The Chanur novels

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The Chanur Saga omnibus (DAW Books, paperback edition, 2000); Cover art by Michael Whelan.

The Chanur novels is a series of five science fiction novels (forming three separate stories) written by science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh and published by DAW Books between 1981 and 1992. The first novel in the series is The Pride of Chanur (1981), which was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1983. This was followed by the Chanur's Venture trilogy, Chanur's Venture (1984), The Kif Strike Back (1985) and Chanur's Homecoming (1986), and a later sequel, Chanur's Legacy (1992). The first three novels were also published in an omnibus edition, The Chanur Saga in 2000. The next two novels are scheduled for publication in a second omnibus edition, Chanur's Endgame in June 2007. ^[1]

An abridged version of The Pride of Chanur was published in the Science Fiction Digest in 1983.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] The Compact

The series is set in the same Alliance-Union universe of Downbelow Station, but in a region of space in the opposite direction from Earth as the Alliance and Union. It is occupied by a number of spacefaring civilizations bound by a set of trade treaties into a so-called Compact. The Compact is not a political organization, and has no government; it regulates only the open trade and accessibility of space stations to all civilizations, leaving them to resolve their conflicts and politics between themselves.

Human space borders kif and knnn territory, the most aggressive and enigmatic species of the Compact. First contact ensues when an ambitious kif hakkikt (prince) captures a human exploration ship. The last surviving crew member, Tully, escapes while the kif ship is docked at a station and winds up on The Pride of Chanur, a Hani merchant vessel commanded by Pyanfar Chanur. This triggers the events of the first novel in the series and its three-part sequel.

The books are written as unusually realistic space opera, with much less ship-to-ship shooting than coercion, manipulation, politics, pride contests and clashing economic interests interspersed with species-to-species miscommunication and misunderstanding.

The realistic handling of linguistic and psychological barriers is one of the stronger aspects of the books (especially compared to the genre as a whole). The character development is another, which is also closely connected to the inter-species relations. As the (usually involuntary) exposure of the characters to different cultures goes on, they are pushed to probe other ways of thinking - and together with constant pressure of both economical and immediate hazard that drives them to opening new levels of themselves. Even the "enemy" side is quickly brought from the level of incomprehensible faceless danger into viewing them as formidable yet admirable opponent. The books are a metaphor of breaking mental barriers, finding oneself in adversity, and growing above petty interests towards global strategies and greatness.

[edit] The species forming the Compact

[edit] Oxygen-breathers

[edit] Hani

Hani, feline-like species, maned, bearded, usually of red or tawny fur. Females are smaller than humans, males much larger (for much the same reason as Earth lions). They were discovered by the mahendo'sat and helped into space; most of their technology is therefore derived from the mahen.

They live in autonomous clans, each consisting of related females, children, and a single male, the clan lord. A male takes over a clan by defeating the previous lord in personal combat. Most males aren't that lucky. Male offspring are thrown out their clan when they become strong enough to pose a threat to the lord. They live in exile among others like them, honing their fighting skills and waiting for the opportunity to challenge for a clan. Females do all the work. For this reason and because males are stereotyped as being emotionally unstable, only females go into space (until Pyanfar Chanur changes the rules).

Clans are united into amphictionies for control of scarce resources; the biggest one is their homeworld itself, governed by a mahen-inspired council of clans called the han. Hani politics are tradition-bound, based on such concepts as allegiance, honor, blood feud and parole.

One of the hani languages became the basis for the Compact's pidgin, because it was grammatically and phonetically easy for other species (but not as easy for humans.) Homeworld: Anuurn.

[edit] Mahendo'sat

Mahendo'sat (singular mahe), black or brown primate-like creatures, human-size, very curious and political. The Mahendo'sat political system is based on the concept of Personage, a charismatic figure with a lot of social credit; a Personage's power is determined by the number of its followers, but a supporter can either weaken or strengthen its Personage, depending on whether its actions in its Personage's name prove to be beneficial or not. To an outsider, this can (and frequently does) look like a Personage's mahen agents are promoting mutually contradictory policies at the same time. Mahendo'sat are idiosyncratically bad at learning other species' languages--many of them can't even master the pidgin used by Compact spacers--although they are quite eloquent in their own numerous languages. Mahendo'sat are the "glue" of the Compact, always trying to maintain the balance of power so peace can be kept and no species dominates. They are in constant search of new powers, recently including humans. Homeworld: Iji.

