Very Quick Review: SISTERS OF THE VAST BLACK by Lina Rather (Tor.com)

RatherL-SistersOfTheVastBlackAn intriguing sci-fi story of secrets and survival

The sisters of the Order of Saint Rita captain their living ship into the reaches of space…

Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own.

When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care — and that of the galactic diaspora — are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself.

This, for me, was a novella ultimately about secrets: the secrets we tell ourselves, and those we keep from others — especially those who are close to us. It is also set in an engaging, interesting version of the future. Continue reading

New Books (July-August)

NewBooks-20190817

This New Books post comes rather quickly after the previous, I know, but I’ve decided to post them more frequently — probably when I hit 15 books (as here), because I want to let people know about the upcoming books ASAP.

Featuring: Ben Aaronovitch, Binyamin Appelbaum, Andrew Bacevich, Myke Cole, D.K. Fields, Oliver Harris, Justin D Hill, Ian McDonald, David Poyer, Kate Quinn, Kate Racculia, Lina Rather, Priya Sharma, Katherine Stansfield, Adrian Tchaikovsky

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