New Releases by C. J. Cherryh

The 2nd novel of The Hinder Stars series returns to an intergalactic corporate conflict, set in the Hugo Award–winning Alliance-Union Universe. With deft prose and complex characters, Alliance Unbound is thought-provoking science fiction that shrewdly examines the technological and sociopolitical challenges of humanity’s journey to the stars. When Cyteen opened up faster-than-light travel, it gave the technology for free to any ship that could reach it; and with that technology, it provided a map of jump-points, points of mass enabling starships to navigate hyperspace safely. The map of jump-points, however, stopped with the route to Alpha—thus excluding Sol, and Earth, and the Earth Company, whose gateway to the stars was Alpha. Cyteen knew exactly what it was doing with its gift. Sol and the EC could still reach Alpha with sub-light pusher-ships as it always had—but Sol and the Earth Company no longer had any authority in the Beyond. But Sol intends to take back control of its star-stations and stop Cyteen''s unbridled expansion, however it can. To do that, they are willing to starve Alpha and concentrate their efforts on a huge FTLer capable of carrying military force.

The 22nd book in the beloved Foreigner saga continues the adventures of diplomat Bren Cameron as he navigates the tenuous peace he has struck between human refugees and the alien atevi. In the east, outright warfare has tied down the Assassins'' Guild, and that region is in confusion. Ready to hand is an age-old feud in the west, where the Master of Ashidama Bay has long hated the Edi people of the north shore and equally hated the Aishidi’tat for bringing the Edi to his shores—and hatred is a resource the Shadow Guild knows how to use to its advantage. Bren Cameron is tasked with getting Ilisidi, the aiji-dowager, back to the capital alive, on an urgent basis. But events are cascading down on the south, the Guild is stretched thin in the east, and the Shadow Guild is within striking distance of critical targets that could bring war to the entire south. Two lives stand in the breach, two lives the aishidi''tat would not willingly risk—Ilisidi and Bren—and the Shadow Guild will spend anything and everything to take them out. The Foreigner series sets the standard for sci-fi first contact sagas—a smart, probing, engaging sociopolitical narrative from an acknowledged master of the genre.

SFWA Grand Master Cherryh returns to the Hugo-award winning Alliance-Union Universe with a thrilling entry in her far-reaching sci-fi saga. For years, the stations of the Hinder Stars, those old stations closest to Sol, have lagged behind the great megastations of the Beyond, like Pell and Cyteen. But new opportunities and fears arise when Alpha station receives news of an incoming ship with no identification. The denizens of Alpha wait anxiously for news about the outsiders, each with their own suspicions about the ship and its origins. Ross and Fallon, crew members of the Galway, believe the unidentified ship belongs to Pell and has come to investigate another massive ship docked at Alpha, The Rights of Man. Though Rights is under the command of the Earth Company, it is not quite perfected—and its true purpose is shrouded in mystery. James Robert Neihart, captain of Finity''s End—a huge faster-than-light ship flown by one of the Merchanter Families—has heard whispers of The Rights of Man and wonders at its design and purpose, especially as Sol struggles to rival the progress of the Farther Stars. Now docked at Alpha, he must convince the crews that there is more to The Rights of Man than meets the eye. Because the reasons behind the creation of The Rights of Man, and its true plans, could change everything—not just for Sol, but for the Hinder Stars and the Beyond itself.

A new phase in the Foreigner Universe begins. Knowledge about the dangerous situation in adjacent space rests only with Bren Cameron and a handful of others. Bren must try to prepare her fellow human inhabitants for the arrival of many more desperate human refugees from space.

The nineteenth book in the beloved Foreigner space opera series begins a new era for human diplomat Bren Cameron, as he navigates the tenuous peace between human refugees and the alien atevi. Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the alien atevi, has taken aboard five thousand human refugees from a destroyed station in a distant sector of space. With supplies and housing stretched to the breaking point, it is clear that the refugees must be relocated down to the planet, and soon. But not to the atevi mainland: rather to the territory reserved for humans, the island of Mospheira. Tabini-aiji, the powerful political head of the atevi , tasks his brilliant human diplomat, Bren Cameron, to negotiate with the Mospheiran government. For the Alpha Station refugees represent a political faction that the people of Mospheira broke from two centuries ago, and these Mospheirans are not enthusiastic about welcoming these immigrants from space.

