Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This time it is a "brain" named Nancia that needs to find a compatible "brawn", May 21, 2006
"PartnerShip" is the second book in the Brainship Series that was begun by Anne McCaffrey in the short stories that were collected under the title "The Ship That Sang." But this second book is a novel rather than a short story collection, tells the story of a new shellperson, and is co-written by McCaffrey with Margaret Ball (they also collaborated on the Acorna boks). Readers of the first book might be disappointed that this "sequel" is not about Helva, but the idea of brainships lends itself to new characters and if you have read McCaffrey's Pern and/or Talent series then you know she likes to tell new stories about new characters more than she does finding new tales for familiar (and even beloved) ones.
Nancia Perez y des Gras was an aristocrat, a member of one of the High Families, who was born with grave physical disabilities that required her human body to be encased in a massive titanium column that provided a direct link between her mind and the computer of her ship, XN-935. Nancia never would have survived without the complex life-support system the shell provided and which also allowed her to have a career as a new brainship for the Courier Service. Although she has been well trained, Nancia is not ready for dealing with the five "ordinary" human beings who are her passengers on her first voyage.
They are also members of the High Families and what her passengers have in common is that they are the proverbial black sheep of their respective families. That is why they are being sent to the forgotten far side of the galaxy. Usually the "brain" on a Courier Service ships is complemented by a "brawn," a human pilot special trained for such services, but Nancia is traveling without one on her maiden voyage. So Nancia is shocked and appalled by what she hears as her passengers plan to make their illegal fortunes and enjoy their ill-gotten gains. However, these five aristocrats do not know that they are on a brain ship and Nancia never bothers to tell them that she is listening (and recording) all of their plans.
What I like about "PartnerShip" is that Nancia bides her time before bringing the Nyota Five to justice. After all, she is fairly new to the ways of the real world and, as the title indicates, she is not going to be alone with the time comes to put her plan into motion. Consequently, in addition to the anticipation as to how Nancia is going to get these five clowns there is also a question of who is going to be the "brawn" to her "brain"? The former appeals to be a bit more simply because I like it when somebody on the inside has got the goods on the bad guys, but I was satisfied with the specific partnership that McCaffrey and Ball came up with for Nancia. Final Note: the cover art for this 1992 book is by Stephen Hickman.
|
|
|
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A non-taxing, good, warm fuzzy read., February 16, 1997
By A Customer
The fascinating concept of brainships is wedded with recognition of society's
responsibility to maximize the potential of it's members. Nancia's growth from naive
newness to flexible adulthood is accompanied by normal emotional trauma. Self
awareness, recognition of self worth and valuation of others are wrapped in an
entertaining reading experience. Cynical recognition of who you know rather than
what you know doesn't detract from the message or the idealistic theme that good
works and good will can triumph.
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Makes the reader think about what being "human" really means, March 1, 2008
Nancia is sixteen years old when she graduates from Laboratory Schools, the training facility for shell persons. That's the term for humans who require complete life support, usually from the moment of leaving the womb. Enclosed by a protective casing that supplies all their bodies require, shell persons like Nancia train for careers that let them exercise incredible power. Nancia will spend her life sealed inside a titanium column at the heart of a Courier Service "brain ship," with that ship serving as her extended body. With state-of-the-art computer processing power and computer memory banks as easy for her to use as her own human mind and human memory, she has only to choose her partner - a "brawn" who's been trained for that job. Before she has a chance to do so, though, she's given a solo first mission. One her father, a high-ranking Federation civil servant, has pulled strings to get for her because he loves Nancia every bit as much as his two "normal" children, and he thinks that transporting several Planetary Technical Assistance neophytes who are her social equals will give her an opportunity to make friends outside of the shell community. For Nancia belongs to that select and powerful group, the High Families, and so do her passengers. It should be the easiest of assignments. It's not, though, because four out of the five mistake Nancia for a mindless drone ship and treat her accordingly. Hurt and angry, Nancia lets them think that's the case. She overhears as they plot to make their fortunes by shockingly dishonest means, and as they form a pact to aid each other in doing so. She records it all - but then the brawn she chooses as her partner, Caleb from straitlaced Vega, lets her know that he considers such behavior highly inappropriate.
Nancia is young and unsure of herself. She trusts Caleb, and accepts his judgment. During the five years that follow, her first passengers carry out their plans. The day comes when Nancia must face all the harm that's resulted, as she's given the opportunity to expose and therefore stop them at last. But is that the right thing to do? What if she can only accomplish it by doing other things that Caleb can't approve? To which instincts and to which friends should she listen, and whose judgment should she trust? Surely not her own....
I read McCaffrey's initial "brain ship" stories, collected as The Ship Who Sang, many years ago. I picked up this book expecting a light read, and instead found myself immersed in an intriguing tale of a young woman's journey from adolescence into adulthood. Great stuff! One of McCaffrey's better works, and for me a good introduction to co-author Ball.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by S. M. Stirling
by Jody Lynn Nye
by Anne McCaffrey
by Jody Lynn Nye
by Anne McCaffrey
