The Chanur Saga is not one book. It is three books in an omnibus edition. These books are written by C.J. Cherryh who also has written two more novels in this “universe” that is called the Compact.

For Traveller fans, the most interesting aspect of the books are the race called the Hani. There are lots of characteristics of the Hani that are a lot like the Aslan of Traveller.

• First (the most obvious), the Hani are cat-folk.
• Then, just like in Traveller, it is the females that are useful.
• Just like in Traveller, there are clans that are run by males.

I asked C.J. Cherryh and Marc Miller about the influences between her books and Traveller.

C.J. Cherryh said that she never has heard of the Aslan. (So it’s just like H. Beam Piper and the Sword Worlds then, just a bit more recent).

Anyway, these books are great. There are a few more races that are described. There is a map over the Compact. There are lots of ideas that can be used in Traveller. Making a subsector map over the Compact and using this as an ATU would also be possible.

The main characters are female Hani. They are the crew of the ship The Pride of Chanur. They find a Human male that has escaped from a race called the Kif (that are a bit like the Vargr). The Kif wants the human back. That is just the beginning. I shouldn’t post any more spoilers here.