"Does it seem reasonable to you that a Regency continues—into an Emperor''s thirtieth year " "No, m''lord," Shoka said. "Not to us, either. Not to many of us. We were ready to make that objection—when lord Gitu overran Yijang and Hua.... Assassinations, elsewhere. Hired killers. Bands of mercenaries traveling under imperial orders. The Emperor''sseal, and the Regent''s orders. How do we stop such a thing How do we prevent it—when every lord able to lead is apprehended, assassinated, when they strip us of men, even boys out of the fields—go to Saukendar, some said. Go to Saukendar. They urged me to send to you. This time he has to listen, they said. But if I had sent—and Ghita had known—you understand—" Reidi gave an uncomfortable twitch of the shoulders. His horse shifted again. "I had no true hope that you''d come. You''d indicated to the villagers—that you had no wish to hear from anyone. That you would refuse any such petitions—" "You were watching me." "It''s my village, m''lord—as the Regent pointed out to me again and again, and threatened my life should you leave that mountain. Of course the word came to me. I tried to get a messenger down the road to you when I knew you''d left Mon.... We believed you''d come back to deal with Ghita and his partisans." Shoka felt cold, cold all the way to the bones. "There are men ready to follow you, lord Saukendar. There are men who''ve committed their lives to this— We didn''t know the hour. We only believed. Now you''ve come back ..." "It''s gripping drama, tightly focussed and inexorable as Taizu herself. Read The Paladin and you''ll never settle for another ordinary sword-wielding female." —Faren Miller LOCUS At the publisher''s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management)

The seventeenth novel in Cherryh’s Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences… The human and atevi inhabitants of Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, have picked up a signal from an alien kyo ship telling them that the ship is inbound toward Alpha. Five thousand of the inhabitants of Alpha are human refugees from the now derelict Reunion Station. They have seen this scenario before, when a single kyo ship swooped into the Reunion system and, without a word, melted a major section of Reunion Station with a single pass. These refugees, who were rescued through the combined efforts of an allied group of humans and atevi and brought to safety at Alpha, are now desperate with fear. Bren Cameron—brilliant human emissary of Tabini-aiji, the powerful atevi political leader on the mainland below, and also the appointee of the human president of the island nation of Mospheira—is the obvious choice of representative to be sent up to deal with both the panicked refugees and the incoming alien ship. As a member of the spacefaring delegation who rescued the refugees, Bren has talked to kyo before—and even won their trust by saving one of their kind from a Reunioner prison. Because of his remarkable diplomatic and linguistic abilities, Bren managed to communicate with that grateful kyo individual on a limited basis, and he has evidence that that same kyo is on the ship heading to defenseless Alpha Station. But no one can predict what an alien race might do, or what their motivations could be. And Bren Cameron, the only human ever to be accepted into atevi society, is now the one individual with a hope of successfully interacting with the crew of the incoming ship. But Bren knows it will take putting himself in the hands of the kyo. Can Bren count on the gratitude of one individual alien to save his life and the lives of thousands on Alpha Station?

Together for the first time in one volume—all four novels in the dark science fiction epic, the Morgaine Cycle. The gates were relics of a lost era, a linked network of portals that the ruthless Qual empire used to span Time and Space. The Science Buereau has come to believe that sometime, somewhere in the unreachable past, someone has done the unthinkable and warped the very fabric of the universe using these gates. Now, it is up to Morgaine, a mysterious woman aided by a single warrior honor-bound to serve her, to travel from world to world sealing the ancient gates whose very existence threatens the integrity of all worlds...

With the Assassins'' Guild functioning again after a year of upheaval and rebellion, Bren Cameron takes a position on the court to champion a trade agreement, but tranquility in the atevi world is transient.

The fourteenth novel in Cherryh’s Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences… Civil war on the world of the atevi is finally over. Bren Cameron, brilliant human diplomat allied with the dominant Western Association, has finally returned to the capital from the southern coast, where he negotiated a daring redistribution of the atevi legislature. Now, Bren is settling back into the capital, in the home he knew prior to the war—but life at the atevi court is never easy. Tabini-aiji, head of the Western Association and Bren''s ally, has promised his son, Cajeiri, that he can have the young human children he knew from his voyage on the world''s space station sent down to the planet for a birthday celebration. But there''s far a darker business going on in the background—a major split compromising the Assassins'' Guild, which furnishes security and law enforcement to the whole continent. Tabini''s consort''s own father has been barred from court, and may be involved in a new conspiracy against him. Tabini wants Bren to take charge of Cajeiri, and see him and his young guests to safety, all while keeping the security problem a state secret. Can Bren protect Cajeiri and the unsuspecting human children who are to be guests in an atevi household that is on the brink of political explosion? The long-running Foreigner series can also be enjoyed by more casual genre readers in sub-trilogy installments. Protector is the 14th Foreigner novel, and the 2nd book in the fifth subtrilogy.

