tPoor Fletcher got left on a station though he had citizenship on a ship, Finity's is . Actually, it was his Mom who was left. She was pregnant and there was a war starting. A ship was that will be fighting battles is no place for a new mom. All hands need to be at their best, so she was left. The ship was to pick her and the child up in a year or so, but it was seventeen (17) before the actual recovery could be done. In the meantime, she died of a drug overdose, leaving Fletcher to the social services of the station, which charged the ship for those services.tFletcher has found his love and life down below on the planet the station circles. The planet is host to the only other intelligent species in the explored part of the galaxy and there are two (2) of those who treat Fletcher with the love no one else has. It turns his life around from a juvenile delinquent to a model student, because he wants to help those who have shown him love. Oddly enough, he also finds a girl who comes to see him as someone special. Life has never been so good for Fletcher.tThe ship comes along and takes him back aboard. Crickey, nothing could be worse for Fletcher. The rest of the story is a 'coming of age' one. Fletcher has to adjust to being a part of the ship's crew. What is worse is that he has to try to fit into life he has no appreciation for and does not want. But the bribery from the station mistress is that he does this spell on the ship, stays out of trouble and wants to resume his place down below, she will help him do so. He grows into the ship's crew even without wanting to. He finds reasons to belong in this place he does not want to be. It is quaint how his plight becomes integral to the future peace of the known galaxy. The peace treaty that is worked out during this trip is simple and the development of it is too easy, but, hey, this is fiction and it works.
After reading all the other Alliance books, I didn't think Finity's End truly made a substantial impact. It felt too similar to Tripoint, the same sort of loner kid learning to fit in with the other kids that don't play so nice.I liked that Fletcher was a bit toned down compared to some previous main characters. There are many psychologically unstable and messed up people in this universe. I think for good reason, although it's somewhat hard to root for someone who is constantly punching people in the face over any argument.There's not so much action in this installment. Even light for the rest of the books, which don't have much either. Finity's End is focused on Fletcher's transition from an orphan to a family unit. He is raised by two Downers, Melody and Patch, but not like a feral creature on Downbelow - they're all on Pell station. Fletcher runs into the tunnels away from his foster families to spend time with them, and they form a close attachment. He is taken aboard Finity's End, quite against his will. His mother, who overdosed years ago, was left on Pell Station, and the ship had intended to pick her up, but things became delayed. Fletcher is a citizen of the ship, whether he wants to be or not, and the skilled lawyers make him leave the Downers he loved.What I liked the most is that Fletcher truly grows up during the book. There's a big change from him from beginning to end, and he makes a lot of very mature realizations about his life and the people in it.I may be in the minority, but I like the hisa (Downers) and their return to the story. Their presence serves as a means for humanity to question their violence and war.
What do You think about Finity's End (1998)?
This "Company War" novel is set approximately 20 years after Cherryh's original and award-winning Downbelow Station. I have read a few of her follow-up Company War novels and found them to be mediocre, but was impressed with this one. It's not just a minor character story set in the same universe, but also encompasses the next cultural/historic shift in Cherry's universe. Not as dramatic as in Downbelow Station, but this one is an effective sequel. Better than Cyteen, for sure.I also found the psychology and sociology interesting. The main character's pregnant mother was left at Pell Station by her family Alliance ship during a wartime crisis. Her substance-abuse related death left him an orphan at the age of 5, and bouncing around in foster care. By the time we meet him, he has a very pronounced attachment disorder (I actually know a little about this, as an adoptive father, and former foster father myself). He is picked up again by the family ship after some 17 years or so against his will, and his internal struggles seem true to the psychological condition. At the same time, the shipboard society he finds himself in, is as realistically delicate and sensitive to rule-bound behavior and reputation as you might imagine. Then, the intrigue of politics and conflict kicks in. I found it a complex and engaging novel.
—Tomislav
This is an excellent book, with a dense believable setting and characters with real depth. I'm a purist in sci-fi so I like to see as few magic tricks as possible, and C J Cherryh's universe really just has one: faster-than-light travel. Otherwise, space is really big, light-speed delays are important to the plot and gravity only comes from spinning things. Also, you want to hurt someone, you punch them or put a bullet in them, no magic zap rays. The novel takes some concentration to read, especially in the early stages, but it's worth putting in the time. One of her best.
—Richard Penn
A really good story about Fletcher Neihart and how his place is not where he starts out.His mother was left on Pell by Finity's End when they had to leave in a hurry. She was pregnant and would not be able to cope with the warlike conditions on board during pregnancy.When she suicided, Fletcher was 4 or 5, and got caught up in the system. He got passed from one foster family to another and another and then the legal system tried to involve Finity's End.By the time he's 17 and the book starts, he's been rejected by everyone except the Downers, who are the only people he cares for or or who care for him.Good book. Also has some background and not so back ground in relation to union/alliance/earth relations. And the next book is Cyteen, set on the Union home planet.
—Louiz
