Regenesis

I would say that Regenesis is not so much a sequel to Cyteen as a continuation. Maybe that's splitting hairs. But it takes up within about a month of when Cyteen leaves off, which engenders a slightly odd feeling in its readers, many of whom have been waiting two decades to read the thing. We're twenty years older, but Ari Emory is still eighteen.

What Cherryh seems to be most interested in is relationships. She has developed a fully-realized society - Cyteen, with born-humans and azi - and she takes a detailed look at the lives of a large handful of its inhabitants.

Ari's relationship with Florian and Catlin. Ari with Jordan. Ari with Yanni.

Justin with Grant. Justin with Ari--who admits, in a nice bit of low-key dialogue, that's she's been in love with him, like, forever.

Ari and Justin and Yanni with Giraud and Denys Nye, both now deceased.

Finally-- Justin with Jordan, who are more or less son and father; the evolution of this relationship constitutes a major thrust of the book. Cherryh has written before about a father and son--in Tripoint; and about a mother and a son--both in Tripoint and Finity's End. The author's family relationships are always fraught, and occasionally you want to take one of these characters and whap him upside the head, but it's grown-up stuff and all part of the fun.

I did miss--unavoidably--one of the charms of the first book, which was the description of Florian and Catlin growing up. And in fact, if I was to bemoan anything about the sequel, it's that--although Catlin is always around in the background--we hear very little specifically about her.

On the other hand, the character of Jordan Warrick--newly back from Planys; brilliant, drunk, and fighting mad--provides several great scenes, and a fair amount of humor.

The genius of Regenesis--as with the original novel--is that Cyteen is a real place. That's no small accomplishment. I don't remember any other future society that established itself so firmly in the imagination. Cyteen exists--now let's go see what's happening down in Reseune and Novgorod.

And let's hope that Cherryh has at least one more visit to the planet left in her.