Born with severe physical birth defects, nothing is wrong with Helva’s mind. So as an infant she’s implanted in a shell, destined to one day be the mind that runs a spaceship. Fascinated with music, Helva earns the moniker “the ship who sang”. Setting off with her human partner (called a brawn), Helva will find that the joys and challenges of being herself are as vast as space itself.
I don’t know how I feel about this book. I’m sure I read it before when I was younger, but I have no memory of it unlike two of the other books in this series. This isn’t Anne McCaffrey’s best writing, but I found the setting and the ideas compelling. The story and the characters, on the other hand, not so much. Helva is a fine character for the most part but a rather shallow one overall. When she’s dealing with her grief is when we get the most depth to her it seems. It also felt like each chapter was more of a self-contained story than part of a whole. While there are reoccurring characters, it isn’t really until the end of the book that that becomes more important. As I have gotten older, I have realized that writing romance isn’t always Anne McCaffrey’s strong suit, and that certainly is the case here. I actually liked the love interest character far more before it became clear in the last chapter that he was a series love interest. It was also frustrating just how clueless Helva was about his feelings when it was obvious from earlier chapters that he at least had a strong affection for her if not love. The whole relationship felt incredibly rushed and sort of satisfying.
For all my complaints, I did tear through the book in a day, constantly needing to know what happens next. I really do love the world building and concepts behind this universe. I don’t really feel qualified to really judge the way that disability is portrayed in the book, though I definitely think that there are parts that feel really dated. I do think that one could probably jump into this series without reading this book first. It was entertaining but flawed. Three out of five stars.
