Thomcat
9/3/2026
Very creative world (and empire) building, I really liked the use of music in the plot. Not an easy read in the beginning - the style takes some getting used to.
The main character once contained multitudes, what are derisively referred to as corpse soldiers. Most of the first half is told in two threads, current day and flashback. Losing access to the rest of the extended consciousness, temporarily and later permanently, makes for a very interesting tale.
At roughly the midpoint, these two threads are brought together, and remain unified through the rest of the book. How will this play out in the other books in the series? Will find out.
Blurbs have this as "space opera", but this doesn't work for me. This novel is more a political thriller at the level of a multi-star empire. What is and isn't AI is up in the air, and what was meant by AI 13 years ago is different than what marketing folks describe today. Feels like this has more in common with the Borg in Star Trek - unwilling physical participants and wide communication, and (for the main antagonist) a god complex.
I was first attracted to this for the theme (ship-mind) when first released; held off because I knew it was a series (and was reading many others). It's an even toss whether I read the second book or pick up The Ship Who Sang for a reread, and possible comparison.