[edit] Stsho

Stsho, minute, fragile, crested white beings (even their eyes are pearly white), xenophobic and non-aggressive. Stsho rely on wealth, trade, and alliances to keep their independence; they have devised the trade and legal procedures of the Compact. They prefer delicate pleasures and pastel colors, their speech is exceedingly ceremonial and politically correct; they do not fight themselves and their personalities are prone to change ("Phase") under stress, which has many legal implications. They have three sexes, gtst, gtste and gtsto, which can change with Phasing. Only the gtst (indeterminate sex) deal with other species; the gtste and gtsto (equivalent of male and female) do not normally present themselves to foreigners. They permit no other oxygen-breathing species in their territory. Homeworld: Llyene.

[edit] Kif

Kif, bare-skinned, ash-black, long-snouted bipedal hunters. They are the tallest species in the Compact, slender, fast and deadly. They are strictly predators, requiring live prey; they have twin set of teeth, outer for biting and inner for chewing, and retractable claws.

Their social and political [dis]organization revolves about a quality called sfik, which combines face, authority, and ferociousness. Sfik is gained through victory in combat, or possession of something of value, or just the respect of others: followers with strong sfik give more sfik to their leader. A kif that loses sfik is likely to have its followers either defect or kill it. As a result, the kif are prone to change sides at the first sign of weakness. They seem to have no other moral values; they are pirates and cannibals, and are generally deemed troublesome by the other species.

Occasionally, a strong leader gains enough sfik to command a whole fleet of ships; such a one is called a hakkikt (prince) and are considered to be major annoyances by the mahendo'sat, who view hakkiktun as serious destabilizing factors. Very rarely, an ambitious and powerful hakkikt will aspire to become the mekt-hakkikt (supreme prince), the leader of all the Kif. This is a feat no Kif had ever managed. One such individual coerces Pyanfar Chanur into becoming its subordinate. When it threatens to become a danger to the hani, she overthrows it and becomes (to everybody's surprise) the mekt-hakkikt herself. Kif are very linguistically adept and adaptable. Homeworld: Akkht.

[edit] Methane-breathers

[edit] Tc'a and Chi

Tc'a, methane-breathing yellow five-eyed snakelike beings, and chi, yellow arthropod-like creatures, which are related in a way none of oxygen breathers understand (presumably symbiotic). They are very technologically advanced and powerful; understanding them is tricky at best though, since their brains are multi-part and their speech decodes as complex matrices of intertwined meanings. They run the methane side of most space stations.

[edit] Knnn

Knnn, the third methane breathing species, multi-legged tangles of wiry black hair, the most technologically advanced in the Compact: unlike others, they can maneuver in hyperspace and carry other ships with them. Only tc'a can communicate with them (or claim they can); the knnn are incomprehensible and therefore deemed dangerous by the other species, not to be provoked. They trade by snatching whatever they want and leaving whatever they deem sufficient as payment behind; it is an improvement over their prior habit of just taking trader ships apart.

[edit] The technology of the Compact

There are three main kinds of space ships in Compact's employ: surface-to-orbit shuttles, miners, and jump ships. The first and the second use only reaction engines for propulsion; shuttles can land on planets while miners and jump ships need space stations to dock. Only the jump ships can cross interstellar distances by using jump drive. They are also the fastest in-system transports because they can move at sub-light speeds without entering a jump. Most of these are traders and freighters; some are heavily armed hunter-ships. The Compact ships do not enter hyperspace proper; they aim at a star and "glide" along the so-called interface between space and hyperspace until the mass at the other end of the jump goal makes them drop out. They exit at light speed and must dump it with help of the same jump engine; a ship failing to do so is doomed, and usually a high hazard. There is a limit on maximum jump distance, depending on the ship's drive power and mass; a ship overstretching a jump may "fade", never exiting it. A jump takes several weeks of objective time. Subjectively it can take hours or even several days; this tends to exhaust the body, and the crews need to take rest between jumps. Hani and mahendo'sat stay marginally conscious during jump, but unable to act; usually, they dream. Stsho must drug themselves unconscious to survive jump. Humans can survive it undrugged, but it is a terrible experience to them. No one knows what the other species feel during it, though it is hinted that Kif maintain more of their faculties than Hani during jump.

