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oblomov's review against another edition
5.0
Year of New Authors
Born with a severe bodily disability, Helva's parents are given two options: allow their child to become a literal ghost in the machine and integrate her body into a space vessel (with a choice of human brawn companion and a secure job performing missions to pay off the ship she would call her body); or just straight up kill her, I guess.
Having not been born to arsehole Spartans, Helva's life obviously goes the former route and we follow her epic journey across space to deal with religious fanatics, strange diseases, alien life forms and toxic masculinity (because even in the age of space travel we ain't gonna clear up that shit, it seems), and our sentient ship sings beautifully all the way.
I loved this, I adored every glorious moment of it, bury me with this book.
Our protagonist is perfect; a kind, flawed, relentless, short and soft tempered badass.
The episodic chapters are brilliant, ranging from the profound, the heartbreaking, the funny and the just down right horrific. At absolute worst they can slightly drag, but have an iron grip on your throat at their best.
The side characters are great, each a perfect balance for Helva, whether that be to force her empathy, push her boundaries or emphasise her competence by their own failures and prejudice.
The writing is superb; vivid, visceral and at times achingly painful with suspense.
Any flaws? Well, as great as it is to see a disabled female character at the helm of a story in the 1960s, there are some cringeworthy descriptions of her original body that feel very uncomfortable in the modern day, like when Helva is described as 'born a thing' to give one example. These uneasy moments are thankfully rare, and she's always presented as an actual thinking, feeling, competent person, rather than a mind in a box trying to prove to the reader they're an actual person, if you understand me.
Queasy moments aside, this is thoroughly recommended, I utterly loved it, will be reading the absolute shite out of the rest of this series and you should read this immediately.
Side note, for so great a story this book's plagued with terrible cover art. E.g:
The rather dull:
The 'artist wished he was working on Barbarella instead':
The 'Space Lada':
The bloody stupid:
And the 'Oh Christ, what was in those edibles?':
Born with a severe bodily disability, Helva's parents are given two options: allow their child to become a literal ghost in the machine and integrate her body into a space vessel (with a choice of human brawn companion and a secure job performing missions to pay off the ship she would call her body); or just straight up kill her, I guess.
Having not been born to arsehole Spartans, Helva's life obviously goes the former route and we follow her epic journey across space to deal with religious fanatics, strange diseases, alien life forms and toxic masculinity (because even in the age of space travel we ain't gonna clear up that shit, it seems), and our sentient ship sings beautifully all the way.
I loved this, I adored every glorious moment of it, bury me with this book.
Our protagonist is perfect; a kind, flawed, relentless, short and soft tempered badass.
The episodic chapters are brilliant, ranging from the profound, the heartbreaking, the funny and the just down right horrific. At absolute worst they can slightly drag, but have an iron grip on your throat at their best.
The side characters are great, each a perfect balance for Helva, whether that be to force her empathy, push her boundaries or emphasise her competence by their own failures and prejudice.
The writing is superb; vivid, visceral and at times achingly painful with suspense.
Any flaws? Well, as great as it is to see a disabled female character at the helm of a story in the 1960s, there are some cringeworthy descriptions of her original body that feel very uncomfortable in the modern day, like when Helva is described as 'born a thing' to give one example. These uneasy moments are thankfully rare, and she's always presented as an actual thinking, feeling, competent person, rather than a mind in a box trying to prove to the reader they're an actual person, if you understand me.
Queasy moments aside, this is thoroughly recommended, I utterly loved it, will be reading the absolute shite out of the rest of this series and you should read this immediately.
Side note, for so great a story this book's plagued with terrible cover art. E.g:
The rather dull:
The 'artist wished he was working on Barbarella instead':
The 'Space Lada':
The bloody stupid:
And the 'Oh Christ, what was in those edibles?':
swarmofbees's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
bookcrazylady45's review against another edition
5.0
Another beloved book that has been read at least 20 times since 1977. Never palls. Always leaves me wishing for more. Heart aches for more Helva.
cathepsut's review against another edition
3.0
Anne McCaffrey, the dragon lady, does Sci-Fi. Fantasy in space. It was ok.
katekat's review against another edition
4.0
I hadn't read the Brainship books in years so I decided it was time for a re-read and I happy to report that they stood up to the test of time. I really enjoyed the story and found myself very interested in the characters in these books. I am super glad I read them again.
bookbirb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
jawshuwah's review against another edition
4.0
I like this way more than I expected. This wasn't my first Anne McCaffrey book, I expected some of her flaws (mainly the notes of internalized misogyny), and they were present, but not so much that I couldn't love a lot about it. The concept is great, the pacing is good, and the chapter "Dramatic Mission" is sooooo goooood! I was shocked! SHOCKED!! Was not expecting some alien contact/diplomacy/understanding/perception change, etc!
I did hate the main character (a female space ship) spent much of the book complaining about not having a man, and the weird sexual tension at the end between her and the new brawn. I could have lived without that.
Otherwise, this book had soooo much good stuff in it, great concepts. I really enjoyed it.
I did hate the main character (a female space ship) spent much of the book complaining about not having a man, and the weird sexual tension at the end between her and the new brawn. I could have lived without that.
Otherwise, this book had soooo much good stuff in it, great concepts. I really enjoyed it.
dotsonapage's review against another edition
3.0
The first in Anne McCaffrey's series about the Brainships, featuring a group of short stories starring Helva. A decent read, but something slow and depressing at times. Some of the books later in the series are much better.
etherealfire's review against another edition
5.0
I've actually read this book - in the mid 1980s. But I only half remember it and no longer own the book so I'm going to get a copy from the library and re-read it. Also, it appears there it was part of a series so that is something to look forward to.
Note: 05-08-2017 Unable to obtain this book from the library and unable to obtain a kindle version of the book.
Note: 05-08-2017 Unable to obtain this book from the library and unable to obtain a kindle version of the book.