The Faded Sun Trilogy
A trilogy of novels in Cherryh's Alliance–Union universe.
The Faded Sun trilogy is a science fiction series by American author C.J. Cherryh, taking place in her Alliance–Union universe. It consists of three novels: *The Faded Sun: Kesrith* (1978), *The Faded Sun: Shon'jir* (1978), and *The Faded Sun: Kutath* (1979), all originally from DAW Books. A combined omnibus edition came out in the UK in 1987 and in the US in 2000.
These are among Cherryh’s early works, known for their detailed world-building and multiple alien species. *Kesrith* was nominated for the Nebula Award in 1978, the Hugo Award in 1979, and made the shortlist for the Locus Awards that same year. The other two books each independently were finalists for the Locus Award.
The trilogy functions partly as a coming-of-age story for Niun, the mri protagonist, and partly as a story of cultural adaptation, as human Sten Duncan lives among the mri and eventually becomes one of them. It is the main account of the Mri Wars era in Cherryh’s universe. At the start, the regul have just ended a forty-year war with humanity and, as part of the peace, are giving humanity the desert world Kesrith—without telling its inhabitants, the mri, who have served the regul as mercenaries for over two thousand years.
The mri have been nearly wiped out in the wars, and young Niun is one of the few remaining warriors. When the regul try to betray his people, he and his sister Melein, the last of the priestly Sen caste, form a shaky alliance with human Sten Duncan to rescue a holy relic that may hold the key to mri survival. In the second book, Niun and Melein are captives of the human occupation force, kept alive by sedated human medicine. The human command, hoping to thwart the regul’s attempted genocide, uses data from the relic to produce a navigation data crystal said to lead to the mri homeworld. They put Niun and Melein on a ship, with Duncan along to run it. Shortly after leaving Kesrith, Melein decrees that nothing non-mri can return to the ancient homeworld, forcing Duncan to become mri or die. Under Niun’s tutelage, he learns the strict rules of the mri warrior caste, the Kel. Their journey takes approximately 18 months of subjective time, each jump revealing evidence of earlier mri civilizations, all destroyed. They realize the mri have been nearly exterminated many times before, always as mercenaries turned on by their employers. When they land on Kutath, the ancie
- field
- Science fiction literature
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- The Faded Sun trilogy, part of the Alliance–Union universe
- first_publication
- 1978
- number_of_novels
- 3
Lore & Background
The Faded Sun trilogy is the principal account of the Mri Wars era of Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe. At the beginning of the first volume, the regul have just concluded a forty-year war with humanity. As part of the peace, they are ceding the desert world of Kesrith to humanity, but have neglected to inform its inhabitants, the mri, who have served them as mercenaries for over two thousand years. The Mri have been nearly exterminated, and young Niun is one of the few remaining warriors. When the regul seek to double-cross his people, he and his sister Melein form an uneasy alliance with the human Sten Duncan to rescue a holy relic that may hold the key to the Mri's survival.
The second volume opens with Niun and Melein captives of the human occupation force. The human command produces a navigation data crystal from the data in the holy relic that legend
Reader's Guide
The Faded Sun trilogy is significant as some of the earliest of C.J. Cherryh's novels, featuring extensive world-building and a number of alien species. The first volume, The Faded Sun: Kesrith, was nominated for the Nebula Award in 1978 and the Hugo Award in 1979 and was shortlisted for the Locus Awards in 1979. The other two books in the trilogy were independently longlisted for the Locus Award. The trilogy can be considered a Bildungsroman, since one of the major themes is the coming of age of Niun, the mri protagonist. At the same time, it is a story of acculturation, as the human protagonist, Sten Duncan, lives among the mri to the point of becoming one of them. The series explores themes of genocide, cultural survival, and the cyclical nature of mercenary warfare, ultimately offering a resolution where humanity breaks the cycle of destruction. The cover of the U.S. omnibus edition re-uses the original cover art by Michael Whelan from the first paperback edition of Kutath (1980), though the image is reversed in the omnibus edition.
Did You Know?
- The Faded Sun: Kesrith was first published as a 4-part serial starting in February 1978 in Galaxy Science Fiction.
- The cover of the U.S. omnibus edition re-uses the original cover art by Michael Whelan from the first paperback edition of Kutath (1980), but the image is reversed.
- The trilogy is the principal account of the Mri Wars era of Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe.
- The first novel was nominated for both the Nebula Award in 1978 and the Hugo Award in 1979.
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