A review by oleksandr
Forty Thousand in Gehenna, by C.J. Cherryh
5.0
This is a novel set in Alliance-Union Universe. I read is as a part of monthly reading for June 2020 at SciFi and Fantasy Book Club group.
While this book is a part of the larger series, it can be read as a standalone, just like the other books in the series, e.g. [b:Cyteen|834518|Cyteen (Cyteen, #1-3)|C.J. Cherryh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316469389l/834518._SX50_.jpg|820134] or [b:Downbelow Station|57045|Downbelow Station (The Company Wars, #1)|C.J. Cherryh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388858297l/57045._SY75_.jpg|55573]. At the same time reading other books allows to see a broader scope, so it is definitely encouraged.
The story starts with quite usual SF trope – colonization of a new Earth like planet. However, x takes a number of unusual turns, which make this book unique.
Firstly, the majority of over 40000 colonists are azi ("Azi" is an acronym for "artificial zygote insemination". The azi are first developed by Union just prior to the "Company War" in the early twenty-fourth century. They are both genetically engineered and psychologically conditioned for specific occupations, such as soldiers or farmers. They are created to supplement the low human reproductive rate and bring a given settlement to self-sufficiency and economic viability.). Azi, due to the method of their “mass production” don’t grew up in families, but get both their education as socialization traits from tapes ("Tape" is a computer-controlled combination of conditioning and biofeedback training. This technology allows large-scale education, especially if pupils are genetically and psychologically similar, like azi.) One of the goals of the newly established colony is try to make ‘born-men’ from naturally born future generations of azi.
Secondly, there are lizard-like local species (from dog-sized to gargantuan), who built strange constructions from mud (this is considered an instinct activity even if the goal is unclear), named calibans. Initially the colony is exceptionally careful with local life, but as calibans start entering ‘colony space’ the situation worsens.
Even starting with these two promises and writing a story about people born on the planet vs ‘old-timers’ would have been enough for a lot of authors. However, Cherryh goes much wider in both time and space, she makes it a multigenerational saga, a first contact with extremely different but potentially understandable species, growth and fall of civilizations and ways of thinking.
The book has a wealth of ideas. I see a lot of comparisons to [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] but for me Cherryh writing style is weaker, less poetically flowing; she is dedicated to minimalism, a more sterile view from outside and incomplete suggestions. Her style fits the story, with its multiple POVs and excerpts from formal reports, etc.
While this book is a part of the larger series, it can be read as a standalone, just like the other books in the series, e.g. [b:Cyteen|834518|Cyteen (Cyteen, #1-3)|C.J. Cherryh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316469389l/834518._SX50_.jpg|820134] or [b:Downbelow Station|57045|Downbelow Station (The Company Wars, #1)|C.J. Cherryh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388858297l/57045._SY75_.jpg|55573]. At the same time reading other books allows to see a broader scope, so it is definitely encouraged.
The story starts with quite usual SF trope – colonization of a new Earth like planet. However, x takes a number of unusual turns, which make this book unique.
Firstly, the majority of over 40000 colonists are azi ("Azi" is an acronym for "artificial zygote insemination". The azi are first developed by Union just prior to the "Company War" in the early twenty-fourth century. They are both genetically engineered and psychologically conditioned for specific occupations, such as soldiers or farmers. They are created to supplement the low human reproductive rate and bring a given settlement to self-sufficiency and economic viability.). Azi, due to the method of their “mass production” don’t grew up in families, but get both their education as socialization traits from tapes ("Tape" is a computer-controlled combination of conditioning and biofeedback training. This technology allows large-scale education, especially if pupils are genetically and psychologically similar, like azi.) One of the goals of the newly established colony is try to make ‘born-men’ from naturally born future generations of azi.
Secondly, there are lizard-like local species (from dog-sized to gargantuan), who built strange constructions from mud (this is considered an instinct activity even if the goal is unclear), named calibans. Initially the colony is exceptionally careful with local life, but as calibans start entering ‘colony space’ the situation worsens.
Even starting with these two promises and writing a story about people born on the planet vs ‘old-timers’ would have been enough for a lot of authors. However, Cherryh goes much wider in both time and space, she makes it a multigenerational saga, a first contact with extremely different but potentially understandable species, growth and fall of civilizations and ways of thinking.
The book has a wealth of ideas. I see a lot of comparisons to [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] but for me Cherryh writing style is weaker, less poetically flowing; she is dedicated to minimalism, a more sterile view from outside and incomplete suggestions. Her style fits the story, with its multiple POVs and excerpts from formal reports, etc.