The Faded Sun trilogy is a series of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

set in the Alliance-Union universe of American writer

C. J. Cherryh Carolyn Janice Cherry (born September 1, 1942), better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award-winning novels '' Downbelo ...

. The series comprises the three novels ''The Faded Sun: Kesrith'' (1978), ''The Faded Sun: Shon'jir'' (1978), and ''The Faded Sun: Kutath'' (1979), published by DAW Books. They were re-published in as an omnibus edition in the UK in 1987 and in the U.S. in 2000. The series consists of some of the earliest of Cherryh's novels, featuring world-building and

extraterrestrial Extraterrestrial refers to any object or being beyond ( extra-) the planet Earth ( terrestrial). It is derived from the Latin words ''extra'' ("outside", "outwards") and ''terrestris'' ("earthly", "of or relating to the Earth"). It may be abbrevia ...

races. Both the mri and the regul fulfill

John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...

's dictum of "show me a creature that thinks as well as a man, or better, but not ''like'' a man." ''The Faded Sun: Kesrith'' was nominated for the Nebula Award in 1978 and the Hugo Award in 1979 and was shortlisted for the Locus Awards in 1979. In addition, the other two books in the trilogy were independently longlisted for the Locus Award.

Plot summary

The Faded Sun trilogy can be considered a

Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...

, since one of the major themes is the coming of age of Niun, the mri

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

. At the same time, it is a story of acculturation, as the human protagonist, Sten Duncan, lives among the mri to the point of becoming one of them. The Faded Sun trilogy is the principal account of the Mri Wars era of Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe. At the beginning of the first volume, the regul have just concluded a forty-year war with humanity. As part of the peace, they are ceding the desert world of Kesrith to humanity. However, they have neglected to inform its inhabitants, the mri, who have served them as mercenaries for over two thousand years. The Mri have been nearly exterminated in these wars, and young Niun is one of the few remaining warriors. When the regul seek to double-cross his people, he and his sister Melein, the last of the priestly Sen

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

, form an uneasy alliance with the human Sten Duncan to rescue a holy relic that may hold the key to the Mri's survival. The second volume opens with Niun and Melein captives of the human occupation force, kept alive by the human medicine they would refuse if they were not sedated. But the human command has a plan that may thwart the regul's attempted

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

of the Mri. They produce a navigation tape from the data in the holy relic that legend holds leads the way to the Mri homeworld and set Niun and Melein aboard the ship. Duncan comes with them to keep the ship running. Soon after they have left Kesrith, Melein lays down a mandate that nothing that is not mri can make the return to the ancient mri homeworld. As a result, Duncan must become Mri or die. With Niun as his teacher, Duncan learns the stern rules of the Mri warrior caste, the Kel. Retracing the voyages of the Mri takes years,

jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump St ...

after jump, giving Duncan time to become Mri. With each jump, they find evidence of previous Mri civilizations, each one destroyed, further and further back in time. Eventually, they realize that this is not the first time that the Mri have been almost exterminated; in fact, the entire Mri history has been made up of the Mri fighting as mercenaries for other races, then being turned upon once their usefulness has ended, as the race(s) employing the Mri did not wish the possibility that the Mri might go and work for their enemies and be used against their former employers. When the ship lands on Kutath, the ancient homeworld of the mri, the three find other mri, the tribes who remained. They also discover that humans and Regul have followed their ship, and the Regul have not forgotten their determination to commit genocide. After an unprovoked attack, Duncan goes back to the human ship and slays the Regul Elder. When the third volume begins, the regul are in a state of disarray as a result of the assassination. Duncan returns to the mri and joins them in seeking assistance from the Elee, the other surviving race of ancient Kutath. After a new Elder has risen among the regul, they renew their attack on the Mri. This time humanity acts to halt the genocide, breaking the cycle, and forming a new partnership with the Mri.

Characters

* Niun, a Mri Kel'en * Melein, his sister, a former Kel'e'en, now a Sen'e'en * Intel, a She'pan of the Mri * Eddan, Kel'anth of her edun * Sathell S'Delas, Sen-anth of her edun * George Stavros, human governor-to-be of Kesrith * Sten Duncan, his aide * Hulagh Alagn-ni, a Regul Elder of Doch Alagn * Hada Surag-gi, a Regul youngling

Cover artwork

The cover of the U.S. omnibus edition (pictured at top) re-uses the original cover art by

Michael Whelan Michael Whelan (born 29 June 1950) is an Americans, American artist of imaginative Realism (arts), realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Since the mid-1990s, he has ...

from the first paperback edition of ''Kutath'' (1980). The image is reversed in the omnibus edition, however, with the figures facing to the right instead of the left as in the original image.

Publication information

''The Faded Sun: Kesrith'' was originally published as a 4-part serial starting in February 1978 in ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...

'' (Volume 39, Nos 2-5) *Cherryh, C. J. ''The Faded Sun: Kesrith'', DAW Books, (1978). *Cherryh, C. J. ''The Faded Sun: Shon'jir'', DAW Books, (1978). *Cherryh, C. J. ''The Faded Sun: Kutath'', DAW Books, (1979). *Cherryh, C. J. ''The Faded Sun Trilogy'', (UK Omnibus), Methuen, (1987). *Cherryh, C. J. ''The Faded Sun Trilogy'', (US Omnibus), DAW Books, (2000).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faded Sun Trilogy Book series introduced in 1978 Science fiction book series by C. J. Cherryh Alliance–Union universe Military science fiction novels Novels about extraterrestrial life DAW Books books 1970s science fiction novels