A struggle to finish...to what point?

Twenty years ago, a sleepover-turned rape resulted in the birth of a boy; now a man, he's crimped onto his father's ship. This is the Alliance-Union book about sex and rape - and Juu, you might say, isn't that Cyteen? or Forty Thousand in Gehenna? Or Rimrunners, or maybe the Hilfy bits of the Chanur series (bless)? And I reply: yes, there's a lot of it there, so even more remarkable that this is *the* sex book, all about the repercussions of rape, the politics of family and Family ships, and relationships formed around and via sex.

Cherryh does this uncomfortable thing of making rapists people, too: The rapist-father is objectively awful, but the protagonist has to build a working relationship with him anyway. The most interesting character in the book crosses the line into rape while remaining interesting and lynchpinning the larger plot. It's not easy reading, nor often satisfying, but I appreciate the nuance. So the interior and interpersonal struggles in this are engaging; but the larger plot is back-heavy and only okay. That said, I like this a lot as a counterpoint to Rimrunners, which it much resembles.

Another interesting viewpoint of the Union Alliance universe created by Cherryh. I confess that having read other books by her, this book probably would seem odd to someone not having read other books from the series. I could reference other place names from other books and that made the story richer for me.

I would have liked to have had more background on Tink, Saby and Capella. Maybe those characters appear again in another book.

Oh, Cherryh... I don't know what to make of you. There are times when you blow me away, and times when I'm just completely frustrated. Not infrequently, both moods occur in the space of a single book. I do like your writing, for the most part, but sometimes I wonder about the messaging.

*sigh* So anyway. Tripoint.

20-odd years ago (shiptime), 17-year-old Marie Hawkins (of the merchanter Family ship Sprite) was raped by Austin Bowe (of the dubiously-reputable ship Corinthian). Along with serious psychological consequences, the encounter resulted in a son (Tom). When the book opens, Sprite and Corinthian have found themselves in the same dock for the first time since that encounter. Marie, driven by her need for long-planned revenge, promptly cuts loose, and Tom follows. During the ensuing cat-and-mouse chase, Tom finds himself shanghaied aboard Corinthian, and must find a way to survive on his father's ship.

Insofar as complicated family dynamics are concerned, Tripoint's hard to beat. From the circumstances of Tom's conception, to his treatment on Corinthian, this is a story about power and abuse. But it's not gratuitous. Cherryh uses Marie and Tom's experiences to interrogate rape culture. At various points throughout the book, Marie is accused by her family members (directly and indirectly) of "asking for it," being "irrational" about her experiences, and "exaggerating" the events. Her ensuing psychological malformations manifest in emotional and psychological abuse of her son.

On Corinthian, Tom's younger half-brother Christian has lived an eerily parallel existence. His disinterested mother pawned him off to be raised by her niece, and Austin's opinion of him varies from violent irritation to ambivalence. Tom and Christian's early interactions are unpleasant, but mellow as the book goes on. (This was probably some of the best character interaction in the book).

If you've read Cherryh, you know what to expect from here. Long thoughts about situations, internal monologues, etc. Very well done, for the most part, but if it's something that bugs you, you are NOT going to care for this book. Also, if you are sensitive about sexual subjects, this ain't the book for you. (Not a comment on explicitness, but themes. See spoilers for more.)

But here's the thing. The first two-thirds of the book are character studies--and they're wonderful! And then Cherryh does that thing that I'm starting to expect from her. A thin plot appears! Action happens! The book ends. Justice for the characters involved? Not really.

Some spoilery thoughts before the conclusion:

Spoiler

1.) This book is way too Freudian for my tastes. Tom has a serious Oedipus complex over Marie, and has been primed by her to hate his father. He's as disturbed by it as I am, thankfully, but it crops up at terrible moments. I'm not sure how his relationship with his half-brother's surrogate mother plays into this but I don't want to think about it anymore.

2.) The biggest rape issue at hand ISN'T actually Marie's backstory, but Tom's experience of rape during jump by the Night-Walker Capella. She does this just about every time they're in jump 'because she's lonely,' and he is rightly horrified/disturbed by the repeated encounters. This also impacts his later sexual relationship with Saby. Doubly irritating because I thought Capella was pretty neat until then.

3.) The ending sucks. Austin and Capella both live, and Tom decides to stay on Corinthian. Not that Sprite was any better, but really? Also, Marie doesn't quite get revenge and I don't know how to feel about that.

For all that, it's still better than Rimrunners. Giving this a low 3*.

7/10
A bit hard to follow, never knowing who knows what and what’s true and what isn’t—putting the reader in the same position as the two main characters, half-brothers Christian and Thomas, each a study in nature/nurture. Yet another perspective in the Alliance-Company conflict, although this book takes place after the War has ended, amidst the shifting aftermath. None of the characters are particularly likable (well, maybe Saby) but they are all three-dimensional.

Tripoint is character-driven science fiction at its best. Shifting points of view allow characters to mull over their own motives and their often mistaken analyses of the motives of others.

Great characterization and the ultimate secret to how the Alliance survived their apparent loss of the initial war with the nascent Union. The conclusion is a dangling thread Cherryh has yet to develop on.

Tripoint is heavy with family dynamics. The focus is on a mother and son, Marie Hawkins and Thomas Bowe-Hawkins. Years ago, Marie was raped by Austin Bowe, and she bore his son, Tom. There was never a clear reason as to why Marie decided to have the child. She never acted much like a mother, abandoning Tom and shunning motherly love to focus on her reckless, unhealthy obsession of getting revenge on Austin.

Tom carries the burden of being unwanted as well as being an outcast on his family's ship, Sprite. Marie's behavior borders on a mental illness, but it's not something ever clearly delineated, as there are times she acts quite rationally.

After years of stalking, Marie finally ends up at the same port as Austin, who is now captain of the Corinthian. She takes off for him, Tom following her, scared of what she may do.

In the ensuing madness, Tom ends up as prisoner on the strange Corinithian. The rest of the story focuses mainly on Tom and his interactions with the Corinthian crew, and his formation of a truly independent, worthwhile individual.

Tripoint is the personal "mental" journey of Tom forming his distinct identity. His relationship with Marie is extremely poor. He's constantly haunted by the fact that he is unwanted, and confused as to why Marie ever bothered to even have him. He finds no love or friendship on the ship. Overall, he feels worthless.

Marie is an interesting character. She acts mostly normal, although brash and demanding. The life-long obsession with finding Austin Bowe is the crazy part. She has spent years collecting information on him and his involvements. She keeps sending him messages and he is fully believes she is 100% lunatic.

And Austin responds like - why is this girl still sending me messages 20 years later? And for Marie, it's still as fresh in her memory as ever.

I wished there had been more action in the story. The ending was a let down for me, considering there had been such a buildup to a final meeting, and then it amounted to very little. Maybe Marie finally found some love for Tom at some point?

I did get tired of the really poor relationships between everyone. Certainly, very believable, but Saby and Tom still had a sour note to it all, even though it was supposed to be a bright spot (at least for Tom).

Mazianni is always in the distant background in all the Alliance universe novels and I wish there would be more involvement with him and his crew.