I will admit that I have not always been a fan of the two authors. Too often I find McCaffrey slightly dull, and I've had similar difficulties enjoying Lackey's work. However, this book is excellent and a credit to the powers of collaboration. Whatever faults there may be amongst the two authors, their collaboration has been able to draw upon the strengths of both while remedying the weaknesses.To begin with the prose: the writing here is concise and to the point but never lacking in personality or warmth. The tone is established early on as we see through the eyes of Hypatia. Her voice, that of a precocious, mischievous, but good-natured girl immediately strikes a chord. The book's language sounds like it could very well have come from Hypatia herself. There is also a distinct lack of purpose prose that allows the reader to get through the book at a wonderful clip unburdened with unnecessarily complex vocabulary or pointless description.The characters are another high point. Hypatia is the most likeable of the Brainships in the entire series. One of my main criticisms of the Brainship series is that I have a hard time liking any of the titular entities. They just don't come across as people you can empathise with and support. This could not be further from the truth with Hypatia. From the start, she wins the author over, growing from a precocious child to a determined adult who has somehow managed to retain the pluck and fire she had as a girl despite the cruel hand that fate has dealt her. The supporting characters (e.g., Alex) are also fleshed out wonderfully. They are not simply cardboard cutouts added to provide some scenery - they are individuals with their own motivations, thoughts, and feelings. They bring out the best (and worst) in Hypatia but they do not exist solely to shine a light on her.The plot is also excellent. It has just enough meandering to show the nature of Hypatia's profession, but it never loses focus of the overall goal that she has. The eventual conflict and resolution are both handled with great sensitivity. One could argue that the ending is a mite convenient, but by that point you hardly care. You want them to have their happy ending even if it seems a bit miraculous. That's how much you like the characters.If you enjoy a well-paced story with likeable characters and smooth prose, this story is for you. I am hard-pressed to think of a story by either author that I enjoy more than this one. If only they could produce more like it.
I think this has to be one of my favorite books. I first read it about ten years ago, and have read it at least once a year since then. The first chapter snares the attention and reels you in. I was reading another novel, and an excerpt from this book was in the back. I read it, and had to have it. I devoured it as soon as I got my hands on it, finishing it in an afternoon. And I wasn't disappointed.One thing I love about Anne McCaffrey is the way she wrote female characters. So often, in sci-fi and fantasy, I find myself hating female characters, especially leads. Because the lead should never be the weakest part of the story, and I feel they frequently are, in those genres. But Anne McCaffrey didn't have that problem. Tia, despite being a ship, is so human, so real. There is never a point in the book where I dislike her, or Alex.The plotline isn't a space opera. There is no war. The conflict is on a smaller scale, and I like that. I love me some space opera, but sometimes I want a story about a courier ship dealing with plague and human interests.
Do You like book The Ship Who Searched (1994)?
I remember the first time I read this novel having trawled the metal bookshelves at my local library and stacking hardback on top of hardback to squirrel away home to wait out a hot summer. On second reading as an adult (or as close to one as one can truly be) I savoured the words, the characters, the worlds until late at night when I knew I had to go to bed but I knew an awesome part was coming up and I just had to see it through. Whilst it can be considered young adult with a young protagonist coming of age, it has a delectable taste, a richness of language, as the authors offer a story that can be enjoyed by anyone, no matter their age.
—Ferne Merrylees
Good classic SF about Tia, a genius girl who is struck by an alien disease while on an archeological dig. She is able to become a brainship, implanted in the bowels of a starship, and secretly tries to find the homeworld of the race whose artifacts made her sick.My only difficulty with the book is the typical "main character equals genius" plot. They do a good job at making the child Tia be very smart while also being a child, but science fiction has a recurring problem where they make main characters incredibly smart. It'd be less of an issue if her human co-pilot were normal, but he is a savant, her friends are savants, her mentors are...Aside from that it's engaging, well written SF.
—D.M. Dutcher
I first read this book long ago, and it was one of those that always stayed with me. The idea of someone who would have been expected not to thrive, or even survive, yet now had power beyond any human expectation... and the fact that most were strong females... made a big impression on a young girl.I just listened to the Audible.com file, which is (unfortunately) abridged. I don't know if it is the abridging, or if I was just younger when I read it, but while the story was great, it didn't develop quite as well for me as it did when I was a teen. That is probably the abridging, which cuts out all the character development and leave you with the bones of it.I would still recommend this book to anyone who likes hard SciFi, as a touchstone to our heritage.
—Susan
