New Releases by C. J. Cherryh

Seventeen-year-old Altair, a streetwise survivor of the canal city of Merovingen, finds and rescues a half-drowned man. Though grateful for her aid, he does not want to tell her why assassins are on his trail. Yet Altair cannot abandon him to an unequal battle.

"Men had gone to the stars; they had trod the soil of distant planets and settled their colonies; yet the homeworld of Earth remained. It was legend; it was a place of nostalgia for mankind''s lost youth; it was always there. For every son or daughter who had departed for the stars, there were those who preferred the original skies and winds of the world which had first endured humanity''s trials and triumphs. The cities remained. Over the eons, facing the sunset of Terra, they still stood. Changed, yet retaining their individuality, their unique characteristics, their ancient prides."--Back cover.

Within the Constellation of the Serpent, out of bounds to all spacefarers, humans live among the insect-like aliens--and one of them, a woman named Paen, is bent on a revenge that will tear apart the truce between human and alien. "Brisk pacing . . . and genuinely brilliant world-building".--ALA Booklist.

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.

There was a star Gate in Azeroth marked by alien fires that Morgaine must seal. But Morgaine and Vanye have brought devastation to the peaceful land. For the hordes of Shiuan were on their heels, determined to conquer a new land for themselves and to avenge their lost planet.

The world of Shiuan was doomed. Rising waters and shattering earthquakes had sealed its fate. The only escape routes were the Gates. And just as this knowledge dawned on the desperate tribes and cities there appeared the woman Morgaine--whose mission was to seal Shiuan''s Gates.