The Ship Who Sang (Brainship, #1)

Jun 15, 2012 Aunt Edie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, sci-fi

It was Thanksgiving, I was out of town, had just gotten ready to head out for dinner when I heard that Anne McCaffrey had passed. It hit me like a punch in the gut. I couldn't quite shake it all evening. What was going on? Sure, I've read her books but she has never been on a list of favorite authors, why was I so affected? I knew L'Engle would be a tough one for me. Butler was just so unexpected. Le Guin is going to turn me into a wreck. But McCaffrey? I've never listed her as an influence or p...more It was Thanksgiving, I was out of town, had just gotten ready to head out for dinner when I heard that Anne McCaffrey had passed. It hit me like a punch in the gut. I couldn't quite shake it all evening. What was going on? Sure, I've read her books but she has never been on a list of favorite authors, why was I so affected? I knew L'Engle would be a tough one for me. Butler was just so unexpected. Le Guin is going to turn me into a wreck. But McCaffrey? I've never listed her as an influence or put her on a list of people I want to meet or authors I want to write like (L'Engle, Le Guin & Borges, if you are curious). Yet I was mourning her passing like she was a dear friend.

Turns out, I've spent a lot more time with Anne McCaffrey than I would have guessed. There is the Crystal Singer series, and the PTB, I never got into Acorna, of course Pern, the Freedom series, The Rowan (which I recently reread) and its sequels, the Pirate books (including Sassinak - not only a personal favorite but introduced me to Elizabeth Moon for which I am grateful). And then there is The Ship Who Sang. Who doesn't remember reading this book for the first time. Did you cry? If you say no then you don't have a heart. I enjoyed the other Brain books but Helva stole my heart.

When I got back from vacation I looked for my copy of The Ship Who Sang but couldn't find it. Not surprising since I tend to give my favorite books away. I started looking in bookstores, new and used, but no one seemed to have a copy. So last week I gave in and ordered it online. Doubt I'll have this copy long as I already have a list in my head of people I need to give it to.

Do I need to review this book? It is a classic, if you haven't read it, you should. I don't feel the need to "sell" it. However, I do have a few observations from this latest rereading. Perhaps the most superficial but obvious is how well the book stands the test of time. The Ship Who Sang is 50 years old. FIFTY YEARS! Think about how technology has changed in that amount of time. Yet there are very few startlingly out of date references. "Gay" is used to mean fun & festive. And if that is the biggest tell that this book is half a century old, how impressive is that? The rest still works well enough that it doesn't jerk you out of the story like many (most) older works. The story is still as strong, the technology as impressive, the characters as real, and the hope as powerful as ever. This is what science ficiton is supposed to do - it shows us the very best of who we are and who we might become. Not perfection (boring) but something to strive towards.

So what is it about Anne McCaffrey that makes me read her books (lots and lots of her books) but not mention her when people ask who I read? I recently had a discussion online about the difference between the books we say we read and the books we actually read. I don't have answers yet, but it is a question I am pondering. If you ask me for my top ten favorite science fiction books I would be able to come up with a reputable list off the top of my head. And they would be books I really do adore, books that changed my perspective, changed my mind, changed my life. But you know what science fiction book I have reread the most? Sassinak. True story. (less)

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May 06, 2012 Alex Satrapa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Anne Mccaffrey was a prolific writer of Science Fantasy. The first Anne Mccaffrey book I read was this one, "The Ship Who Sang." Anne's writing (all through the books I have read from Dragonriders, Petaybee and Crystal Singer) has always struck me as optimistic, romantic, and not at all concerned about physics. If you are a hard science fiction fan (i.e.: you love Asimov and Arthur C Clarke) you might be left feeling cheated by The Ship Who Sang: there are gaping plot holes on just about every p...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Mark Johansen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In a future time, society has found a niche for children born with severe handicaps: They are encased in metal shells, attached to all sorts of electronics, and used to run factories, cities, and star ships.

The heroine of this book, Helva, is such a child, who has been built into a star ship. She IS the ship. She figures out how to sing through her electronic speakers, hence the title.

At heart, this is a romance novel. The "brain ships" of the book are paired with an ordinary human pilot. Helva...more In a future time, society has found a niche for children born with severe handicaps: They are encased in metal shells, attached to all sorts of electronics, and used to run factories, cities, and star ships.

The heroine of this book, Helva, is such a child, who has been built into a star ship. She IS the ship. She figures out how to sing through her electronic speakers, hence the title.

