This woman is amazing! Seven standalone novels. Four collections of short stories. And no less than twenty series of novels, some of them comprising dozens of tales. Even her website impresses.

Cherryh’s works fit the fantasy and the science fiction genres. And those I have read (admittedly all too few) depict life from points of view not at all the norm for us ordinary earth humans.

For example, in Port Eternity, one of the books in the Age of Exploration series, the main character is not a standard human being, born and raised, but one created in a factory to serve a wealthy woman. The young servant’s views of life are tainted by the knowledge she will be “put down” when she reaches a certain age, according to law, and by the programming that has been imprinted into her mind to enable her to perform her function. But real human emotions surface in these manufactured minions, and the real emotions of their masters complicate their lives.

Add a space ship and weird spatial phenomena, and you have a science fiction tale that highlights our human needs and our ability to love even in imperfect circumstances.

Have you had a chance to explore the universe through C.J. Cherryh’s eyes?