Description
Book SynopsisMeet Doctor Jens.
She hasn''t had a decent cup of coffee in fifteen years.
The first part of her job involves jumping out of perfectly good space-ships. The second part requires developing emergency treatments for sick aliens of species she''s never seen before.
She loves it.
But her latest emergency is also proving a mystery:
Two ships, one ancient and one new, locked in a dangerous embrace.
A mysterious crew suffering from an even more mysterious ailment.
A shipmind trapped in an inadequate body, much of her memory pared away.
A murderous virus from out of time.
Unfortunately, Dr. Jens can''t resist a mystery. Which is why she''s about to discover that everything she''s dedicated her life to . . . is a lie.
Praise for Elizabeth Bear
''Like the best of speculative fiction, Bear has created a fascinating and complete universe
that blends high-tech gadgetry with Old World adventure and political collusion''
Trade Review
This is certainly the best science fiction novel I've read in 2019 so far and I look forward to see how Bear develops the characters and her impressively rich universe. * POPULAR SCIENCE *
Machine is a fascinating, compelling, and ultimately satisfying space opera in a vast, complex, weird, and interesting universe * Locusmag.com *
Elizabeth Bear is just as comfortable writing steampunk and fantasy as she is hard science fiction, and Ancestral Night, first half of a duology, brims with heady concepts and sleek far-future hardware. There is a mordant wit at work. * FINANCIAL TIMES *
Bear has a striking command of tension and character, and a deep interest in ethics and human behaviour * Locusmag.com *
Awesome, awe-inspiring space opera. Fittingly, it shifts from weighty themes to lighter humour with dexterity, grace and crackling dialogue * Daily Mail *
Bear has constructed a fascinating, absorbing universe populated with compelling and intelligent characters who conform to neither clichés nor stereotypes. It's sci-fi of the top order. * popmatters.com *