At heart, this is a romance novel. The "brain ships" of the book are paired with an ordinary human pilot. Helva and her first pilot fall in love, a romance in all but the sexual sense. Given that ship and pilot are alone together for months and years on end and are constantly working together, this doesn't seem implausible. You'd have to end up either loving or hating each other. Then -- WARNING! MINOR SPOILER COMING -- her pilot dies. Most of the book is about Helva dealing with grief and searching for a new love.

While I'm not a big fan of romance novels -- note I checked the box for "male" in my profile -- at its best this book is an excellent example of what science fiction can be. The author takes a speculative scientific premise: what if handicapped people could be made productive by wiring them into a spaceship like this? Then it examines the implications in an entertaining story. What would it be like to be wired into such a ship? How would such people fit in society? What would be the legal and moral implications? Etc.

On the down side, I thought this book tried too hard to tug at my emotions. Or perhaps I should say, the author's efforts were too abrupt. Characters were introduced and three sentences later I am apparently expected to care about them. I don't even know them yet. You need to build more. Too many characters with too many personal problem raced by too quickly. The pacing was just too fast for me to get emotionally involved with any of them but Helva herself. I think this book would have been better if it had had fewer characters and fewer "episodes", but had discussed each in greater depth.(less)

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Feb 22, 2010 Raj rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, space-opera

Helva has been wrapped in a titanium 'shell' since birth, a shell that protects and nurtures her, as her own body is broken and useless. Inserted into a spaceship that becomes her body, she travels the stars with her partnered 'brawn', working for the Central Worlds government as a medical ship, trying to pay off the debt she incurred for her upbringing and spaceship body. But Helva is unique amongst Brainships, she is the ship who sings.

This book brings together several short stories about Helv...more

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Sep 21, 2009 Doreen rated it 3 of 5 stars

First off, I'm late to the Anne McCaffrey oeuvre. Someone gave me a stack of her books, and I thought I'd start with Dragonflight, for which she's best known. Bad idea, as that is a novel of extremely unlikeable people who do cruel things to one another (also, the "romance" was entirely forced and grossed me out.)

The Ship Who Sang has characters that it's much easier to root for, and the scientific ideas are progressive and unique. But. Helva is exceedingly naive for someone of her experience. S...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Valerie added it · review of another edition

I have a collection of short stories by McCaffrey, but I realized when I got it down to reread and review it that one was a sequel to this book. So I searched around until I found a copy, which took longer than I expected.

First, the table of contents:

The Ship Who Sang
The Ship Who Mourned
The Ship Who Killed
Dramatic Mission
The Partnered Ship.

The book, in other words, is a collection of short stories. McCaffrey did write novels, but this isn't one. But since all the stories at least involve the 'br...more

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Nov 14, 2012 M. J. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. McCaffrey is one of those authors of whom I have always heard but never, at least that I was aware, had opportunity to read. The name "Pern" is enough to bring her to mind. This book is not part of that, not in the least "fantasy" in that sense, but rather clearly science fiction.

I must commend her in her craft. It appears from the copyrights page that this book was originally written in short stories published separately over years, yet they read as a single novel. I cannot know how much rewrit...more McCaffrey is one of those authors of whom I have always heard but never, at least that I was aware, had opportunity to read. The name "Pern" is enough to bring her to mind. This book is not part of that, not in the least "fantasy" in that sense, but rather clearly science fiction.

I must commend her in her craft. It appears from the copyrights page that this book was originally written in short stories published separately over years, yet they read as a single novel. I cannot know how much rewriting was performed to make that happen, but the flow of the story across the sections is continuous and not at all disrupted or inconsistent. Meanwhile, each section explores a new aspect of the ship's personality and new concepts in science fiction, from the first in which we are introduced to the notion of a human, deformed at birth, preserved by being made the brains of a machine and then finding a purpose in life running something--a starship, a city--that requires the constant attention and intelligence only such a person could bring, yet still being quite human in feelings and personality despite being isolated from human touch, informed solely by electronic senses and operating machines as a surrogate body. The exploration continues with intelligent life living on a gas giant, willing to trade their advanced technology for access to something for which they have no counterpart: dramatic performance. Yet always it is rooted in exploring who this person is who is the brain of the ship, and how she reacts and interacts to and with others.

I could complain that it was too short, and indeed it ended in an odd place with much unanswered, but it told a compelling story throughout.

