Customer Reviews
Downbelow Station - By: Anonymous, 29 Jan 2007 
I have just reread this book after a gap of 20 years,and I've really enjoyed it. Together with Merchanters Luck,it has made me want to read more novels setin the same Union/Alliance Universe- difficult to find a list out of the many C.J.Cherryh entries on this site.
I like the way the characters are drawn, one really cares what happens to them,the men & women characters are describedin a humanistic & understanding way without stereotypes. The story is gripping, with unexpected turns. The parallels with colonies seeking independence is interesting,I thought,and I don't see how a writer would make cheap comparison with Capitalism v. Communism at the same time evoking these American Indepedence parallels as has been suggested elsewhere
A great book, with some nice ideas. - By: Simon Weston, 28 Dec 2003 
I think this is the first of Cherryh's 'Alliance-Union Universe' books that I read. I liked it so much, I went out & bought a whole load more of them, & have now read, & own, most of them.
So I'm a bit biased, as I'd probably read a shopping list if Cherryh wrote it. And who knows, I might even end up paying for it, so please don't tell her...
As with some of Cherryh's best books, things do get a little depressing for the main characters, & the reader. Which shows that you actually do care what happens to them.
Not all the concepts are defined as they appearin later books, & this book has a limited viewpoint. But that's the advantage of creating your own Universe, & writing several booksin it. Otherwise, every SF book would be as long as 'Lord of the Rings', & we'd have no trees left.
It's got some nice ideas, & some good charactersin it. As well as several plot twists that seem natural, & keep you interested. Cherryh does have a tendency to just dump youin a situation & expect you to understand it, so a bit of science, & some SF basics helps, but the story keeps on moving, & I don't think this is too crucial.
The best thing about the book (and Cherry's workin general), is that it doesn't simply boil down to good versus evil, but is a bit more real than that. The characters face unfolding events, & make the choices they have to, as they come up. The book is internally consistent, & if you like it, there's a whole universe of books to explore afterwards.
Intricately plotted, with memorable characters. - By: , 27 Sep 2001 This is a Merchanters World novel, set on a space station under threat. The themes of kinship, interspecies relationships & survivalin strange land are all beautifully linkedin an absorbing novel that I have read again & again.
