Well, this book made me really cranky for about the first three-fourths of its length. I couldn't quite decide if I was angrier with the authority figures in the book, for failing to be sufficiently open-minded about potential forms of alien intelligence, or with the author, for subjecting me to yet another book about how Humans Are Bastards. That meme is growing rather old for me, though I suppose it might have been less done-to-death at the time, as the thing was written 25 years ago.
I really have bad luck with Cherryh, which is unfortunate. She's an author I want very much to like, but can't quite seem to get the knack of. On the other hand, this was an improvement over my disastrous attempt to read the Chanur books, which I found appallingly boring, though not because of the excessive alienness of the characters, which I understand is the failure mode for most people), so I'll count that as progress? I'll make another try or two at other books of hers we have here, and perhaps I'll finally get the right angle of approach to enjoy her work, the quality of which I can already see quite clearly but cannot quite come 'round to enjoying.