Ships and space stations communicate by radio, which poses time-lag difficulties. To alleviate them somewhat, heavily trafficked systems usually keep buoys near the jump exit points that serve incoming ships with system-wide scan and traffic information, and also mail.

The space stations are universally built as huge doughnuts, the spin maintaining a sort of artificial gravity (the Compact has no other technology that can do it). This poses a difficulty when docking, as the ship must precisely coincide with the quickly rotating station wheel to grapple. When docked, two sets of grapples, its own and the station's, hold it in place and in mutual clinch: a ship can undock forcibly, but that is bound to damage the station and is a criminal offense. The tankers and miners dock at the central hub for materials transfer. Dockside transport is mostly electric carts and trucks of all sizes, but many people just go into docks on foot.

Different species build ships in different fashions; the methane-breather ships seem haphazardly constructed to the oxygen breathers. All jump ships have vanes, constructed of modular panels, which form the "hyperspace bubble" needed to cross the interface. For example, The Pride of Chanur begins with the dock grapples at the prow; then follows the habitat with the caroussel which rotates during inertial flight to provide gravity. The bridge is also located there. Then come the pressurized and "cold" holds with beds for cargo canisters, loading machinery and a separate cargo access hatch; then the jump drive assembly with three vanes on support columns, with wire struts; and finally, the main-engine for ballistic flight. Hunter ships have less cargo space and more weaponry and crew accommodation, and often have detachable holds.

Weapons include lasers and missile batteries for the ship; personal armaments include small beam weapons and kinetic "AP guns", and also blades. Hani and especially kif also have sharp retractile claws, and teeth. The Mahendo'sat have tough, non-retractable claws, which are often used for utilitarian purposes, but using these in a fight is seen as a sign of madness in their culture.

[edit] Plot summaries

[edit] The Pride of Chanur

The peace and economic stability of the Compact is threatened when an Outsider, a human named Tully, makes his appearance on Meetpoint Station. A fugitive from the kif, Tully seeks refuge on a hani ship, The Pride of Chanur, captained by Pyanfar Chanur. Pyanfar's refusal to surrender Tully to the kif angers them and they "declare war" on the hani. The kif had found Tully's ship in their space and captured it. They forced the humans to make translator tapes so the kif could communicate with them, but they refused. Tully was the only survivor. Aboard The Pride Tully makes a translator tape for the hani, who trade it with the mahendo'sat in exchange for protection from the kif. The kif chase The Pride back to the hani homeworld, but the mahendo'sat intervene and the unpredictable knnn drive the kif away. The knnn also transport a human ship they had found, the Ulysses, into hani space, and Tully is reunited with his kin.

[edit] Main characters

Pyanfar Chanur (hani) – captain of The Pride of Chanur
Tully (human) – fugitive from the kif and crewmember of The Pride of Chanur
Ana Ismehanan-min a.k.a Goldtooth (mahendo'sat) – captain of Mahijiru
Akukkakk (kif) – hakkikt and captain of Hinukku

[edit] Chanur's Venture / The Kif Strike Back / Chanur's Homecoming

Two years after the events of The Pride of Chanur, Pyanfar Chanur returns to Meetpoint Station with The Pride to find Goldtooth and Tully. Goldtooth persuades Pyanfar to take Tully with her and head for mahen space as the kif are hunting Tully. The mahendo'sat brought Tully from human space and are paving the way for a fleet of human ships to open up trade with the Compact. But the kif and the stsho don't want a human presence for fear of losing their statuses in the Compact. The kif are themselves involved in a power struggle: Akkhtimakt and Sikkukkut, two hakkikts are vying for the position of mekt-hakkikt. Sikkukkut draws a reluctant Pyanfar into the feud, and her association with the kif put her at odds with the han. The kif conflict spills over into hani space, threatening the hani homeworld, but Goldtooth and the human fleet arrive and the two hakkikts are defeated. A small delegation of Compact ships return with the human ships to human space to investigate trade. Pyanfar offers Tully the opportunity to return with the human ships, but he elects to remain on The Pride.

