I got this softcover from local independent bookstore Balin Books, for another release copy. I really enjoyed Machine, set in the same 'verse, and wanted to read what came before.

While I didn't love this one quite as much, it has its points, and it was fun seeing some of the back-story to characters and incidents mentioned in the later book. This is a complex future galactic-travel universe, where people are artificially enhanced by default, from the low-gravity workers who have their feet modified to be second hands - incredibly useful while working on zero-G but a bit awkward if they have to walk anywhere that DOES have gravity - to the self-monitoring AI that can tweak one's mood and energy level, balancing emergency needs with the costs of pushing the individual too far.

Here, the protagonists find an amazing piece of ancient technology - and immediately get embroiled in a mad chase to hang on to it. Lots of space-adventure, tricky relationships, and a charming ship-mind named Singer... (Side note: some of the fun has to do with the naming conventions for ships; one of them is I'll Explain It To You Slowly!)

[There's a TV Tropes page on the author and some of her work, with some entertaining tidbits.]

I left this book on one of the picnic tables at the welcome center on this lovely (if a bit warm for October) day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in VT here.]

** Released for these challenges:

2023 Tick Tock

2023 Spook-Tacular

2023 52 Towns in 52 Weeks

2023 Science Fiction

Found at the Guilford Center Rest Area in Guilford VT, it's now in Loudon NH.

I released this book outside the Loudon NH post office on 9/10/23