A review by reasie
The Betrayal by C.J. Cherryh
4.0
GAH!
Least. Satisfying. Ending. Evah.
I have just checked Wikipedia, though, and learned that the three Cyteen books were originally one novel, split into a trilogy perhaps by profit-motivated publishers of the 80s, back when paperbacks were not as thick as cement blocks. In fact, I recall, back in The Golden Age of SF (defined as the speaker's 13th year, in my case 1986) science fiction books nearly always fit in your back jeans pocket.
I digress.
GAH!!!
So, I chose this book because, as a Cherryh fan, I always felt I was missing something by not having read the Union/Alliance universe FROM THE START. I'm very methodical sometimes. The opening nearly put me off. 20 pages - I kid thee not - of a frickin CONGRESSIONAL HEARING?? I didn't care who was trying maneuver whom into what. I didn't know who I was supposedly rooting for. I mean, this guy's a populist, but this gal is supporting space expansion, and we all know in SF that's the Ulitmate Good.
Also: I have decided, from here on out, never to read any segment of a book that claims to be an insert from some fictional publication in the universe. You wanna infodump me, sister, you gotta work for it.
That said... they then, after all that tediousness, got to the real story - which is a twisted, perverse little tale of people in close emotional relationships with abuse and emotional hurt and sacrificing for love! YAY!!! I can't get enough of it. I'm totally hooked. Already reading the next part. Regretting these pesky distractions like sleep and eating.
Spoiler below......
And I'm 100% convinced that Ari Emory faked her own death. OMG. No way was it Jordan. No. Fn. Way. And how was that for a plot twist? I was floored by her death. I, er, didn't read the cover text or anything on the flaps, like the "The death of a leading scientist..."
Least. Satisfying. Ending. Evah.
I have just checked Wikipedia, though, and learned that the three Cyteen books were originally one novel, split into a trilogy perhaps by profit-motivated publishers of the 80s, back when paperbacks were not as thick as cement blocks. In fact, I recall, back in The Golden Age of SF (defined as the speaker's 13th year, in my case 1986) science fiction books nearly always fit in your back jeans pocket.
I digress.
GAH!!!
So, I chose this book because, as a Cherryh fan, I always felt I was missing something by not having read the Union/Alliance universe FROM THE START. I'm very methodical sometimes. The opening nearly put me off. 20 pages - I kid thee not - of a frickin CONGRESSIONAL HEARING?? I didn't care who was trying maneuver whom into what. I didn't know who I was supposedly rooting for. I mean, this guy's a populist, but this gal is supporting space expansion, and we all know in SF that's the Ulitmate Good.
Also: I have decided, from here on out, never to read any segment of a book that claims to be an insert from some fictional publication in the universe. You wanna infodump me, sister, you gotta work for it.
That said... they then, after all that tediousness, got to the real story - which is a twisted, perverse little tale of people in close emotional relationships with abuse and emotional hurt and sacrificing for love! YAY!!! I can't get enough of it. I'm totally hooked. Already reading the next part. Regretting these pesky distractions like sleep and eating.
Spoiler below......
And I'm 100% convinced that Ari Emory faked her own death. OMG. No way was it Jordan. No. Fn. Way. And how was that for a plot twist? I was floored by her death. I, er, didn't read the cover text or anything on the flaps, like the "The death of a leading scientist..."