[email removed] said:
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 93 09:04:22 GMT
Subject: Re: Books, Loren Wiseman and skills
Hi,
Hope this isn't repeating anything anyone's already said about Traveller-
like books, but if you want a series with an interesting view of FTL drives
and the definitive role-model for playing Aslans, I would heartily recommend
the C. J. Cherryh 'Chanur' series. The first book can be read on its own, the
latter three (which, without popping home to check, I believe were: Chanur's
Venture, Revenge of the Kif, Chanur's Homecoming) are a trilogy which need to
be read as such. They are written from the viewpoint of an Aslan who doesn't
understand her point in the plot, and hence may initially appear a little
confusing. You pick up a lot more information on the second read :)
Other Cherryh books, e.g. Downbelow Station are also quite good; there's one
which I forget the name of, which is about freelance Belters and their fight
against the big Corps and the govt. All useful stuff.
The Chanur books also have some interesting considerations WRT the effects of
travelling close to the speed of light; the resulting combat tactics, etc.
Also, the male/female Aslan split in the Chanur books puts one in the correct
mentality to accept the limitations on Aslan male/female responsibilities in
Traveller.
**************
Since I really like her books, especially the Chanur series, I feel I have
to say something here, especially in light of the errors presented.
The Chanur books are listed blow as well as her other books that are
science fiction:
(Titles of books are in all caps, each section has headings :
The Company Wars
DOWNBELOW STATION
HEAVY TIME
HELLBURNER
The Era of Rapprochement
SERPENT'S REACH
FORTY THOUSAND IN GEHENNA
MERCHANTER'S LUCK
The Chanur Novels
THE PRIDE OF CHANUR
CHANUR'S VENTURE
THE KIF STRIKE BACK
CHANUR'S HOMECOMING
CHANUR'S LEGACY
The Mri Wars
THE FADED SUN: KESRITH
THE FADED SUN: SHON'JIR
THE FADED SUN: KUTATH
Merovingen Nights (Mri Wars period)
ANGEL WITH THE SWORD
Merovingen Nights-Anthologies
FESTIVAL MOON (#1)
FEVER SEASON (#2)
TROUBLED WATERS (#3)
SMUGGLER'S GOLD (#4)
DIVINE RIGHT (#5)
FLOOD TIDE (#6)
ENDGAME (#7)
The Age of Exploration
CUCKOO'S EGG
VOYAGER IN NIGHT
PORT ETERNITY
The Hanan Rebellion
BROTHERS OF EARTH
HUNTER OF WORLDS
The sophonts that Lilly describe as Aslan are called hani in Ms. Cherryh's
books. The are not Aslan. The similarities to Aslan include the fact that
each political group is composed of an extended family, led by a male
leader. The leader resides on the home planet where he rules an area of
land with the absolute power of a dictator. The sophonts ARE Leonine. Of
particular note is that the hani were given the technology for starships by
another race who introduced them into the interstellar schene of things as
an ally against a third race. This is similar to the fact that the Aslan
did not develop their jump drive but copied it from the wreckage of a
humaniti vessel.
The differences to Aslan far outweigh the similarities. The males are only
allowed to hold a certain number of jobs. Other than leading the family
they can be scientists, lawyers, or artists. Females do all the labor that
their economy relies upon. The females crew the starships, they run the
day to day operations of the family compound. The leader must also rely on
the support of his females if he plans to continue to hold the power in the
family holding. The leader is either deposed by an usurper or killed by
the usurper. The females can prevent this by preventing the usurper from
challenging the male.
Males are considered too unstable, too tempermental, and too aggressive to
do anything else. When a male gets of age they are sent out of the family
compound to fend for themselves in the wilderness. If they survive battles
with other males and living in the wilderness, then they may be able to
eventually overthrow a male head of household. That is their ONLY hope of
being a contributing member of their society. They are not allowed on
starships for fear that their temperment would endanger the lives of the
crew.
The aliens that the hani deal with include three other oxygen breathing
species and three methane breathing species. The first book deals with the
problem of a lone human who ends up on a hani ship. It is from the point
of few of a hani who does not want to be pawn of alien politics. The next
three books deal with the return of the human to the aliens and his
involvement with the hani ship from the first book. The first four books
also deal with the introduction of a male onto the hani ships, and the
political, and psychological problems this causes. The fifth book deals
with the one of the characters from the first four, as she is now the
captain of her own ship.
These books are extremely well written. Chanur's Homecoming nearly won the
Hugo award, but was beaten by Ender's Game. Downbelow Station and Cyteen
each won the Hugo, and take place in the same science fiction universe.
However, they do not involve the aliens.
The books offer an extremely good view of a merchant operation, and
especially how one could run such an adventure and make it interesting in a
Traveller setting. My own campaign is currently based on a situation
similar to that presented in Cherryh's books. The players are running a
large merchant company, (five very large freighters), as well as personally
running a exploration vessel. The exploration vessel is being used to
explore the new market in the alien space. I have heard comments that
merchant campaigns are boring and go slow, but I suppose people think there
is just the object of buying low and selling high.
The system is a mixture
of 2300AD and Albedo. Influences are from Traveller as well as the
numerous science fiction books I have read.
And so in this light, how many people out there run merchant campaigns,
or play in them? What is your opinion of merchant campaigns? Are they fun?
Steven B. Fellows
[email removed]