Finity's End [Hardcover]

C. J. Cherryh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1997

The author of Cyreen narrates the story of the oldest Merchanter ship of all, Finity's End, whose young crew has lost an entire generation and is coming home after many years of war and piracy only to have to learn to live in peace."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Finity's End falls after Merchanter's Luck but before Tripoint in the lineup of C.J. Cherryh's Merchanter novels (part of the author's award-winning Alliance/Union universe). It resumes the story of Fletcher Neihart, an orphan and unwanted foster child who, against his will, joins the crew of the legendary merchanter ship Finity's End. As Neihart struggles to find his place both on the ship and in the world, the ship undertakes a mission critical to the continuing peace between the Earth, Alliance, and Union factions.

Review

Finity's End is complex, insightful writing. Cherryh understands human nature under stress, and has a gift for conveying the immediacy of interactions, concerns, betrayals, and forgiveness. -- Science Fiction Age

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 471 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; First Edition edition (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446520721
• ISBN-13: 978-0446520720
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #850,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've written sf and fantasy for publication since 1975...but I've written a lot longer than that. I have a background in Mediterranean archaeology, Latin, Greek, that sort of thing; my hobbies are travel, photography, planetary geology, physics, pond-building for koi...I run a marine tank, can plumb most anything, and I figure-skate.

I believe in the future: I'm an optimist for good reason---I've studied a lot of history, in which, yes, there is climate change, and our species has been through it. We've never faced it fully armed with what we now know, and if we play our cards right, we'll use it as a technological springboard and carry on in very interesting ways.

I also believe a writer owes a reader a book that has more than general despair to spread about: I write about clever, determined people who don't put up with situations, not for long, anyway: people who find solutions inspire me.

My personal websites and blog: http://www.cherryh.com
http://www.cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore
http://www.closed-circle.net

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars C J Cherryh is a reliably thought provoking writer., December 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Finity's End (Hardcover)

FINITY'S END by C.J. Cherryh a book review by R.C. McDonald

In Finity's End C J Cherryh returns to the universe made popular in her Merchanter and Cyteen series, some of which books earned her science fiction's coveted Hugo award.

This book continues the tale of a centuries-long dispute between the two political entities which rule known human space and the loosely-knit alliance of merchant ships who supply and connect them.

Within this gritty and appealing portrayal of a very believable and very human future you will find the story of one ship in particular, the Finity's End, and of one boy in particular, torn through no fault of his own between the world of the alien hisa and the that of a merchanter family starship.

You can expect to learn some new ideas about how you view your own world after looking at life through the eyes of this book.

There is no need to have read the books previously written in this universe - each book, including this one, is self explanatory, and yet manages to avoid over-repetitive explanations for those who have read the others - the mark of a very skilled writer indeed!

Finally, on a note near and dear to any science fiction reader's heart, strict attention is paid to the laws of nature and the workings of science. All in all, a superlative book, one to be cherished and read repeatedly.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story!, May 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Finity's End (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book when it first came out; just finished rereading it. It remains one of my favority science fiction books of all time. Good story, strong characters. You care about what happens to the crew. Very well written story. Cherryh is always a good author; this book is one of her best.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding. C.J. took me to space again., August 5, 1998

By 

Jim Shortt - [e-mail] (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finity's End (Hardcover)

I met Fletcher Neihart and his family and friends and re-visited the trials of youth. With open mouth awe, I also met the hisa on their alien world. I heard my boots ringing on metal docks and smelled strange odors as I tromped around space stations, wide-eyed. Most of all, I felt the exhilaration and real fears of being aboard a working merchant spaceship out among the stars.

This was a new trip, but not a new experience. I have been a vagabond traveler on many a far flung voyage around the universe compliments of Ms. Cherryh. Once again, she mesmerized me and took me a-sailing. I thank her profusely.