The long-awaited sequel to the Hugo award-winning novels Cyteen and Downbelow Station. The direct sequel to Cyteen, Regenesis continues the story of Ariane Emory, Personal Replicate, the genetic clone of one of the greatest scientists humanity has ever produced, and of her search for the murderer of her progenitor-the original Ariane Emory. Murder, politics, deception, and genetic and psychological manipulation combine against a backdrop of interstellar human factions at odds to confront questions that have remained unanswered for two decades... Who killed the original Ariane Emory? And can her Personal Replicate avoid the same fate?

Deep in an abandoned, shattered castle, an old man of the Old Magic muttered almost forgotten words. His purpose -- to create out of the insubstance of the air, from a shimmering of light and a fluttering of shadows. that most wonderous of spells, a Shaping. A Shaping in the form of a, young man who will be sent east on the road the old was to old to travel. To right the wrongs of a long-forgotten wizard war, and call new wars into being. Here is the long-awaited major new novel from one of the brightest stars in the fantasy and science fiction firmament.C.J.Cherryh''s haunting story of the wizard Mauryl, kingmaker for a thousand years of Men, and Tristen, fated to sow distrust between a prince and his father being. A tale as deep as legend and a intimate as love, it tells of a battle beyond Time, in which all Destiny turns on the wheel of an old man''s ambition, a young man''s innocence, and the unkept promised of a king to come.

Shadows from another realm threaten the world with eternal darkness as this "stunning high-fantasy series" continues ( Denver Post). An ancient war between shadowy Immortals persists to this day, thanks to the wizard Mauryl and the Shaping he conjured to face the Shadows of Chaos. Both more and less than human, Tristen is that Shaping. And his victories have won his friend Cefwyn both a kingdom and true love. But the Lines that hold the world in place are shifting again. A ruthless enemy is preparing for battle. Once again, Tristen will take up the sword inscribed with "Truth" and "Illusion" on its blade. But he faces more than a pretender to Cefwyn''s throne. The Shadows he sees are straight from Ruin—a flow of darkness covering the world like ink . . .

Tristen is both more and less than a man. A summoning, a shaping, he was brought to life by a wizard, to serve a king yet to be crowned. Now the wizard is dead: a united Ylesuin, and a peace this land has never known. Cefwyn needs his only friend, this young man of mysterious origins who is more brother than vassal. He relies on Tristen, and trusts him though he knows not why, as he plans the war that will bring his dream to pass...or bring ruin upon them all. The eagerly awaited sequel to her acclaimed Fortress in the Eye of Time, C.J. Cherryh''s newest high fantasy triumph is an epic saga of destiny and intrigue in a magical world as wondrous, and as real, as our own.

Two surprising allies have emerged to aid the embattled ruler in a struggle he must win: Cefwyn''s two young sons. Aewyn Marhanen is the prince destined to rule. Aewyn''s half-brother, Elfwyn Aswydd—the bastard son of the king and the sorceress Tarien Aswydd—has spent years unaware of his parentage, yet now it is his time to emerge and claim the gifted birthright he''s been denied for so long. But a dark, sinister magic has crept close to the young man and seized hold of the kingdom. Nothing is as it seems, as the bonds of family strain against the powerful forces that would see them undone—and the battle is joined to unmask and destroy the malevolence that threatens to unhinge the king''s peaceful and fragile reign.

From C.J. Cherryh, one of science fiction′s greatest writers and a 3-time Hugo Award "Best Novel" winner, comes the exciting and long-awaited follow-up to Hammerfall, the second novel of the Gene Wars, now in mass market. In the second volume of "The Gene Wars," C. J. Cherryh further explores the captivating new universe where two interstellar empires, scarred by nanotechnology weaponry, hover in an uneasy detente. Perched at the edge of the galaxy, tiny Concord Station holds the balance of the universe within its carefully regulated worlds. For, created to carefully monitor the crucial desert planet below, it lies in the tenuous intersection between the territories of Earth and the alien Ondat. Marak Trin Tain has saved a planet′s people from total destruction, when the implacable ondat sent down a hammerfall to destroy the planet and keep its deadly nanoceles from changing life and evolution forever. But the regrowing planet is fragile, and a deadly cataclysm could destroy Marak--and with him, the hope for peace within the universe. Meanwhile, on Concord, an unexpected ship from Earth disrupts the uneasy truces between human and alien, and the consequences could restart the terrible Gene Wars that once destroyed most of humanity.

