Ancestral Night (1) (White Space) Paperback – December 3, 2019

I read the reviews and almost did not read this book. I am SO glad I ignored them. This was a fantastic book: sci fi in the best tradition. It explores possible political and social constructs through a person who was used, then psychologically and emotionally damaged by them. One has to actually understand the basis of the structures to follow the experience for the character and to understand her arrival at her personal healing.And all this internal drama takes place embedded in an adventure story that is part action and part psychological thriller. I actually feel sorry for people who panned this book as boring. I expect they are people who prefer the short serial stories so popular now. This is a true book...it is not a chapter, it is not a part...it is a complete story that delves into the psychology and sociology of a future version of our galaxy.The character development is excellent for a first person perspective...the main character has opinions about other characters, but isn’t omniscient in her understanding beyond what has been shared. She is not perfect...she is not a super model, she is not a genius, she is a regular person who is winging it through life like the rest of us, and then thrown into extraordinary circumstances.The “universe” the author has created is rich with varied life and is an interesting place that has room for many more stories! The book does leave some big questions in that universe unexplained, so I hope this is not the last story.This is a deep and thoughtful book, and I hope others enjoy it as much as I did. If you are looking for a quick read with nonstop action and little depth and introspection, this book is not for you. There are fun reads, then there are books like this that have fun, but also engage the intellect, which is a different kind of fun that is becoming too rare, in my opinion. My thanks to the author!

Let's not bury the lede: This well-written story is worth your time and money, whether you're a science fiction fan or just enjoy a good novel. The author's knowledge and research firmly anchor the novel, not only in terms of the science (Alcubierre drives, Dyson spheres, emergent AI) but also in terms of political theory (nods to Hobbes, Rousseau, Locke, Rawls) and the philosophy of identity. The author gets known stuff right. Readers who complain that too much science fiction lacks character development will have nothing to complain about here. Both of the lead characters, human and AI, are richly developed through dialogue and reflection. The relentless lawman, enigmatic space leviathans, and tolles Gehirn are intriguing characters in less central roles -- I have a feeling those roles will grow as the series develops.And now a confession: I'm more of a plot-centric reader, and the deep discussions of political theory, moral philosophy, and meaning of self -- while well researched and interesting to consider -- slowed things down for me. Also, the extensive world building felt more like a set-up for an ongoing series of novels than something essential to this story. So for me, the immediate payoff of this single novel was four stars, although maybe I should be thinking of this as an investment in a new series rather than as a one-off read.Depending on why you read, this well-researched and well-written novel will likely be a four- or five-star experience for you, and I'm hopeful the investment in world building will reap future returns.

I found this a rather difficult slog, without a whole lot of payoff. I think the author was going for a heroine that is cheeky, with a complex interior monologue, and a complex, morally ambiguous villain. But it all comes off as kind of muddled and the writing style is also a bit annoying, with a lot of short little one liners and quips to represent the cheeky interior monologue. Overall it lacked a really tight plot: there’s a small number of events that drive the plot, but lots and lots of words as filler in between, and it just wasn’t that interesting. The middle act (Haimey & Farweather) really dragged on too long for what I thought was a predictable payoff for that act. The final act features big action, yet for all the many words I couldn’t really get a mental image of what was going on. It’s probably a bad sign that this is book 1 of a series, but I didn’t find anything sufficiently interesting about these characters or this universe to motivate me to pick up the next book.

Cleverly woven into a rollicking adventure in the far distant future, Bear explores the creation and development of human identity.

So pleasurable to read Elizabeth in the space-opera+ideas genre again. Couldn't be more pleased. I hope to see more in this universe in the future.

(Some moderate spoilers below the line in this review)This is a space opera, but not of the "clashing space fleets" variety, or even the "rollicking fun tale of adventures in space" type, but a more chewy and contemplative type. Comparisons to other books are sometimes a bit lazy, but I intend high praise when I say this did put me in mind of something between Iain M Bank's Culture and Becky Chamber's Wayfarers, with at least an element of CJ Cherryh as well.The story is tightly wound around Haimey Dz, a salvager working deep space rescues with her partner Connla, snarky AI Singer, and two cats. Haimey slowly revels both her self and the society she lives in, which is a conglomeration of alien species in cooperation, and to fit in humans have modified themselves both physically and mentally, adjusting their brain chemistry on the fly to keep them from acting badly. Haimey is a very strong example of this - she has Something In Her Past and she's practically been rebuilt as a person as a result of that.The story is quite slow to get going, and because it's being narrated by Haimey - a person perpetually taking the edge off her emotions - there's a peculiar flatness about the story to start with. Once the story kicked into high gear and I realised why I was getting that flat feeling then it really clicked for me.What's so clever and good to chew on are the questions here about how a society works - how do you grow or engineer one, what do people give up to be part of one? The society is trying to transition into a post-scarcity model but it's not there yet - there are rebel pirates lurking around - and the best parts of the story are when Haimey is trapped in a hate/love relationship with one of these so-called pirates and has to confront the truth about her society and herself.Throw in some Big Ideas of suitably operatic scale to drive the plot around, and you have a fascinating and clever piece of space opera.(I understand that there's another novel in this sequence to come but that it focuses on different characters, so I'd say this is definitely satisfying as a standalone.)

A new take on space and humanity's role in the future in it. A book I couldn t let go unfinished for more than 3 days. The artificial intelligence portrayed here is complex but there is still room to develop it. I am awaiting the following novel with interest.

Haimey Dz has instantly vaulted to being one of my favourite heroines of all time. A complex, relatable protagonist in a beautifully built-out far future setting.This is thoughtful, exciting, wonder-inspiring scifi at it's very best. I felt echoes of 'Rendezvous With Rama' at times while reading this. If you're a fan of well-executed space opera leavened with very thoughtful examinations of society and psychology you'll love this.I wasn't prepared for the emotional wallop I felt at the end. Crying in the Cafe at 7 in the morning while I finished it isn't usually my style - but this is very satisfying.It stands alone superbly but I would race to read another adventure starring Haimey, Singer and Connla.

The thing that got me to buy the book after reading the sample was the up-to-the-minute at the time of writing usage of Alcubierre-White Warp Drive theory and the (seemingly now debunked, sadly) EM Drive. Both are used brilliantly throughout the book, and Harold Sonny White's ears must be burning any time someone reads this.The story took a few chapters to really grab me, but the main character is very interesting and the supporting cast are variously interesting, endearing, funny, or exciting.Once the story got its hooks into me though, I had trouble managing my time because I kept reading.I love this universe, where space travel is almost trivial and the population diverse, bustling, and mostly harmonious in a combination of ways that I find very aspirational and pleasing.I knocked off one star just because there is, at times, a tendency to get lost in psychological or political navel gazing, and once in a while, the main character is handed the stupid stick in service of a more dramatic reveal later. There's a sense of striving for more emotional profundity than ever hit home for me.But that aside, this is a fantastic romp across the galaxy, through science and mind and morality. Great stuff!