The Recurring Cast
Reading order · 21 books · 1994 to 2021 · Set in space

Foreigner Books in Order

A series by C. J. Cherryh

Space operaPolitical thriller

The Foreigner books are set on the world of the atevi, a tall, powerful species whose minds work on loyalties rather than friendships. Centuries after a human ship was stranded there and a war was fought, Bren Cameron is the paidhi, the only human allowed among the atevi, an interpreter whose every word could start or prevent a war.

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Series facts

Books
21
Published
1994 to 2021
First book
Foreigner
Latest
Divergence (2021)
Setting
Set in space

The reading order

Every Foreigner book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.

21 books · Set in space
  1. 1Foreigner1994With Bren CameronTwo hundred years after a human ship became stranded on the world of the atevi, humans live on an island under a treaty, and only one of them, the paidhi Bren Cameron, lives among the atevi.Buy on Amazon
  2. 2Invader1995With Bren CameronThe human starship that brought the colonists returns after centuries, and Bren Cameron must keep the fragile peace between atevi and humans as everything changes.Buy on Amazon
  3. 3Inheritor1996With Bren CameronBren Cameron, the human interpreter at the court of the alien atevi, faces a conspiracy that reaches into his own government.Buy on Amazon
  4. 4Precursor1999With Bren CameronMade a lord of the heavens, Bren goes up to the space station, as humans and atevi race to prepare for a possible alien threat.Buy on Amazon
  5. 5Defender2001With Bren CameronBren, the aiji-dowager Ilisidi and young Cajeiri set out aboard the starship Phoenix to investigate a distant station attacked by unknown aliens.Buy on Amazon
  6. 6Explorer2002With Bren CameronThe Phoenix reaches the ruined station far from home, and Bren must try to make peaceful contact with the aliens who attacked it.Buy on Amazon
  7. 7Destroyer2005With Bren CameronBren Cameron returns from a voyage in space to find that the atevi government has been overthrown, and the ruler Tabini is missing.Buy on Amazon
  8. 8Pretender2006With Bren CameronBren, Ilisidi and Cajeiri return home after two years to find that Tabini has been overthrown and a usurper rules in his place.Buy on Amazon
  9. 9Deliverer2007With Bren CameronAs Tabini works to restore his rule, his young son Cajeiri faces dangers of his own.Buy on Amazon
  10. 10Conspirator2009With Bren CameronBren takes a break at his coastal estate, and finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conflict among the coastal clans.Buy on Amazon
  11. 11Deceiver2010With Bren CameronTensions among the clans of the south and west deepen, and Bren is drawn further into the politics of the coast.Buy on Amazon
  12. 12Betrayer2011With Bren CameronBren travels into the territory of the southern clans to try to make a lasting peace.Buy on Amazon
  13. 13Intruder2012With Bren CameronYoung Cajeiri prepares for his ninth birthday and the visit of three human children from the station, while his father’s enemies move in the shadows.Buy on Amazon
  14. 14Protector2013With Bren CameronCajeiri’s human guests arrive for his birthday, and an outlawed faction of the assassins’ guild threatens the celebrations.Buy on Amazon
  15. 15Peacemaker2014With Bren CameronThe fight against the rogue faction of the assassins’ guild comes to a head.Buy on Amazon
  16. 16Tracker2015With Bren CameronBren goes up to the space station, where trouble is brewing among the human refugees just as the alien Kyo approach.Buy on Amazon
  17. 17Visitor2016With Bren CameronThe Kyo arrive, and Bren must handle a delicate first meeting between them, humans and atevi.Buy on Amazon
  18. 18Convergence2017With Bren CameronBren returns to the human island of Mospheira to help settle the refugees from the station.Buy on Amazon
  19. 19Emergence2018With Bren CameronBren works on a plan to bring thousands of refugees from the station down to Mospheira.Buy on Amazon
  20. 20Resurgence2020With Bren CameronThe aiji-dowager Ilisidi sets off on a campaign to bind the east and the south together through trade, with Bren beside her.Buy on Amazon
  21. 21Divergence2021With Bren CameronThe last remnants of the rogue assassins’ faction are hunted down, as Ilisidi’s journey continues.Buy on Amazon

Do you need to read them in order?

Read the Foreigner books in order, starting with Foreigner. They come in groups of three and the story runs continuously.

Who appears in which book

The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.

Who appears in each Foreigner book
BookBren CameronTabini-aijiIlisidiBanichiJagoCajeiri
1 ForeignerLLeadMMajor·MinorMMajorMMajor
2 InvaderLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
3 InheritorLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
4 PrecursorLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor·Minor
5 DefenderLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor·Minor
6 ExplorerLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor·Minor
7 DestroyerLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor·Minor
8 PretenderLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor·Minor
9 DelivererLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
10 ConspiratorLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
11 DeceiverLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
12 BetrayerLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
13 IntruderLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
14 ProtectorLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
15 PeacemakerLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
16 TrackerLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
17 VisitorLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
18 ConvergenceLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
19 EmergenceLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
20 ResurgenceLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor
21 DivergenceLLeadMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajorMMajor

Characters in the Foreigner books

6 characters from C. J. Cherryh’s chart, with the number of Foreigner books each appears in.

CharacterBooksFirst in this series
Bren CameronPaidhi, the human interpreter to the atevi21Foreigner 1994
Tabini-aijiRuler of the Western Association21Foreigner 1994
IlisidiTabini's formidable grandmother21Foreigner 1994
BanichiBren's senior bodyguard21Foreigner 1994
JagoBren's bodyguard21Foreigner 1994
CajeiriTabini's young heir18Precursor 1999