The eighth novel in Cherryh's Foreigner space opera series, a
groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences...
Exhausted from a two-year rescue mission in space, the crew of the
starship Phoenix return home to find disaster: civil war has broken
out, the powerful Western Association has been overthrown, and
Tabini-aiji, its forceful leader, is missing. In a desperate move,
paidhi Bren Cameron and Tabini's grandmother Ilisidi, the
aiji-dowager, along with with Cajeiri, Tabini's eight-year-old heir,
make planetfall and succeed in reaching the mainland. The brilliant and
forceful Ilisidi seeks refuge at the estate of an old ally, and
Tabini-aiji arrives at the door.
As word of Tabini's whereabouts circulates, clans allied with Tabini
descend upon the estate, providing a huge civilian presence that
everyone involved hopes will deter impending attacks by the usurpers.
But as more and more supporting clans arrive, Bren finds himself
increasingly isolated, and it becomes clear that both his extremely
important report of alien contact in space, and even his life, rest on
the shoulders of only two allies: Ilisidi and Cajeiri.
Can one elderly ateva and and eight-year-old boy--himself a prime
target for assassination--protect Bren, a lone human involved in a civil
war that most atevi believe he caused?
The long-running Foreigner series can also be enjoyed by more casual
genre readers in sub-trilogy installments. Pretender is the 8th
Foreigner novel, and the 2nd book in the third subtrilogy.