A review by katmarhan
The Betrayal by C.J. Cherryh
4.0
8/10
Like many of Cherryh’s books, this is a little dense and hard to get into at first. The politics of Union, and Cyteen in particular, are not easy to grasp but play an important role in the story. But the author crafts a compelling tale of power and loyalty in a world peopled by “born men” or CITs (citizens) and Azi, genetically-created humans who are classed by their gene-sets and deep-tape subliminal and instructional training.
[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] was originally published as a trilogy, and [b:The Betrayal|57061|The Betrayal (Cyteen, #1)|C.J. Cherryh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407177836l/57061._SY75_.jpg|8754593] is the first book. Cyteen was later released as one book, and given the ending of The Betrayal, I can see why. The end isn’t an end at all. Time to read on...
Side note: there are references to another of [a:C.J. Cherryh|989968|C.J. Cherryh|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244675150p2/989968.jpg]’s books in this universe, [b:Forty Thousand in Gehenna|57148|Forty Thousand in Gehenna (Unionside, #1)|C.J. Cherryh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440848230l/57148._SY75_.jpg|1185217], as well as events chronicled in other books of the Company Wars and more. It’s quite a universe she has created!
Like many of Cherryh’s books, this is a little dense and hard to get into at first. The politics of Union, and Cyteen in particular, are not easy to grasp but play an important role in the story. But the author crafts a compelling tale of power and loyalty in a world peopled by “born men” or CITs (citizens) and Azi, genetically-created humans who are classed by their gene-sets and deep-tape subliminal and instructional training.
[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] was originally published as a trilogy, and [b:The Betrayal|57061|The Betrayal (Cyteen, #1)|C.J. Cherryh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407177836l/57061._SY75_.jpg|8754593] is the first book. Cyteen was later released as one book, and given the ending of The Betrayal, I can see why. The end isn’t an end at all. Time to read on...
Side note: there are references to another of [a:C.J. Cherryh|989968|C.J. Cherryh|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1244675150p2/989968.jpg]’s books in this universe, [b:Forty Thousand in Gehenna|57148|Forty Thousand in Gehenna (Unionside, #1)|C.J. Cherryh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440848230l/57148._SY75_.jpg|1185217], as well as events chronicled in other books of the Company Wars and more. It’s quite a universe she has created!