So at first I thought I was gonna give this book 4.5 stars rounded up. It spent about the first 150 or so pages filling in the events of a 6 month time jump and dropping a lot of exposition and new alien names and factions that were needed for the plot moving forward. Not a terrible section but definitely not the greatest, and massive info dumps can be difficult even for folks like me who kinda enjoy them. Once that was out of the way though the incredible strengths of this series (character writing, dialogue, incredibly well written alien/human relations, and diplomatic problem solving) shine through as strong as ever. So, 4.5 stars rounded up.

Then in the last 5 or so chapters a huge bombshell was dropped that completely changes the series moving forward. I expected to look forward to reading the next trilogy in this series in a passive sort of way, but now I’m super hype and can’t wait. A complete 5/5 stars, this series is amazing and I’m so excited for to read the next one.

Wow! I loved 'Inheritor'! Unfortunately, it is book three in C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series, which is turning out to be a series so linked in plots - in, fact, as linked as if they were actually one book - there is no way to describe the plot of the book without destroying the pleasure of reading the series. It is better advice to say start here: [b:Foreigner|57043|Foreigner (Foreigner, #1)|C.J. Cherryh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386924617s/57043.jpg|1592031].

I can further advise the series is an acquired taste - it either appeals or it doesn't. It will be loved best, if it is loved, first by political thriller junkies who also like science fiction and complex intricate plots. There are too many characters (I wish there had been a list of characters and their family associations). The science fiction aspect is only a stage and, so far, a backstory, which the author has used to imagine what interactions very different first-contact races with different loyalties and similar ambitions would do.

Humans are the foreigners in this series, and it is humans who are disrupting and wrecking an entire planet's cultural norms. The humans' starship arrived at the planet of the Atevis five centuries earlier, and a portion of the starship's humans landed on the planet as refugees. All of the humans had become lost in space and they are desperate for a home and resources to live, much the same situation as current events, just like - dare I say it? Need I say it? Ok, then.

A splendid ending to the first trilogy of the Foreigner series.

I had a harder time keeping up with the political intrigue in this one, but the conclusion is bangin' and Bren-ji continues to be a champ. Can't wait to dive into the next sub-trilogy!