Serpent's Reach

Rating:
Summary: Great story, leaves you wanting a prequel
Review: This is one of my favorite books. I great story-line with incredible characters. So much is left unsaid about the history of Serpent's Reach that it just begs for a prequel to flesh out the arrival, the formation of the Beta society, and how/why the jewels bonded to the skin.

I must-read for anyone enjoying the manipulative side of human nature.

Rating:
Summary: Complex, intricate and enthralling
Review: This novel is in my "permanent" connection. Serpeant's Reach is a powerful story of betrayal, revenge and survival told by a master writer. The society she creates is rich, detailed and alien, but still recognizably human.

Raen is the sole survivor of the betrayal and extermination of her entire extended family. She maneuvers her revenge with the aid of a non-human species, the Majat. After the ensuing chaos she is allowed autonomy within the confines of powerful, near-immortal, multiplanet aristocracy whose main interests are alliances and assassinations. She becomes an expert survivor, evading assassins and trying to prevent the destruction of the Majat-Kontrin peace. This is a great story.

Rating:
Summary: Complex, intricate and enthralling
Review: This novel is in my "permanent" connection. Serpeant's Reach is a powerful story of betrayal, revenge and survival told by a master writer. The society she creates is rich, detailed and alien, but still recognizably human.

Raen is the sole survivor of the betrayal and extermination of her entire extended family. She maneuvers her revenge with the aid of a non-human species, the Majat. After the ensuing chaos she is allowed autonomy within the confines of powerful, near-immortal, multiplanet aristocracy whose main interests are alliances and assassinations. She becomes an expert survivor, evading assassins and trying to prevent the destruction of the Majat-Kontrin peace. This is a great story.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing World and Culture Building!
Review: What would a world be like if Ants were the evolved creatures?
What would their cultures be like? What would their values be? How could they interact with Humans? You will never look at a trail of Ants the same way again! What would happen if Humans could live for hundreds of years, how wealthy and powerful could they become?
These are the introductery concepts of this amazing story that explores betrayal, revenge, isolation in a new and fascinating way. This short book is plenty to work over for anyone. I just wish that Ms. Cherryh could manage to come back to this story some time and explore more of this fascinating tale.