I think, too, that either she or I missed something, since about halfway through the book it struck me that the one character who was always there for her was probably her biological father--a father she would never have known, but a man who had the social position to pull the strings that would track his daughter and allow him to position himself near her. Indeed, I kept waiting for that to be revealed in the last few pages of the book, when their relationship was center stage and driving the conflict of the story. It never was. Perhaps I failed to catch McCaffrey's real intent, or perhaps she did not communicate it well--or perhaps she intended to write another story about the ship and the man in which that would be revealed, and it never happened.

One wonders when approaching a new author not merely whether the author is good, but whether as a individual reader you will find it enjoyable. Having now experienced McCaffrey's writing, I would certainly not hesitate to read something else from her.(less)

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Dec 15, 2012 Angus Mcfarlane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi

The ship who sang is a historical science fiction piece that comprises short vignettes which exercise both technological speculation and contemporary commentary. I liked the angle on time and space travel that is taken: interstellar travel is routine, but apart from the very long times needed to get to faraway places, the days weeks or years needed for the trips taken in the various stories is never mentioned. Ambiguity is also retained throughout regarding the trustworthiness of the central wor...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Christine Ricci rated it 4 of 5 stars

At first I was a little disappointed because I felt I needed more evidence of the four years or so that Helva spent with her love to deserve such a grieving process. However, I found that I eventually, felt there was no need. The relationships throughout the novel are quite compelling and speak to the many types of relationships I see in my life. The novel seems to be an expansion of the idea that everyone you know, was put into your life for a reason. You know them for the time it was important...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Louise Armstrong rated it 4 of 5 stars

I remember totally enjoying this book when I was a teenager, and it holds up pretty well. What impressed me were her alien Corviki. They express themselves in human words and concepts (how could it be else?) BUT given a neat twist so they sound alien.

"'My energy group is excited to experience the total pressure dominances of these envelopes,' the Manager replied, emanating the lavender-purples Helga equated with pleasure in Corviki."

Aliens are created a bit lazily sometimes - was it James Blish...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Jenee rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm not really a fan of Anne McCaffrey, I find her books relatively difficult to get into. But she's my mom's favorite author so we have all the books everywhere in my house. I got bored of my own books and decided to try once again to read this one. I have read the Ship who Searched and loved it, this one was good but definitely not as good as the first one I read. Though this one was an easier read then I usually find McCaffrey's books, it still wasn't as thrilling as I hoped it would be. I fo...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Timur Aliev rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mccaffrey

Вначале сделаю оговорочку – я никогда не читал фантастику/фэнтези и не держал в руках других произведений Энн Маккефри, оттого возможно мой отзыв покажется несколько неясным и неумелым ввиду отсутствия опыта и «хваткости» читающих глаз.

Обман – это то, что мы создаем, а вовсе не то, во что верим.

Итак, произведение описывает нам будущее, век удивительных земных технологий, целиком и полностью направленных на продление жизни, чего бы это ни стоило. Главная героиня, Хельва, должна была погибнуть из-...more Вначале сделаю оговорочку – я никогда не читал фантастику/фэнтези и не держал в руках других произведений Энн Маккефри, оттого возможно мой отзыв покажется несколько неясным и неумелым ввиду отсутствия опыта и «хваткости» читающих глаз.

Обман – это то, что мы создаем, а вовсе не то, во что верим.

Итак, произведение описывает нам будущее, век удивительных земных технологий, целиком и полностью направленных на продление жизни, чего бы это ни стоило. Главная героиня, Хельва, должна была погибнуть из-за физической немощи, но наука дала ей шанс выжить, превратив в заключённый в капсулу «мозг» космического корабля. Теперь ей предстоит служба на благо Федерации Центральных Миров (тамошнее государство, как я понял), сложные задания, запутанные истории взаимоотношений с «телами» – пилотами, которые на пару с Хельвой составляли команду и тонкая нить эмоциональных переживаний, выплёскивающаяся в последней главе огромной бурей. Каждая глава раскрывает нам характер Хельвы (или лучше сказать в данном случае внутренний мир), мы видим её избирательную слабость и невероятную стойкость, чувствуем вместе с ней скорбящую тоску от потери Дженнана, вместе с этим ощущаем и всех других персонажей книги (я не знаю, как это получилось у автора, но это реально удивительно, я крайне сильно проникся всеми чувствами, которые герои произведения испытывали из одной главы в другую, особенно чувствами Хельвы и Паролана).

Не знать, где ты необходим, не быть там, где нужна твоя помощь, – это преступление.

