I kept looking at this one last year since it would come up on various lists and then finally picked up a copy. It also ended up being announced as the February choice for the Buffering podcast book club which worked out perfect – always great when book club just helps you prioritize a book you already have.
This novel was just pulpy, campy fun, combining classic horror creatures with AIs (the good fictional kind that make you discover things about humanity) and space travel. After Demeter, a ship that runs the route between Earth and a far away settlement, loses all her passengers due to Dracula hitching a ride and murdering everyone, the ship becomes a magnet for strange things. Werewolves, Cthulhu-related fish creatures, ancient mummies all end up taking rides while Demeter worries about getting scrapped due to her worsening record while also trying to protect her passengers.
There were a lot of fun references in this one, and I also really liked how the author reimagined Frankenstein’s monster for this story, how she showed space travel impacting werewolves and other little adjustments.
There were also two bickering AIs on the journey: Demeter, the ship itself, and Steward, the “doctor” with a manipulation module. I was picturing the Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager for Steward based the character’s personality but Steward is then identified as using she/her pronouns a bit later so had to adjust my mental picture. Plus, more of a robot than a hologram.
There is also a huge found family aspect to this story full of dysfunctional misfits. It really was just a fun time, absurd and ridiculous, with heart. The only complaint I had is that I honestly wanted a few more disastrous trips for Demeter (sorry, ship) because I wanted to see who else Truelove might introduce into the story before Demeter finally gets to have the long awaited show down with Dracula.
