milo10000's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
omgsrsly's review
2.0
My least favourite book of the series. :/
Another reviewer summed it up nicely. The good guys are white, the bad guys are black (literally black, even. Not just dark.) and oh no, one of the bad guys likes to rape other dudes.
Another reviewer summed it up nicely. The good guys are white, the bad guys are black (literally black, even. Not just dark.) and oh no, one of the bad guys likes to rape other dudes.
frakalot's review
2.0
I wanted to enjoy this story for its effort to broaden the Brainship Universe but it is definitely a different beast. The writing style is distinctly cruder and although in my view the plot maintained some similar devices it was definitely out of place in the series.
This story seemed like it would be less of an expansion on what it's like to be the Brainship and more of an exploration of the tech in McCaffrey's Brainship Universe, however it ended up being not much of either. The premise does get you thinking about more Brain possibilities when you're not being distracted by poorly expressed sexuality and carelessly handled tragedy but after the introductory details this story did little to add to the series.
I'd have to agree with others that there were too many cringeworthy clichés in this one, it ruined the adventure for me at times... so much so that it got harder to persist the further I read.
This story still tried to approach ethical and philosophical issues head on even if it was not executed very well. I'm hoping the series gets back on track with the next one.
This story seemed like it would be less of an expansion on what it's like to be the Brainship and more of an exploration of the tech in McCaffrey's Brainship Universe, however it ended up being not much of either. The premise does get you thinking about more Brain possibilities when you're not being distracted by poorly expressed sexuality and carelessly handled tragedy but after the introductory details this story did little to add to the series.
I'd have to agree with others that there were too many cringeworthy clichés in this one, it ruined the adventure for me at times... so much so that it got harder to persist the further I read.
This story still tried to approach ethical and philosophical issues head on even if it was not executed very well. I'm hoping the series gets back on track with the next one.
cymry09's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
tyrean's review
5.0
This is an old favorite, but I just re-read it and entered it into Goodreads for the first time. It is definitely worth reading more than once. McCaffrey knocks scifi out of the park as usual in this excellent book!
bookcrazylady45's review
3.0
Pretty good. None of the collaboration books are as good as those written by Anne alone but some are better than others. This one had one major flaw for me...a huge story chunk is missing. You cannot just skip an episode and then later comment on its happening. Okay, you can but it must be better than this. I went back and reread two chapters looking to see if I missed something because a sick bad guy mentioned meeting and assaulting two main characters and then two chapters later the two main characters are shown as one injured and mentioning same 'kiss' and the other behaving as if nothing had happened to her at all and when I went back a second time...there did not seem to be any space in all the action for anything to have happened to the two 12 year olds. Big continuity error which bothered me. Liked the Epilogue.
dotsonapage's review
4.0
The most action-packed and probably the most fun portion of the Brainships series. Unlike the heroines of the previous books, shellperson Simeon isn't pining after a brawn or being horrendously boring. He's running an entire space station, getting in trouble, becoming a father (sort of), and best of all, kicking serious pirate ass. Thank you S.M. Stirling for livening up this series considerably.
katekat's review
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.
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