В общем, книга безумно приятна, оставляет тёплое ощущение в левой части груди, которое разливается по всему телу. Напоследок хочется сказать, что я теперь безмерно счастлив ещё и по той причине, что теперь я ощущаю себя «в теме» этой книжки. Приятно знать параллельно со своей второй половинкой, откуда пошло прозвище «Корабль, который поёт», кто такой диланист, чем опасно возвращение на Бету Корви и что такое ЦВ-двигатель.(less)

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Nov 20, 2011 Kirrus rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a strange, in a way, winding book. In places, it quite reads (as it is) as a collection of short stories, binding a character and suituation. These are masterfully woven together to leave a perfectly agreeable conclusion, with two of the characters left 3-dimensional at the close.

I'd expect little else from Anne McCaffrey, as usual she doesn't disappoint. The short-story breaks mean that at times this book jarred me out of full-immersion, with a swift ending. Additionally, at times, I f...more

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Sep 15, 2008 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

I think I read this before I read her Pern series, at least about the same time in the early 1970's. I was really impressed by her take on a cyborg. It was different than anything I'd read before. She looked at it with a lot of humanity. A perennial favorite of mine.

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Feb 07, 2013 Al rated it 4 of 5 stars

Helva had been born human, but only her brain had been saved and implanted into the titanium body of an intergalactic scout ship. But first she had to choose a human partner, to soar with her through the daring adventures and exhilarating escapades in space.

About the Author

Anne McCaffrey was one of the world's leading science-fiction writers, and won both the Hugo and Nebula awards as well as the Margaret A. Edwards' Lifetime Achievement Literary Award. Born and raised in the US, although of

...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Andrea Fife rated it 4 of 5 stars

The references to music and theater were right up my alley, and mixing them in with some well-written science fiction made for a great read. I loved getting lost in McCaffrey's imaginative society, but I did feel the book lacked a certain forward momentum. The overall theme that humanity starts in one's brain was interesting to contemplate. Without reading the book, this quote is probably meaningless, but I felt it summed up the book very well:

"The encase us in titanium shells, place the shells...more

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Dec 09, 2010 Jacob rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: powells_sf_group

Although I didn't actually like this book very much (personal rating: 2 stars), I realize it's a matter of just not liking the story that much. The writing was good and the story could have been quite interesting, but the author's focus was just too much on relationships and feelings, and the technical and action aspects were played down too much for my taste. However, I suspect many people would really enjoy this kind of story.

I'm still glad I read it, because it IS classic science fiction. It...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: what-do-i-want-to-be-when-i-grow-up, science-fiction

I cannot remember the first time I read this book and this series, but I ENVY Helva! I mean, SERIOUSLY, who would not want to be a BrainShip with a titanium hull?

Oh yes, I recognized the downsides. It "objectivizes people with disabilities," or some such. It is "Gnosticism 101," completely separating body and… Spirit? Soul?

Anne McCaffery is a novelist, not a theologian. She was one of the first novelists that I read that had a WOMAN with a disability as a first rate Hero. I enjoyed it the first...more

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Dec 25, 2011 Theresa Ramseyer rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked it :) (For some reason Firefox doesn't do well with my star ratings).

Watching Helva from birth to beyond was fun. I wish Mrs. McCaffrey would have added more stories, but she ties up the loose ends nicely in the last one, while opening to new flights of the imagination.

If I had to pick one, I think the first one is the best, though Helva gets more seasoned as she goes. It's the first time she deals with having a partner and with death, and the latter, while driving her on, also makes h...more

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Jan 25, 2009 Matt rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

A collection of short stories about a super intelligent young lady who is trapped in a horribly deformed body. She gets to have her brain removed and placed in a spaceship to work as it's living onboard computer. There she forms a special bond with her pilot.

I love the premise, but I couldn't get past the third story, which featured a religious movement, based on the songs of Bob Dylan.

How much crappy writing must a reader read, before he realizes a writer's work is no good...The answer my frien...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Angirasa Acharya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, scifi

This is perhaps one of the most moving books I've read in recent times. I'm amazed I missed Anne McCaffrey when I was growing up and consuming all the Fiction I could.

Though obviously SciFi in nature, Anne McCaffrey makes it hard for the reader not to associate with, and embrace her characters.

I recommend this book with massive intensity, regardless of your genre inclinations. This one goes way up there! Way way up there!

