BooksOfTheMoon

Machine (White Space, #2)

By Elizabeth Bear

Rating: 4 stars

Dr Brookllyn Jens is a rescue specialist on an ambulance ship operating out of Core General – the biggest and best equipped hospital in the Synarche. She’s currently got a mystery on her hands regarding an ancient generation ship off course and with a missing crew, and a modern ship attached to it, with its crew in hibernation. Bringing them back to Core General sets her investigating a bigger mystery that could crack open everything she’s worked her life for.

The first book in this series involved space pirates and the philosophy of government and social order. This one involves space rescues and a deep dive into the nature of faith, especially faith outwith religion. This series shows that Bear is a master at packing in big ideas in entertaining ways.

I’ve been a big fan of James White’s Sector General stories for years, so a book so obviously inspired by them was an obvious choice for me (Bear talked about this in an article about it, and again in the author’s note at the end of the book). I loved all the little callbacks to Sector General (from the giant but oh-so-polite flying bug as the protagonist’s best buddy [he even liked spaghetti!], to the name of the administrator of Core General’s oxygen sector). One of the things that I really love about White’s work was that it was non-violent. The heroes were medics, working to save lives, not shooting blasters indiscriminately. We see that here too, as Llyn and her team work selflessly to save the crew of the generation ship – including the badly damaged shipmind.

Of course, there’s a dark secret lurking in the heart of Core General, and when Llyn eventually discovers it, it shakes her to her core. It makes her question the thing that she’s dedicated her life to and, indeed, the only thing that she’s ever had faith in. This was nicely built up, through Llyn’s PoV over the course of the novel, and the inevitable reveal is as heartbreaking for the reader as it is for Llyn.

Goodlaw Cheeirilaq, the giant preying mantis of a police officer from the previous book, is the only character from that book to have a major appearance in this one, although Singer does turn up as well. I was sort of disappointed not to see Haimey (although I can see that it might have been difficult to get her in), but Connla ended the last book working as an ambulance pilot for Core General, so I was disappointed that he didn’t show up, even as a cameo.

The mystery in the book held my attention well. I really liked Llyn as the protagonist and Core General is a wonderful setting, a worthy successor to Sector General. I’m sure there are more stories to be told in the Synarche, and I hope that we get to see them.

Book details

ISBN: 9781473208773
Publisher: Gollancz
Year of publication: 2020

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