Tripoint

As far as freebooting space opera goes, C.J. Cherryh's many Alliance-Union novels (many of which are not part of a specific series and can stand alone) are one of the high refinements of the art today. _Tripoint_ is in the top tier of that elite grouping.Cherryh's character development abilities are really showcased here: a young man stuck on a ship captained by hostile step-family, a fascinating navigator present under tantalizingly suspicious circumstances, a diverse and interesting crew. Beyond it all is the sense of the void--the feeling of an impersonal universe that will kill you if the airlock seals give way, and not experience regret for you--that helps you imagine the experience of being in space. As ever with Cherryh, predicting the ending is difficult to impossible.Really high-quality SF, and will appeal to fans of same.

TRIPOINT is an excellent novel loaded with conflict. The characters are all fully realized three-dimensional people and they are all in turmoil. Cherryh plays them off each other with skill and cranks up the stakes along the way. Thomas Bowe-Hawkins is the product of a rape. His mother, Marie, has dedicated her life to tracking down Thomas's father to kill him. Of course, things come to a head and Thomas finds himself a prisoner on his father's ship. Add in a half-brother he never knew he had and shake it up until it explodes! As usual, the action rages and the setting is great. If you like science fiction, you'll love TRIPOINT. If you like character driven fiction, you'll love TRIPOINT. Hey, if you just like to read, you'll love TRIPOINT. So you see, you can't go wrong. Click the buy button already! You can thank me later.

This was the last Cherryh novel I read, after I discovered her a few years ago. I resisted it until I had nothing of hers left to read, because I resisted the idea that I would ever feel any liking or sympathy for a rapist/father character. Not only would I detest the character myself, I decided I would probably dislike our hero, Tom, if he ever started to like the guy. However, I forgot about the Cherryh magic, and before long, I, like Tom himself, found I couldn't hang onto my preconceived ideas of what certain people would be like. My only regret on this one is that there hasn't been a sequel--I feel it wants one.

Tripoint was my first C.J.Cherryh novel, and sci-fi book for many years. I came across it totallly by accident on special display at the library. The cover was the usual OK graphics associated with the genre, but the fly-leaf suggested something more interesting. So I borrowed it; and my first thoughts when slogging through the first few pages, were: 'what is this dog....?' I'd never read anything quite like it, and if it weren't for the fact that nothing was due till the next week, I woudln't have. Anyway, for no particularly good reason other than embarrassment at giving up so easily, I continnued; twenty pages per night. Page one hundred, and I was hooked, well into the groove of intense viewpoint, and the finely detailed character interaction. This like all the other Cherryh books I have read, is a very fine piece of work, and yet, needs to be tackled with a clear head, especially at the start, due to the highly energetic, and dense writing style which she employs. A style which can be so very easily off-putting to someone used to a more straightforward approach. But I have found it one, which is extremely satisfying, encouraging me to read whatever she writes, with a sense of... what's next?, and while I'm glad that I've finished yet another big-one, sorry that it's finished. Tripoint along with its stablemates is, sci-fi beyond the average - which unfortunately is the rule, and why I stopped reading it - great stuff! Next!

This is one of the few true sci-fi novels I have read that I enjoyed enough to read more than five times. Ms. Cherryh tells a tale that has strong characters, a lush backdrop and a gripping storyline. I can't wait to grab all of her other books, now.