BTW, it's a series of books. You might want to read them all when you're do...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Hallie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book, because I like Anne McCaffrey, but mostly it reminded me that I like her, not because she is a particularly good writer, but because she builds good worlds, and this one didn't grab me. There were a lot of passages of pseudo-technobabble, which seemed to be intended to convince the reader that this is real science fiction, but mostly I was just annoyed. The plots should have been more exciting than they were, and the shell-people concept is fascinating but not,...more

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Apr 01, 2011 David C. Mueller rated it 4 of 5 stars

An enjoyable light read about the adventures of a human who becomes the brain of a small interstellar scoutship. Written decades ago, this story is free of the exaggerated angst that so many more modern SF novels display. "The Ship Who Sang" is a warm, human story that will delight those looking for a simple story written in a more upbeat era in science fiction. Readers who enjoy this book may also want to check out the numerous stories set in the same fictional universe written in the 1990's by...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

You could structure an entire college course around the ethical questions raised in this book. Is it ethically justified to take children with sound minds but no control of their bodies and then hook them up to galaxy class spaceships to work off the medical expense through government contracts? What ethics are involved for such a ship in making choices about their missions and their destiny? Would other humans want to compete for such an honor, or would it still be a secondary existence to livi...more You could structure an entire college course around the ethical questions raised in this book. Is it ethically justified to take children with sound minds but no control of their bodies and then hook them up to galaxy class spaceships to work off the medical expense through government contracts? What ethics are involved for such a ship in making choices about their missions and their destiny? Would other humans want to compete for such an honor, or would it still be a secondary existence to living purely in a human frame? What form would human relationships and love take for such a person? Would they still be a person?

Ms. McCaffrey explores this premise and the resulting ethical curiosities throughout the book, and in myriad contexts. As is true in any good speculative fiction tale, each discovery and plot point becomes a springboard for more ideas and more discoveries. I found myself wanting to know more about where these questions could take us, and I am gratified to know that there are at least a half dozen sequels to capture my interest.

The book was originally written as a series of short stories that appeared in various magazines, and to some degree that affects the reading. I thought some stories were stronger than others, and so in that sense it was a little like reading an anthology. However, despite the different contexts in the stories, Ms. McCaffrey did a remarkable job transitioning between stories and keeping continuity where it could easily have been dropped. The original story was referenced all the way to the end and in some ways the last story was the conclusion to the first story. So it definitely felt like a complete novel.

I think what I was most surprised about was how much this was a novel about love, and loss, and human growth and relationships, since the premise and the missions are so science-based. I have been told that these are recurring themes in her novels, but I confess I am new to her work. In any case, the stories definitely evoked myriad human emotions, and brought me to tears more than once.

I also was surprised at how dialogue driven the stories were. Even much of the science speculation was handled through conversations between the characters. I consider this pretty hard to pull off while still keeping it fresh and interesting, and yet the dialogue was so astute, and witty, and lively, that it never seemed like you were just standing in a room listening to people speak. It reminded me a bit of Asimov's treatment in the Foundation, using little isolated dramas to expound on galactic events and ideas. Ms. McCaffrey definitely has a way with puns and wordplay.

I am almost tempted to give this book 5 stars, but I did feel that it dragged a bit in a few places, and again some stories were better than others. (For example, I would definitely give the first story 5 stars; it is what made me buy the book, and it was a brilliant display of efficiency and emotional impact in writing). Another element that detracted from 5 stars was that in one story, one of the characters who had been someone with complex motivations suddenly reverts to being just a stereotype that everyone wrote off with a slur. (It made me think even Ms. McCaffrey had finally gotten fed up with the character!) It spoiled the ending of the story for me a bit, as I could not understand the motivation for (view spoiler) the character's behavior.

Overall, it was an amazing book, particularly amazing in that I found the ideas fresh nearly 50 years after it was written! I will definitely be reading more of her work.(less)

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Oct 22, 2012 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: anne-mccaffrey, america, fantasy, space, romantic, 2012

Вау. Ух ты. Ничего себе. Любимая книга Capitalistka была поглощена меньше, чем за 24 часа. Днем во время переезда на новую стоянку я открыла ее, а утром следующего дня, во время возвращения домой, закрыла. Люблю, когда книги так сильно захватывают, что на некоторое время теряешь связь с реальностью, полностью оказываясь в мире происходящего.

Космическая фантастика для девушек высокого качества - так я могла бы кратко охарактеризовать книгу. Но это настолько сухое и плоское объяснение, которое нис...more Вау. Ух ты. Ничего себе. Любимая книга Capitalistka была поглощена меньше, чем за 24 часа. Днем во время переезда на новую стоянку я открыла ее, а утром следующего дня, во время возвращения домой, закрыла. Люблю, когда книги так сильно захватывают, что на некоторое время теряешь связь с реальностью, полностью оказываясь в мире происходящего.

