Alliance Rising: The Hinder Stars I by C.J. Cherryh and Jane Fancher is the first book set in this universe for a really long time, but since I’d read all of the earlier books in the series, some multiple times, I found I didn’t need to re-read anything to understand what was going on; plus, I think the book was designed for those who would be new to the Alliance-Union setting. This is space opera that gets into the nitty gritty of how economics might work in space, complicated by differing political systems, great distances, and cultural and linguistic shifts. And it’s showing us how the Alliance and the Union came to be. I think some readers might find it dry, and perhaps a bit info-dumpy, but I eat this stuff up with a spoon in each hand. Everything happens relatively slowly, until it doesn’t, and then semi-cliffhanger, agh!

ALLIANCE RISING, The Hinder Stars,#1
C.J. Cherryh and Jane S. Fancher
352 pages
Science Fiction

A monsterous-huge starship has dropped into the Alpha System from faster-than-light jump space, at high velocity. It broadcasts no ID, makes no response to station hails.
Every passing second brings potential disaster closer.
Friend? Foe? Invader? Emergency? Is an uncontrolled million-ton juggernaut on a collision course with Alpha Station? Why?
ALLIANCE RISING is both a stand-alone and the first in a star-spanning line of prequels to the Alliance-Union Universe books which earned Cherryh the title of SFWA Grandmaster. You can’t fool the Science Fiction Writers of America; this is good stuff.
At center stage are the merchant starships and the wide-flung star stations.
The primary conflict is between the distant Earth Company, which wants control of nearly every aspect of deep space trade . . . and those out in the years-distant dark, stationer or merchanter, who say, “No. We’ve tried that before. It didn’t work then, it won’t work now. But we have a chance to do what *will* work.”
As Fancher and Cherryh know very well, unregulated capitalism turns inevitably toward the authoritarian to protect its cashflow. Issues arise on Alpha Station due to that tendency.
There’s romance - you might expect ingenue heartbreak . . . but that’s not all. True love is ever-young. A major plot-point, unresolved, will bring you back for the next book in the sequence. Happily, the duo is already at work on it.
Jane S. Fancher has long collaborated on Cherryh’s work. This is the first time her name appears on the title page of a joint creation. I enjoy and respect their writing; I get a bit smarter each time I read something they’ve written, which does nothing to get in the way of stories both exciting and hope-inspiring.
I recommend ALLIANCE RISING in the strongest terms.

This was a great return to Cherry's Alliance-Union universe, set before any of the other books she's so far published. It's a really cool look at the Merchanter's Alliance forming and the days before the EC made it out from Earth. There's a lot of politics and economics talks regarding the stations and the ships that trade among them, but it never feels boring or bogged down despite that. There's plenty of plotting and maneuvering that keeps the plot moving forward. I'm really excited to see where she goes next with this!

Beguiled once again by Cherryh!

Starting off I found this a dense read. Having been a Cherryh reader for years I was scrambling to recall the earlier novels I'd read eons ago and to have those line up with the present happenings. Not that it's necessary to read these before Alliance Rising but as I am an avid fan I was busy sorting through what I already knew to meld this current offering of the Alliance-Union saga with what has gone before. (As it happens I was sorting my hard copy Sci-fi collection and one of the first books I picked up was a 1988 copy of Cyteen. I feel a re-read coming on!)
What a solid return Alliance Rising is to a cosmos I have freely rummaged through over the years, compliments of the masterful Cherryh!
Alpha Station, part of the Hinder Stars, unusually receives recent visitations from a number of ships. It turns out to be a consortium led by James Robert Neihart, captain of a massive space ship, Finity's End. This puts some stress on the station, particularly when security has been virtually seconded by Earth Company as part of their project to build a huge ship, The Rights of Man, at a cost that has become a financial albatross hanging around the neck of the station master and of the ships that serve Alpha and the Hinder Stations. There is a struggle going on at the command level of the station and the visit by Finity's End ups the ante. Drawn into the struggle is the Captain and crew of the Galway, and in particular crew members Ross and Fallon.
Cherryh's writing style has that distinctive gravelly, almost staccato note that conjures up the differences of those wed to star travel, and of the family ships like Galway running on luck, hope and the often uncanny ability to parse the cards one's dealt.
Pride and loyalty to one's ship is foremost but a time has come when the Merchanter families need to band together. And it starts here!
As always with Cherryh, a masterpiece is unfolding, and I'm thrilled to have a front row seat. I have stars in my eyes!

A NetGalley ARC

I had to give this a four because it is very slow reading. You have to read a lot of backstory and world building before you really get to the characters and the meat of the story. Once there it gets really interesting with an very unexpected twist near the end. There are many different groups, each with their own agenda, in the plot. That kept the action moving. The book set up the beginning of the Alliance but it ending with a lot up in the air. I was glad to see it is a series as I am quite invested in the characters and want to see where they all go next.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

This is the newest title in the Company Wars series after Finity's End. I am used to picking up books in this series and being pulled immediately into the story and then racing to the very end. Unfortunately that was not possible with this title. It starts out setting the scene - about stations and merchant ships, about Alpha station, about the families, about the economics, political infighting, loyalties, possibilities and fears - on and on explaining, explaining, explaining. The old adage "Don't tell, show" was not followed, 'cause there is a whole lot of telling going on. It was all pertinent information, no padding, but quite a slog. Things don't actually start to hum along with an actual plot until you are over halfway through the book, and then it does take off. Whew, what a relief. If you are a fan, you will want to read it, just be prepared for a lot of data. If you are new to the series, this is NOT the title to start with. First half, disappointing. Second half, great stuff.