*explodes in a cloud of squee*

[sholio]

I seriously have the best Yuletide writer ever. I have never done yuletide before, and I was prepared to be happy for whatever I got, but this, wow ...! I mean, they totally nailed it, the sort of thing I like, just ... nailed it! Long (and it is LONG!), plot-driven, hard-SF, perfectly canon-compliant, with no hearts & flowers but tons of just-below-the-surface caring and devotion; and h/c (the subtle kind! weeeeeeeeee!) and ... just, oh, they couldn't have done better if they'd known me. Heck, it's anonymous, maybe they DO know me; I guess I won't find out until Jan. 1.

Until and unless Ms. Cherryh writes more about the Hellburner crew, and possibly even then, this story is now my personal canon for what happens to them after Hellburner.

If you haven't read Heavy Time and Hellburner by CJ Cherryh -- they're two of my favorite SF novels of all time. I read Heavy Time in high school and one of my biggest squee moments ever was finding out a few years later that not only was there a sequel, but a sequel in which the characters developed in exactly the direction that my little fluttering fangirl heart wanted them to. (Hmm ... an asshole computer guy with lousy people skills and a pretty-boy pilot with a death wish -- sound familiar? *g* Except Ben's far more of a jerk than Rodney on his absolute worst day, and Dekker makes John look like the most psychologically well-adjusted person ever. Plus, it's got seriously awesome women, and fantastic universe-building, and couples that I really truly like -- I just love this series, and despite much searching, I have never found Dek/Ben/Meg/Sal fanfic, EVER. And now I have one that is just perfect. Yay, Yuletide! Rock on!)

Comments

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

I haven't read those books of hers, though I've seen them. However, I know exactly what you mean about having trouble getting an emotional connection to her books. Personally, I have this very hard-to-hit "perfect formula" for h/c and friendship, where it's deeply emotional and yet very restrained at the same time. When Cherryh is "on", she can hit my perfect formula exactly; she did this in Heavy Time/Hellburner and in Rusalka, both of which are among my all-time favorite books. (And by the way, regarding Heavy Time/Hellburner, knowing what you like, I really think you will LOVE these books ... hard SF with a completely and utterly messed-up main character who spends a lot of both books drugged out of his mind and physically injured.) However, her writing style runs close enough to the unemotional that it's really easy for her books to "miss", and that's been my reaction to several of hers that I've read, including Foreigner and Cyteen. She does gorgeous, detailed world-building, but sometimes she's just a little too restrained on the interpersonal relationships.