Faded Sun Trilogy

The Faded Sun Trilogy

The Faded Sun Trilogy omnibus edition cover
The Faded Sun: Kesrith The Faded Sun: Shon'jir The Faded Sun: Kutath
Author	C. J. Cherryh
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction
Publisher	DAW Books
Published	1978–1979

The Faded Sun trilogy is a series of science fiction novels set in the Alliance-Union universe of C. J. Cherryh. The series comprises the three novels The Faded Sun: Kesrith (1978), The Faded Sun: Shon'jir (1978), and The Faded Sun: Kutath (1979), published by DAW Books. They were re-published in as an omnibus edition in the UK in 1987 and in the U.S. in 2000.

The series consists of some of the earliest of Cherryh's novels, notable for its world-building and extraterrestrial races. Both the mri and the regul fulfill John W. Campbell's dictum of "show me a creature that thinks as well as a man, or better, but not like a man."The Faded Sun: Kesrith was nominated the Nebula Award in 1978, the Hugo Award in 1979, and shortlisted for the Locus Awards in 1979. In addition, the other two books in the trilogy were independently longlisted for the Locus Award.

The Faded Sun 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 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. However, they 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 in these wars, and young Niun is one of the few remaining warriors. When the regul seek to double-cross his people, he and his sister Melein, the last of the priestly Sen caste, form an uneasy alliance with the human Sten Duncan to rescue a holy relic that may hold the key to the Mri's survival.