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Two Cherryh observations
Jan. 8th, 2004 01:11 pmI've been revisiting the "Foreigner" hexology recently and have come to two conclusions.
Quite often, over the course of the entire book, nothing happens. "Defender" is a good example. Bren discovers he's going on a long trip and spends the rest of the book being confused about it. There are things happening (aka Ramirez), but they aren't the plot. They're the set-up to plot. They raise issues, they aren't issues in and of themselves.
So we get 200 pages of Bren running around like a chicken with its head cut off, talking with everyone, trying to figure out what's going on, coping with a needy mother, brother and wannabe fiance by patchy email...then Ilisidi invites the Captain to an eventful dinner party and boom; there's your climax, all in about 30 pages. The resolution? I'm not sure. Sabin may respect Ilisidi a bit more, but even that is shaky.
Mind you, I love these books. The culture, the translations, the attempts to explain one set of customs to the owners of another...no one does it better. But you've got to call a spade a spade and there's not a lot of meat here.
The second, and more objectionable, observation is that Cherryh isn't very nice to her human villians. They tend to be stubborn, paranoid, rude and stupid. And Obstinant, because "stubborn" just can't cover it alone. It's as if the very idea of "opposing viewpoint" refuses to penetrate their skulls. They're all morons, more to the point, they're all the same moron and I wish Cherryh would give them a bit more intelligence and individuality, rather than using them merely to highlight how very reasonable and equitable Bren's goals are. The rudeness and bluntness of the "I Hate Bren" club just seems too overblown.
Quite often, over the course of the entire book, nothing happens. "Defender" is a good example. Bren discovers he's going on a long trip and spends the rest of the book being confused about it. There are things happening (aka Ramirez), but they aren't the plot. They're the set-up to plot. They raise issues, they aren't issues in and of themselves.
So we get 200 pages of Bren running around like a chicken with its head cut off, talking with everyone, trying to figure out what's going on, coping with a needy mother, brother and wannabe fiance by patchy email...then Ilisidi invites the Captain to an eventful dinner party and boom; there's your climax, all in about 30 pages. The resolution? I'm not sure. Sabin may respect Ilisidi a bit more, but even that is shaky.
Mind you, I love these books. The culture, the translations, the attempts to explain one set of customs to the owners of another...no one does it better. But you've got to call a spade a spade and there's not a lot of meat here.
The second, and more objectionable, observation is that Cherryh isn't very nice to her human villians. They tend to be stubborn, paranoid, rude and stupid. And Obstinant, because "stubborn" just can't cover it alone. It's as if the very idea of "opposing viewpoint" refuses to penetrate their skulls. They're all morons, more to the point, they're all the same moron and I wish Cherryh would give them a bit more intelligence and individuality, rather than using them merely to highlight how very reasonable and equitable Bren's goals are. The rudeness and bluntness of the "I Hate Bren" club just seems too overblown.
