Axler.UPenn%UDel-Relay@sri-unix.UUCP (05/26/83)
From: David Axler <Axler.UPenn@UDel-Relay>
Biographic info from the Nicholls' encyclopedia: "The spelling of her
name American writer and teacher Carolyn Janice Cherry (1942--) uses for her
fiction, beginning with her first novel, Gate of Ivrel (1976), an unusually
striking and sensitive heroic-fantasy quest story; a sequel is projected
[[It's actually a trilogy, and is available from the SFBookClub in a one-vol.
edition titled The Book of Morgaine]]. Her second novel, Brothers of Earth
(1976) epitomizes her considerable virtues as a writer of romantically
conceived but gravely paced adventures, in this case the deep conflict between
two humans stranded (during the course of a 1000-year war between their
widely spread factions) on a humanoid planet. The humanoid culture is
complexly envisioned, the two humans are rendered with some irony, and it is a
sign both of this writer's relative maturity and of the way the times have
changed that it is the destruction (rather than the use) of an ancient,
powerful cache of human weapons that is seen as redemptive. CJC has a BA
in Latin and an MA from Johns Hopkins in classics. Other works: Hunter of
Worlds (1977).
That's a bit out-of-date, so let me fill in some more from my own files.
At present, CJC has eighteen books out, almost all of which have been published
by DAW and/or the SFBookClub. Aside from those mentioned above, there is
the 'Faded Sun' trilogy, a fantasy entitled Ealdwold (available in a small-
press limited edition w/illustration by her brother, David Cherry, and as a
part of a recent DAW volume entitled The Dreamstone), a collection of linked
shorts titled Sunfall, and several recent novels all set in the same universe,
including Downbelow Station (last year's Hugo winner), Port Eternity, and
Merchanter's Luck.
To my mind, Cherryh's greatest skill is in depicting alien civilizations
as they are perceived (and, often, misunderstood) by human observers. In this,
she is occasionally reminiscent of Jack Vance, but without the latter's use of
all-human civilizations. This skill is best displayed in the 'Faded Sun'
books, in Brothers of Earth, and in her most recent books.
Overall, she's a good writer who, thanks to last year's award, is now
beginning to receive more attention from the reading public. If I remember
right, another new book, The Pride of Chanur, is up for a Hugo this year, and
has a reasonable chance of making it.
--Dave Axler