Chanur's Legacy

Did You Know?

• An abridged version of The Pride of Chanur was published in Science Fiction Digest in 1983.
• The first book, The Pride of Chanur, was printed as a book club edition hardcover in December 1981 for the Science Fiction Book Club.
• The Chanur Saga omnibus includes The Pride of Chanur, Chanur's Venture, and The Kif Strike Back.

The Compact

The series is set in the same Alliance-Union universe as Downbelow Station, but in a region of space opposite Earth. It is occupied by spacefaring civilizations bound by trade treaties into a Compact, which has no government and deals only with open trade. Human space borders kif and knnn territory. First contact occurs when a kif hakkikt captures a human ship; the survivor Tully escapes onto the hani vessel The Pride of Chanur, triggering the first novel and its three-part sequel.

Species of the Compact

Hani are feline-like, with manes and beards, usually red or tawny fur. Females are smaller than humans; males are much larger. Discovered by the mahendo'sat, they use mahen-derived technology. Hani live in autonomous clans of related females, children, and one male lord, who takes over by defeating the previous lord. Male offspring are exiled when they threaten the lord, living in exile until they can challenge for a clan. Only females go into space, though Pyanfar Chanur changes this. Clans unite into amphictionies; the homeworld is governed by a mahen-inspired council called the han. Hani politics involve allegiance, honor, blood feud, and parole. One hani language became the basis for the Compact's pidgin.

Technology of the Compact

Three main ship types exist: surface-to-orbit shuttles, miners, and jump ships. Shuttles use reaction engines and can land; miners and jump ships need stations. Jump ships cross interstellar distances via a jump drive, gliding along the interface between space and hyperspace until mass at the destination drops them out. They exit at light speed and must dump velocity or be doomed. Maximum jump distance depends on drive power and mass; overstretching may cause a ship to fade. A jump takes weeks objective time, subjectively hours or days, exhausting crews. Hani and mahendo'sat stay marginally conscious; stsho need drugs; humans survive undrugged but find it terrible. Jumps can be strung together with increased discomfort. Communication is by radio with time lag; busy systems keep buoys near jump exit points for scan, traffic info, and mail.

Plots and characters

Two years after The Pride of Chanur, Pyanfar returns to Meetpoint Station with The Pride. Goldtooth presents her with Tully, returned from Earth. A human fleet is approaching, though Tully does not clarify if for trade or attack. This threatens the Compact's balance. Two kif, Akkhtimakt and Sikkukkut, struggle for power, each trying to become mekt-hakkikt and unite the kif, a prospect that frightens other species. Sikkukkut persuades a reluctant Pyanfar to ally with him, raising suspicion from a conservative hani government agent. The kif conflict reaches hani space, threatening the homeworld, but Goldtooth and the human fleet arrive and defeat both hakkikts. A small delegation of Compact ships returns with the humans to investigate trade. Pyanfar offers Tully the chance to go with the humans, but he stays on The Pride as a crew member. Main characters include Pyanfar Chanur, her husband Khym Mahn, and Tully.