The Faded Sun: Kutath

Wow! What a finish! This is the final third of the trilogy (don't even think of trying to read them out of order), and it's almost cinematic in the degree of slam-bang action the author includes to balance the sometimes lengthy psycho-sociological ruminations -- which are fascinating nonetheless. Kutath is the planet of the mri's origins before they went out into space as mercenaries, more than 100,000 years ago. Now, the last two survivors of that part that left have returned home and they're determined this time to have "a place to stand," the fears of humans and regul notwithstanding. And Duncan, fortunately for them, is a very large part of that. As in the first two sections, Cherryh shows us what each of the three species involved in this struggle look like from the viewpoint of each of the others, and this time the regul come up short in thinking they understand both humans and mri better than they actually do. A first-rate epic.

After countless generations of journeying, the Voyaging Mri, those of their people who went out have returned - the remanants all that is left of the thousands: Melein, she'pan of all the Mri, and Niun the last warrior of his planet Kesrith. Returned to Kutath, Mri homeworld, to the planet so ancient it is dying, the long gone & windstorms sweeping across the continents denying any mercy or respite. The dusei, great beasts empathic & occasionally bonded with Mri returned with these two survivors, and the dusei have found a natural habitat on Kutath... Having defeated the champion of the ja'anom and Melein accepted as Mother to the clan, Duncan has been sent as their emmissary to the human ships in orbit - ships who have already destroyed what little of civilisation remained on Kutath, swayed by the greedy & treacherous Regul. Tailed back, the Regul & human alliance (which followed the ship which sent Melein & Niun along with Duncan to Kutath) is badly shaken when Regul obliterate the warning beacon Duncan had set, calling for peace. Returning to treaty Duncan alerts the human command to this treachery & assasinates the Regul Elder responsible for the atrocity. The Regul linger on now only to eradicate the last of the Mri, fearing that that might and prowess which makes the Mri mighty warriors might now be turned against Regul races, and fearful that perhaps the Humans will enter into an alliance. Duncan has been returned with an answer of hope, but to travel half a world across a desert of sand is not the work of days. Half dying from the ardurous conditions and strain upon his human body, he returns to the Mri trailed by new disaster and precarious alliance in the space above planet. Even within the humans ship there is dissent and misdirection, while the Regul quicken to maturity making them capable of decision & action. In this amazing conclusion to the celebrated "Faded Sun" trilogy, Cherryh wraps up all, managing with deftness & skill to introduce even new characters who resonate with the reader. Drawing forth fears and hopes and a stirring hate of the Regul even whilst understanding their convoluted reasonings, the reader is immersed in the fabulous worlds of Kel, Mri, and brotherhood. References and comparisons to Samurai are ridiculous over-simplifications, for the Mri could as well be compared to the Hindu Indians, with their inward turning vision and disdain for outsiders. Even the Arabic nomads could have provided inspiration for the intricate and multi-layered aliens depicted by Cherryh in this series. With keen anticipation I awaited the delivery of this final book, and satisfaction & loss both occur as I close the last pages and dwell on the endings. It would give great pleasure to see this story extended beyond the original three books, and I believe there is a scope for it, but it's up to the author to provide it! Here's hoping! kotori [email protected]

Kutath, the final book in the "Faded Sun" series, picks up where the 2nd book, "Shon'jir," leaves off. In this book, Duncan has completed his journey towards the mri and Cherryh takes us towards a final resolution of the mri/human/regul relationship. The book is just as well-written and interesting as "Shon'jir." About the only negative I can come up with is the somewhat drawn-out initial tableau involving walking across the desert: it gets a bit tedious after a while. A very good book.

Kesrith Comes first, Shon'Jir second, Kuthath last When I saw the list, it was reversed

C.J. Cherryh envelops the reader in a tale of one culture's struggle for survival in the face of overwhelming odds, and does so in the context of a riveting narrative. Cherryh has created, in her science fiction, one of the most cohesive futures I have ever encountered; this novel deeply explores one ancient culture living in that future. In a time when so many cultures and ways of life are vanishing from the earth, this tale set on a distant world hits very close to home. When the Mri, a proud and noble race of warriors serving as mercenaries in exchange for a planet to call home, confront the human enemies of their employers, they encounter a method of warfare alien to their system of honor. No match for the Mri one to one, despite their similar physiology, the humans fight without honor, driving the Mri to extinction with superior numbers and firepower. Both the humans and the regul - former employers of the Mri whose trade disputes with humans sparked the war in which the Mri were slaughtered - see them as nothing more than professional warriors, the most dangerous killers in the galaxy. They take no prisoners, they have no fear of death, they keep the company of dangerous beasts. And yet there is a deep and powerful truth at the heart of Mri culture, hidden even to the warriors, who are the hand of contact with the outise world. True secrets of Mri culture have never been known to the outside, until one human being makes direct, personal contact. To understand their ways, he will have to become more Mri than human... --Phil MacEachron