A magical warrior must once again take up his fearsome sword in the Hugo Award–winning author''s epic fantasy series. Conjured by a wizard to fight an ancient and magical war, Tristen is a man without a past, and a warrior of great skill. The keen blade of his sword, marked Illusion on one side and Truth on the other, has already helped him win the throne of Ylesuin for the young king Cefwyn. As reward, Tristen has been made Duke of Amefel. Tristen''s rule in Amefel is blessed with two extraordinary friends: one a stalwart soldier, the other a young rebel with royal blood. But the scarlet banners of war are unfolding again, and far more than a kingdom is at stake. Now Tristen must take up the sword--as well as the Sihhë magic he has forsworn. He is destiny''s own, created a combatant in a far older and more fearsome conflict than any ever imagined by mere mortal man. And he is about to do battle once more.

All of C.J. Cherryh''s award-winning short fiction, collected in one volume for the first time... “It’s rare that I’m not working on a novel. Short stories often happen between novels. Consequently my output is fairly small. But I love the tale-telling concept, the notion that I can spin a yarn, rather than construct something architectural and precise.” So writes triple Hugo Award-winning author C.J. Cherryh in the introduction to this book, the first comprehensive collection of her independent short fiction. For though Cherryh is primarily known for her novels, it’s clear both from the more than two dozen brilliant and varied stories collected here, as well as her commentaries about them, that she loves the short forms and truly enjoys her forays into them. We welcome you to join the realms of C. J. Cherryh’s imagination, where you’ll visit: “Cassandra”—the Hugo Award-winning tale of a woman cursed with a unique, prophetic madness. “Threads of Time”—an unforgettable reminder that when you play tricks in time, Time itself may play the greatest trick on you. Sunfall—in which six mighty Earth cities laden with the grandeur of history confront their fates in the far future light of our own dying sun. And many other magical, alien, and future worlds, in a volume that incorporates all C. J. Cherryh’s previous, long-unavailable collections, individual short stories that have never been compiled before, and a never-before-published novella written specifically for this book. Board this spaceship where your tour guide is one of the most gifted and brilliant science fiction and fantasy writers, and embark on a journey fueled by the imagination of the incomparable C. J. Cherryh.

The ninth novel in Cherryh’s Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences… In the aftermath of civil war, the world of the atevi is still perilously unstable. Tabini-aiji, powerful ruler of the Western Association, along with his son and heir Cajeiri, and his human paidhi, Bren Cameron, have returned to the seat of power. The usurper, Murini, has escaped to the lands of his supporters, but the danger these rebels pose is far from over. Ilisidi, Tabini''s grandmother, the aiji-dowager, has returned to her ancient castle in the East, for she has powerful ties in the lands of the rebels, and she seeks to muster whatever support for her grandson that she can from among those enemy strongholds. In his father''s tightly guarded headquarters, eight-year-old Cajeiri is horribly bored. Two years on an interstellar starship surrounded by human children have left him craving excitement. But unbeknownst to this dissatisfied youngster, he has become a target for forces bent on destroying his father''s rule and everything it stands for. Though still a child, Cajeiri embodies a unique threat to the venerable, tradition-defined lifestyle of his people. For this young boy is the first ateva youth to have lived in a human environment. And after hundreds of years of tenuous atevi-human coexistence, Cajeiri may very well be the first ateva to ever truly understand the so similar yet so dangerously different aliens who share his home planet and threaten the hidebound customs of his race. The long-running Foreigner series can also be enjoyed by more casual genre readers in sub-trilogy installments. Deliverer is the 9th Foreigner novel, and the 3rd book in the third subtrilogy.

The eighth novel in Cherryh’s Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences… Exhausted from a two-year rescue mission in space, the crew of the starship Phoenix return home to find disaster: civil war has broken out, the powerful Western Association has been overthrown, and Tabini-aiji, its forceful leader, is missing. In a desperate move, paidhi Bren Cameron and Tabini''s grandmother Ilisidi, the aiji-dowager, along with with Cajeiri, Tabini''s eight-year-old heir, make planetfall and succeed in reaching the mainland. The brilliant and forceful Ilisidi seeks refuge at the estate of an old ally, and Tabini-aiji arrives at the door. As word of Tabini''s whereabouts circulates, clans allied with Tabini descend upon the estate, providing a huge civilian presence that everyone involved hopes will deter impending attacks by the usurpers. But as more and more supporting clans arrive, Bren finds himself increasingly isolated, and it becomes clear that both his extremely important report of alien contact in space, and even his life, rest on the shoulders of only two allies: Ilisidi and Cajeiri. Can one elderly ateva and and eight-year-old boy—himself a prime target for assassination—protect Bren, a lone human involved in a civil war that most atevi believe he caused? The long-running Foreigner series can also be enjoyed by more casual genre readers in sub-trilogy installments. Pretender is the 8th Foreigner novel, and the 2nd book in the third subtrilogy.

