title: Explorer (Foreigner)
author:  C. J. Cherryh 
description: "A third intelligent species makes its appearance in this sixth superior installment in Cherryh's much praised <i>Foreigner </i>series. As with previous volumes in this intense series, detailed character development, highly charged dialogue and an eye for subtle differences in cultural preconceptions are of central importance, although Cherryh also manages some fine action scenes. This is <b>serious space opera at its very best </b>by one of the leading SF writers in the field today." <i>Publishers Weekly</i> (starred review)<br /><br />"[A] standout among Cherryh's generally excellent stories about human-alien relations." <i>Booklist</i><br /><br />"<b>Cherryh superbly crafts complex intrigues and alien races</b> possessed of integrity, as well as a sense of otherness." <i>Library Journal</i><br /><br />"Filled with a complex and layered society, with <b>enough alien intrigue to keep you awake half the night</b>, <i>Explorer </i>is so finely and densely wrought that you may end up dreaming of sable-skinned giants with gold eyes, and the silver spun delicacy of interstellar politics." <i>SF Site</i><br /><br />"This sixth adventure opens things up and adds some new and intriguing plot elements. It's always great fun to see how Cherryh manages to get us to our destination, and this one's no exception." <i>Science Fiction Chronicle</i><br /><br />"Excellent characterization, intense political tension, and truly unique alien races make the [<i>Foreigner</i>] series <b>an essential component in any science fiction collection.</b>" <i>Voya</i>
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  EXPLORER
  
  
  Carolyn J. Cherryh
  
  
  the sixth book in the foreigner sequence
  
  
  Copyright © 2002 by C. J. Cherryh
  
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  
  Jacket art by Michael Whelan
  
  
  All characters and events in this book are fictitious.
  
  
  All resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.
  
  
  **Contents**
  
  
  Chapter One
  
  
  Chapter Two
  
  
  Chapter Three
  
  
  Chapter Four
  
  
  Chapter Five
  
  
  Chapter Six
  
  
  Chapter Seven
  
  
  Chapter Eight
  
  
  Chapter Nine
  
  
  Chapter Ten
  
  
  Chapter Eleven
  
  
  Chapter Twelve
  
  
  Chapter Thirteen
  
  
  Chapter Fourteen
  
  
  Chapter Fifteen
  
  
  Chapter Sixteen
  
  
  Chapter Seventeen
  
  
  Chapter Eighteen
  
  
  Chapter Nineteen
  
  
  Chapter Twenty
  
  
  ## Chapter Twenty-One
  
  
  _**For my father**_
  
  
  ## Chapter One
  
  
  **^»**
  
  
  **S** team went up
  
  
  as the shower needled Bren’s back—a moment of blissful content in a voyage
  neither that blissful nor content.
  
  
  And considering the call he’d just gotten in the middle of his night, he
  stayed, h