozens of factions involved and with years of history undergirding it. There is virtually no overt action. The leading character comes across as unassailable in his skills of negotiation and persuasion so that we never really fear an unfavorable outcome. The arc of the narrative is long, uninterrupted and without a great deal of suspense. In context with the precedent events of the four earlier three book sequences, I have no doubt it fascinates and delights, but even given Cherryh's superbly drawn characters and evocative descriptions of settings, it was at times tedious.

It's unfair to ask an author to overcome the obstacle a reader faces when starting in the middle of a series, but we often do it anyway, don't we. Usually we lose something but get up to speed fairly quickly and perhaps decide to go back later and pick up what we missed. Please heed the warning, however. If you ever have the urge to sample the Foreigner series, do not even consider starting here. I began it at the beginning many years ago and lapsed. I think I will go back and pick it up again at the proper place now.

It IS AWESOME!!!!!

I've read all 13 books and it was awesome.
I can't wait to see book 14 in april 2013.
The narration was perfect Mr May is the perfect voice for this series!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perfect Narration!!

This Series is amazing!
I've already reviewed previous books in it and as the series progresses it just keeps getting better. But I wanted here to emphasize the marvelous job the narrator has done.
The voices of the characters are perfectly conceived and delivered. The pace is exactly what the story requires at any given time and he truly takes you into the mind of the main character. The tone is precisely what the action demands. I would live to buy more books narrated by him!
An absolute magnificent combination of writing and narration!!!

the author of just filling pages with this one

writing is nice but the story really doesn't go anywhere or so anything. it could have been summed up on a paragraph or two but she has a quota to meet it would seem

another good book in the series

I highly recommend reading previous works in order to fully appreciate this book in the series the author continues with two different voices that are both interesting one the Young aliens voice and won the human being who's supposed to work for the aliens father it's a very interesting concept very sophisticated writing I highly recommend it

Narrator makes political intrigue exciting

This sequence of the Foreigner books focuses on political maneuvering, a young gentleman’s settling into a new life situation and the art of compromise. While this part of the storyline is not action-packed, skilled narrator Daniel May makes it all sound so immediate that every character’s thought processes kept me involved in the story. The stage is now set for the next chapter in the series, which I look forward to immensely. Note: it will be extremely helpful to have read the previous books in the series in order to get the greatest enjoyment out of this book (or actually, to know what’s going on).

nothing really happened

i love the series and have grown very fond of the characters. but there needed to be more plot and less long descriptive narrative. I found the last few books are like this in general. I keep hoping they're going to pick up again soon! Bring back the kyo!

Scrumptious, truly scrumptious!

So much promise -- delivered! And so very many unexpected changes, for good and less-than, but with excellent results! Changes abound, some surprising, but imminently satisfying -- and some changes not so! THANK you, C.J.!!!!

hate the way narrator reads this book!

What disappointed you about Intruder?

I love this series by Cherryh. One of the most powerful aspects of it is her depiction of the alien culture. I had noticed that some of its most interesting aspects were reminiscent of Chinese thought and customs. But for the narrator to read the aliens speaking with a Chinese accent--as if Cherryh were writing about humans on this planet--is too heavy handed. It misses the point of the book being science fiction! I had to stop listening after only a few pages VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!

What did you like best about this story?

I love Cherryh's story! Her depiction of a culture very different from our own is well drawn and fascinating. I particularly appreciate her creating a culture that manages its connection to the land and foods that support them in what seems like a more sound and sustainable way (without losing any of the benefits of technological culture). Her main character is a master of diplomacy and reading her books gives us a front row seat to how he does what he does. Brilliant!

Would you be willing to try another one of Daniel Thomas May’s performances?

Probably not. His interpretation of this book leaves me feeling he doesn't get the subtlety of what a book is about.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The story is exceptional. The narration mundane.

Any additional comments?

Read the series--just skip these audiobooks!