- Paperback: 688 pages
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd (1 Nov 1989)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0450500861
- ISBN-13: 978-0450500862
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.2 x 4.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 82,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
The story of Ariane Emory, who is a genius in genetics and the absolute ruler of Reseune, the bio-engineering labs that dominate Cyteen. After 50 years of rule, Emory is murdered, but not for long as the project to replicate her begins. The author's previous books include "Downbelow Station".
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It was from the air that the rawness of the land showed most: vast tracts where humanity had as yet made no difference, deserts unclaimed, stark as moons, scrag and woolwood thickets unexplored except by orbiting radar. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
It was from the air that the rawness of the land showed most: vast tracts where humanity had as yet made no difference, deserts unclaimed, stark as moons, scrag and woolwood thickets unexplored except by orbiting radar. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Cherryh is a patchy author, some of her books are real pot boiling dross, but Cyteen in quite different, and in it she rivals Ursula Le Guin as a social visionary and feminist Cassandra of change. This is one of the truly stunning entries in the Sci-Fi cannon. It does everything that great science fiction should. Firstly Cyteen challenges our preconceptions about the nature of humanity; secondly it inspires a sense of wonder; thirdly it mirrors a debate that is of significance to the here and now into the future and finally it does this while involving us in a story that is both tragic and finally triumphant.
The book is set on a distant world in the distant future where cloning has become a necessity and finally a wepon. Humans are produced in factories faster than they can be integrated into mainstream society and so their socialisation is left to machines. This produces a range of autistic savants that are then ruthlessly exploited by the normal humans, raised in families with familiar childhoods. The premise of the book is that a breakthrough occurs in which a scientist realises she can clone not only a genetic version of herself, but in addition her personality and genius.
Cyteen is fun to read and can be enjoyed at many levels. I think it is a deep and bitter book about how technology is changing what we are more than we can even understand, and as such it ranks right up there with the Left Hand of Darkeness as one of my all time favourites.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
C. J. Cherryh has been developing her universe of the Alliance/Union empires for quite some time through several books. Most of these are very good action novels with complicated plots and believable characters, but they typically do not have deep themes. Cyteen, however, is the centerpiece of this universe, with great, insightful looks at the ethics and methods of cloning, slavery, identity (what makes you you?), genetics versus environment, the art of politics, and an incredible look at the inner psychology of the gifted, super-intelligent. This book is not an easy read – it requires some effort and thought by the reader to understand the points presented, but the reader will be richly rewarded for his effort.
The prose style is very clipped, almost abbreviated, and does much to give the reader a sense of unstoppable, pell-mell action and high tension, but it does take some getting used to. Especially at the beginning of the book, where Cherryh drops the reader into this very complex and alien world with very little background explanation of the situation, the people, or the world, it is easy for the reader to become lost and confused. But if the reader will persevere, bit by bit he will find an envisioned world constructed in the best traditions of the field, fully as rich and satisfying as Tolkien’s Middle Earth or Herbert’s Dune, but with dark overtones reminiscent of Huxley’s Brave New World and the paranoid mind control of Orwell’s 1984.
The plot is a complex intertwining of power politics, intriguing scientific concepts, and the personal life histories of some very dynamic characters caught up in the Byzantine struggles for ultimate control of this world. And it is the characters that truly define and invigorate this story, fully realized, highly believable (a very difficult thing to achieve when these characters are super-geniuses), with real concerns and each with their own set of inner problems. Both the original Ari and the clone of her that we follow through most of the book are exceptional people, a refreshingly strong and different female lead compared to so many of the stereotypes that have littered the field of SF. Justin is also finely drawn, a good counterpoint to Ari, struggling with his own problems of personal identity and self-worth.
I have added only two books to my ‘Best of SF’ list in the last 15 years. This is one of them. Take the time and effort to read and understand this book and the many ethical/philosophical/psychological points that Cherry brings to the fore in the course of this novel, and you will find your time was well spent.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Ariane Emory is the director and chief scientist at Resune Labs on Cyteen, the heart of the Alliance cloning effort. In this future Humanity has spread to the stars but habitable planets are few and far between. Humanity lives on Orbital Stations and sparse habitable areas on a smattering of planets. The exigencies of war and survival have forced the Alliance to create clones for population and survival. Called Azi these clones are the responsibility of Resune Labs. An engrossing book set in the Authors' Merchanter-Alliance Universe. This concerns the rise to adulthood and authority of Parental Replicant Arianne Emory heir to Resune Labs on Cyteen. Created after her Originator's murder Ariane must attempt to make sense of the world around her, protect herself from potential enemies and try to live long enough to assume the mantle of power that is her destiny. Winner of the Hugo Award for 1988 this well deserves the award. A complex and believable society at the heart of her detailed world makes for a detailed slice of a possible future.
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