THE SPACE OPERA CLASSIC: Discover “one of the best long-running science fiction series in existence” (Publishers Weekly)! A sole human diplomat navigates a world inhabited by hostile, intelligent aliens—and learns the consequences of first contact. It had been nearly 5 centuries since the starship Phoenix, lost in space and desperately searching for the nearest G5 star, had encountered the planet of the atevi. On this alien world, law was kept by the use of registered assassination; alliances were defined by individual loyalties, not geographical borders; and war became inevitable once humans and one faction of atevi established a working relationship. It was a war that humans had no chance of winning on this planet so many light-years from home. Now, nearly 200 years after that conflict, humanity has traded its advanced technology for peace and an island refuge that no atevi will ever visit. But then the sole human allowed into atevi society is marked for an assassin’s bullet. The work of an isolated lunatic? The interests of a particular faction? Or the consequence of one human’s fondness for a species which has 14 words for betrayal and not a single word for love?

The classic fantasy duology, combining The Dreamstone and The Tree of Swords and Jewels in an omnibus for the first time It was that transitional time of the world, when man first brought the clang of iron and the reek of smoke to the lands which before had echoed only with fairy voices. In that dawn of man and death of magic there yet remained one last untouched place—the small forest of Ealdwood—which kept the magic intact, and protected the old ways. And there was one who dwelt there, Arafel the Sidhe, who had more pride and love of the world as it used to be than any of her kind. But fear of the world of Faery ran deep in the hearts of men, and when Ciaran Cuilean, Lord of Caer Wiell, a man with Elvish blood in his veins, found himself the object of increasing distrust and suspicion from his men, his king, and even his own family, he knew he must once again put his humanity aside and return to Ealdwood. For shadows of a newly awakened evil swarmed across both lands, and unless Ciaran reclaimed his haunted weapons from the Tree of Swords and joined Arafel, he would see this evil overtake not only the warm hearthstones of the mortal keeps, but the silvery heart of Ealdwood itself....

A three-in-one volume combines the works of four popular authors, and includes "A Dirge for Sabis," "Wizard Spawn," and "Reap the Whirlwind."

It had been nearly five centuries since the starship Phoenix had become lost in space and had encountered the world of the atevi. On this world where law was kept by registered assassination, war between the humans and atevi was inevitable. Now, 200 years after that conflict, the sole human allowed into atevi society is marked for an assassin''s bullet. . . .

Avoiding other humans because of the curse placed on him, Caithe mac Sliabhan nevertheless aids a strange couple who claim to be husband and wife but look like twins to Caith and who are under the spell of a witch. Original.

The final volume of the Chanur saga, set in the Alliance-Union universe, featuring the alien spaceship captain Hiffy Chanur. Hiffy Chanur, once a member of her aunt''s crew on The Pride of Chanur, is now captain of her own vessel, Chanur''s Legacy. It should have been the ideal existence for Hiffy, her fondest dream fulfilled, but instead the young captain''s increasingly hard-pressed to take care of her ship''s business. So when Meetpoint''s stationmaster offers her a million credits to transport a small, mysterious, "religious" object, it seems like a golden opportunity—perhaps even too good an opportunity.... Yet despite her misgivings, Hiffy feels it''s a comission she can''t turn down. But soon she and the Legacy are caught in an ever-tightening web of intrigue. And only time will tell whether the young captain can determine who is her ally and who is her enemy in this deadly game of interstellar politics....

Forced to help jinxed pilot Paul Dekker, Ben Pollard becomes entangled unwittingly in a lethal deep space political mess. By the Hugo Award-winning author of Heavy Time. and Cyteen. Reprint.

The fourth volume of the Chanur saga, set in the Alliance-Union universe, featuring the alien spaceship captain Pyanfar Chanur and her human crewmate Tully. When those strange entities called "humans" sent their first exploration ship into Compact space, the delicate power balances of the seven alien races of the Compact were catastrophically disrupted. And by giving shelter to Tully, the only human survivor of his mission, Captain Pyanfar of The Pride of Chanur jeopardized the safety of her ship and her crew by placing them at the center of a deadly political maelstrom. Now, with a new fleet of human ships approaching Compact space and with the Meetpoint and other Compact stations nearly destroyed by rival factions, Pyanfar and her crew face the ultimate threat to their species. For their home planet lies in the path of an impending space battle which could wipe their world off the galactic maps. Will Pyanfar be able to avert disaster for her homeworld and win herself the ultimate reward—a treasure beyond measuring—an exclusive trade contract with Earth?