• Precursor

  • Foreigner Sequence 2, Book 1
  • By: C. J. Cherryh
  • Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
  • Length: 17 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (699 ratings)

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Precursor  By  cover art

Precursor

By: C. J. Cherryh
Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
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Publisher's summary

National best-selling author and winner of three Hugo Awards, C.J. Cherryh returns to the universe of her acclaimed Foreigner trilogy - with an epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft stranded on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient race. The beginning of a second trilogy, Precursor follows a single human delegate living among aliens, who are just gaining access to space.

©1999 C.J. Cherryh (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Precursor

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

3 Years have passed!! )-: !!!!

And paidhi-aiji is still in business!!! (-:
Shuttle was built, second is on it's way.
Space gives us new frontiers, new possibilities and
NEW INTRIGUES AND NEW NEGOTIATIONS!!!!


This book is conttinuation of the story line, it's not a sequel!!!
quality hasn't slipped.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This book moves at a lightning-fast pace! Awesome

STORY (sci-fi) - I can't begin to describe everything that happens in this book. It's #4 in a series of 15 books, and it's my favorite so far by a longshot! Bren Cameron (main character) is a human translator/negotiator who lives among the Atevi, an intelligent, peaceful alien species. In this book, Bren and a small group of Atevi travel to a human space station orbiting the Atevi's home planet to negotiate peaceful coexistence while making repairs to the station. They enter a political mess onboard the station, and there's one crisis after another. Too much to begin to describe here, but there's lots of action and suspense and it's also very mentally stimulating. I listened every spare minute I could and was intrigued every second.

CJ Cherryh is a genius! The world she's created, the culture of the Atevi, and I don't know how in the world she came up with everything that went on in this book. The suspense was palpable and the action was exciting, but it didn't rise to the level I would consider "for guys only."

PERFORMANCE - Great job, great voice distinction among many characters. Lots of strange alien pronunciations to keep straight, which he did. He has a distinctive style of reading, the way he pauses throughout sentences, but it's perfect for this book.

OVERALL - Highly recommended for mature males and females. No cursing. A very small amount of vague sexual references. Definitely don't start in the middle of this series because it has a lot of it's own language that would be hard to pick up midstream. Also, the story line builds with each book so you will want that history, but each book ends at a good stopping point where the issues in that particular book are resolved.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book; a few slow moments due to backstory

Daniel Thomas May's performance is outstanding. It's insightful and compelling, going beyond just making all the book's vivid characters distinct and memorable.

This book is at least as good as the first three. In fact, I thought Precursor had even more action and suspense than the first three volumes. It introduces people and places of great interest. And the plot takes surprising twists that sometimes made me cheer out loud.

One heads-up: by now there's a lot of background needed by new readers. Cherryh provides the backstory while moving the action ahead, so you might not even notice unless you're reading the books back-to-back. However, since I'm gulping them down one right after the other, I found backstory slowing the usually-brisk pace now and then. Once, when the story had me sitting on the edge of my chair, I wanted to shake Bren and holler, "Stop brooding and do something, already!" (He did.)

I admire how well Cherryh makes each book a complete, satisfying whole. These are NOT cliff-hangers. Each book resolves its story's issues. (Well, so far, at least. I can't swear about the rest of them.) Each book is a complete novel, but they all tie together, and it's worth reading them in the correct sequence.

Audible has released the first six of the 14 books in this series. (The hard-back of volume 14 is due to be released in April.) I hope Audible quickly adds the other eight!


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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engrossing inter-species politics.

I read the first sequence years ago. Glad that they're at last available on audible. The political twists are always exciting and I love reading the latest antics of Ilisidi. I think she's probably my favorite character (along with Bren of course).

The author does such an excellent job of setting scenes and offering just enough explanation of the why's of things to inform, yet keep things moving along. The family issues pulling Bren in different directions add depth to the story. Jase's growth in his role has been interesting to "see."

If I were to describe these books in two words, they would be "political intrigue." But there is so much more going on. The cultural heritage of the Atevi is so well developed, it feels right and believable. I find myself painting the Atevi culture with distinctly Japanese/Chinese flavor. . . Reverence for the dowager, their love of fine art and things handmade. . . not to mention the whole concept of an Assassin's Guild, to keep things from heading to civil unrest.

I had to buy more credits to get the next book!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best one yet!

Any additional comments?

Almost gave up on the series after book 3 ... very glad I didn't! This book has the plot twists, character development and a cliff-hanger that had me buying the next book as soon as I finished. Hooked by the series again! Just finished the next book in the series and find the writing and story telling getting better and better. You could easily start the series with this book, get hooked and move forward or backward in the series without feeling lost.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring from the very beginning

What would have made Precursor better?

There just didn't seem to be any interest in getting to the point of the story. Instead of rambling on about what was going on inside the minds of the insanely boring characters, it would have been nice if something, anything had happened. Abandoned this eventually out of boredom.

What was most disappointing about C. J. Cherryh’s story?

The pacing was terrible. Nothing seemed to happen except inside characters heads.

How could the performance have been better?

Not sure if the performance was affected by the mediocre content.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Precursor?

Found the writing clunky, characters un-engaging and the whole thing an absolute bore. Not sure this could be fixed.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An old love rediscovered

I first read the first four books in Foreigner series, as they came out in the 90's. I stopped after completing Precursor, through no fault of the writer or books.
On a recent business trip, I was scanning for books and rediscovered the series.
Daniel Thomas May does a wonderful job reading and brings depth and life to C.J. Cherryh's compelling characters and intricate plot. I have enjoyed listening to the series, actually my wife and I listen to a chapter a night.
C.J.Cherryh is a master. She packs more information and nuance into a sentence than many writers achieve in a chapter.
I highly recommend this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Unbelievable interspecies dynamics

Lacking a believability factor.
Plus, considerable human bashing which does not comport with my morality.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great presentation. Compelling story.

This world is so believable. People are all real. Aliens are just different enough to be believable.







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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I’m on my 3 rd time around

I’ve listened to the series 3 times and I’m starting on 4. I fall asleep to it. It’s not because it’s boring, it’s because these books are beloved.

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