[edit] Main characters

Pyanfar Chanur (hani) – captain of The Pride of Chanur
Khym Chanur (hani) – Pyanfar's husband and crewmember of The Pride of Chanur
Tully (human) – crewmember of The Pride of Chanur
Ana Ismehanan-min a.k.a Goldtooth (mahendo'sat) – captain of Mahijiru
Keia Nomesteturjai a.k.a. Jik (mahendo'sat) – captain of Aia Jin
Akkhtimakt (kif) – hakkikt and captain of Kahakt
Sikkukkut (kif) – hakkikt and captain of Harukk
Stle-stles-stlen (stsho) – stationmaster of Meetpoint Station

[edit] Chanur's Legacy

The Compact is at Peace, thanks to a Treaty brokered by Pyanfar Chanur, elevating her to the position of President of Compact Space. Eight years later, Hilfy Chanur, Pyanfar's niece, former crew member of The Pride of Chanur and captain of her own ship, Chanur's Legacy arrives at Meetpoint Station. There she is offered a contract by No'shto-shti-stlen, the stsho stationmaster, worth a million credits to deliver a precious oji to the stsho ambassador at Urtur Station, Atli-lyen-tlas. Hilfy, unaware of trouble ahead, accepts the contract and takes aboard the oji and its stsho guardian. Legacy's ordeal begins when they can't find Atli-lyen-tlas. A mahen faction, driven by the Momentum, a mystical force, wants the oji and is hunting for the stsho ambassador. Vikktakkht, a kif hakkikt, rescues Atli-lyen-tlas and "shelters" gtst in kif space, persuading Hilfy to come and fetch gtst. Hilfy rescues Atli-lyen-tlas, but discovers that gtst, due to the stress of gtst's ordeal and old age, has become gtsta, or neuter, and cannot accept the oji, which is a marriage proposal from No'shto-shti-stlen. With the help of Vikktakkht, Hilfy returns to Meetpoint, now under the control of the mahen faction and frees No'shto-shti-stlen, presenting gtst with Atli-lyen-tlas and the oji. The mahendo'sat are ousted from Meetpoint and control is returned to the stsho.

[edit] Main characters

Hilfy Chanur (hani) – Pyanfar Chanur's niece and captain of Chanur's Legacy
Hallan Meras (hani) – abandoned young male taken on by Chanur's Legacy
Tahaisimandi Ana-kehnandian a.k.a Haisi (mahendo'sat) – pilot of Ha'domaren
No'shto-shti-stlen (stsho) – stationmaster of Meetpoint Station
Tlisi-tlas-tin (stsho) – stsho aide and guardian of the oji aboard Chanur's Legacy
Atli-lyen-tlas (stsho) – stsho ambassador to Urtur and receipient of the oji
Vikktakkht an Nikkatu (kif) – hakkikt and captain of Tiraskhi

[edit] Cover art

The Pride of Chanur (DAW Books, paperback edition, 1982); cover art by Michael Whelan	Chanur's Venture (Book Club edition, 1985); Cover art by Michael Whelan	The Kif Strike Back (DAW Books, paperback edition, 1991); cover art by David A. Cherry	Chanur's Homecoming (DAW Books, paperback edition, 1991); cover art by Michael Whelan
Chanur's Legacy (DAW Books, paperback edition, 1993); cover art by Michael Whelan	The Chanur Saga omnibus (DAW Books, paperback, 2000); cover art by Michael Whelan	Chanur's Endgame omnibus (DAW Books, paperback, June 2007); cover art by Michael Whelan ^[1]