Космическая фантастика для девушек высокого качества - так я могла бы кратко охарактеризовать книгу. Но это настолько сухое и плоское объяснение, которое нисколько не показывает суть и глубину произведения, давайте сразу договоримся и забудем его. Потому что "Корабль, который пел" - потрясающий драгоценный камень глубокой и эмоциональной фантастики, которая практически не распространена. В центре изложения главная героиня мозговой корабль Хельва официально, на деле же это физически неполноценная девушка, заточенная в титановую капсулу, составляющая единое целое с кораблем за счет нейронной связи, и управляющая полетом сквозь время и пространство космос. Она с детства не знает другой жизни и никогда не пользовалась телом и тем не менее, она довольна делом своей жизни, и даже несколько жалеет обычных людей с кучей физических несовершенств (плохое зрение, короткая жизнь). После окончания академии ей необходимо встать на государственную службу и выплатить долг за обучение и содержание, во время которого она исполняет различные миссии. Мозговой корабль может функционировать и без "тела", обычного человека пилота, выполняя одиночные миссии, но Хельва предпочитает иметь напарника, из-за чего попадает и в передряги и оказывается лицом к лицу со смертью и потерей... "Корабль, который пел", так прозвали Хельму за ее необыкновенный голос, заключенный в механическую оболочку...

Глубоко психологическая, сентиментальная и романтичная история о мире неполноценного человека, которого не многие воспринимают не как простую железяку, забывая о человечке внутри. История не о космосе как таковом, хотя мне теперь интересно найти на небосводе "конскую голову", но об отношениях, как друг к другу, так и к миру. Терпение, самоотдача и необъятная теплота наполняет это произведение. Вот эту книгу я горячо рекомендую, must read однозначно. Не пожалеете. Лично у меня возникло очень теплое и приятное ощущение в районе груди, хотя на глазах проступали слезы. Потрясающе.(less)

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Jun 14, 2012 Anya rated it 4 of 5 stars

Posted at my blog:

I read a lot of Anne McCaffrey when I was younger, and some of her stuff is definitely for young adults, but I think she has some really interesting lesser known stories and this is one of them. This book is actually a collection of all the short stories about Helva (the ship who sang) named after the first short story. They flow fairly nicely if I remember correctly though, and I consider them basically a series.

Title: The Ship Who Sang
Author: Anne McCaffrey
Pages: 248 all told...more

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Jul 21, 2010 Greymalkin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi-fantasy

Still holds up, I am impressed at the character development of both Helva and the various people she interacts with during her adventures. I didn't remember it being so complex or perhaps I just missed some of the undertones of depression and manipulation when I read it decades ago. The romance is also good. After reading Linea Sinclair's stuff, I'd say that Anne McCaffery is still one of the best scifi romance writers. It's not always great, but she's consistent and solid and the characters hav...more

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Apr 21, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: science-fiction, romance, fiction, novels

McCaffrey's one of my favorite authors. She's best known for her Pern books, which starts with Dragonflight, and I'd certainly highly recommend those. So it is not faint praise to say I would rate this particular novel of hers as highly as any of her Pern books.

The Pern stories are often mistaken for fantasy, because they involve dragons, although they're really science fiction despite the trappings. The Ship Who Sang is more classical science fiction--could be even called space opera--but what...more

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Mar 03, 2009 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have never been much of a sci-fi reader. Actually, my only other dive into that end of the pool occurred last year when I listened to the unabridged version of Dune during a long-ass road trip. So, having girded my loins on the genre's 'bible', I picked this book up for the same reason that I listened to the other one: Many MANY people appeared to have a sincere and slightly unnatural love for it.

This book was just simply a great read and extraordinarily well-written. The plot lines in each c...more

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Jan 05, 2013 zjakkelien rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf, ebook

This was such typical Anne McCaffrey, that it made me smile. The ship who sang is about a BB ship, or a brain-brawn ship. Helva is severly misformed when she's born. Therefore, her growth is inhibited and placed in a so-called shell, sort of a machine that she can control with her mind. Eventually, her brain is connected to a spaceship. She carries out missions together with her human partner, the brawn.
The setup of this book is slightly strange: it consists of 6 chapters that feel like short s...more

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The Ship Who Sang (Brainship #1)

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