Serpent's Reach

A science fiction written by Carolyn Janice Cherryh in 1980
Reviewed edition by DAW from 1980
A paperback has 290 pages
ISBN 0-88677-088-2

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The novel takes place in the constellation of Hydri, probably a short time after the Company Wars. The star system is inhabited by majat - intelligent beings, whose unique biochemistry allows to produce goods treasured by the Alliance. Unfortunately, majat refuse contact with humans except for a single human family, Kontrins, whose members were genetically augmented by majat to overcome some of the differences between the two species.

The unique ability to deal with majat makes Kontrins virtually omnipotent rulers of the star system, with power over everything from population growth to export quotas. Bloody family feuds appear over these issues, some perhaps fuelled by the Alliance, hungry for more exports from the star system. Lately, majat take part in the feuds for reasons of their own, incomprehensible to humans.

In a particularly bloody feud, a Sul sept of the Kontrin family is wiped out except for its youngest member, Raen, by then only fifteen. Mindlessly pursuing her vendetta, Raen convinces a majat hive to engage her enemies. The attack is misjudged and ends a failure, Raen being evicted from her home planet and worse, shunned by majat ...

Review

Reading my short synopsis of the book, I realize I made it sound like a scenario of one of those cheap kung-fu movies (you know, the "family murdered, survivor learns secret art, survivor kicks ass" kind). Well, the skelet is there all right, but to take it as a description of the book would be misleading indeed.

For an intellectual type, the book touches on some very deep issues, such as the question of genetic superiority and the fate of genetically engineered humans (in case you are interested, this note is played out in full in Cyteen), or the issue of understanding an alien society (perfected in the Atevi series). To my delight, Cherryh does not stop to moralize on these issues. One also gets politics aplenty, although some of the implications are sketchy (perhaps it's because of the book's size, then again I might just be dumb :-).

The storytelling itself is very good (somehow I came to expect this of Cherryh), with a characteristic style describing thoughts and deeds rather than things and places. Humor is scarce but not missing altogether, more of an artist's touch to the scene than an essential component. Overall an enjoyable read, a good book on my scale.

Rated as good by Ceres on 1998-09-14

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