I've finished: Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh
Until lately I was unaware of C. J. Cherryh's work. She is one of those authors I missed out on before the internet made buying books internationally practical.
So you could say I finally popped my cherry :^).
Foreigner is dated in some ways but as usual it is the women authors that do better over time as they tend to deal with more progressive ideas.
Cherryh breaks expectations as she makes the human colony the threatened side in a fragile peace accord with the local aliens.
Bren Cameron is the Paidhi, a human ambassador to the Atevi.
While capable, Bren isn't a competence porn protagonist. He is out of his depth for most of the novel and only comes through by the skin of his teeth.
We follow Bren's account of events, keeping us confused until things start to come together.
I understand things are clearer in the subsequent novels. I was glad to experience Foreigner without any spoilers.
https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/23ae3070-0c88-4571-b1b2-5ba56dd69d90
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