Best Selling Books by C. J. Cherryh

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.

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.

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. . . .

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.

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....

Sten Duncan had saved the lives of the last two of humanity''s deadliest enemies, during the takeover of their planet Kesrith. Sten therefore felt responsible for them and for their future--if any.

"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?

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 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?

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 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.

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.