They named him Thorn. They told him he was of their people, although he was so different. He was ugly in their eyes, strange, sleek-skinned instead of furred, clawless, different. Yet he was of their power class: judge-warriors, the elite, the fighters, the defenders. Thorn knew that his difference was somehow very important -- but not important enough to prevent murderous conspiracies against him, against his protector, against his caste, and perhaps against the peace of the world. But when the crunch came, when Thorn finally learned what his true role in life was to be, that on him might hang the future of two worlds, then he had to stand alone to justify his very existence.

"A study in alienation and adaptation." —Publishers Weekly

"Cherryh has the uncanny ability to yank readers into an alien culture and to keep them there. A book to be treasured (cover and all) by advanced readers who can catch all the nuances cleverly incorporated into the remarkable tale. Let us hope for a sequel." —Kliatt

"Cherryh gives us here a finely imagined first contact whose like I cannot recall. I do keep raving about Cherryh, and this time is no exception. Cuckoo's Egg is excellent, and execution is only part of the reason. Cherryh is consistently original.... she strikes me as doing more to shape the future of SF than any other writer now living. She, almost alone, is inventing new kinds of stories." —Analog

"Cherryh's customary strengths are all here—brisk pacing, above-average characterization of both human sexes and also of nonhumans, and genuinely brilliant worldbuilding." —Booklist

"A fascinating alien civilization." —Locus

Used - Very good

Published 2005.  544 pages. 4-1/4 x 1-1/2 x 6-3/4"  Paperback