[n.b. A ‘no star’ rating for books I review does not imply criticism—I rarely give ratings, as giving stars is an unhelpfully blunt instrument and all too often involves comparing apples with oranges.]

This was a solid, fun read. A sports celebrity, Nilah Brio is focused on the next big race and on her career, accepting any price that needs to be paid to reach each target; happily for Brio, most prices are out of sight and mostly paid by other people.

Mid-race, Brio has a bewildering encounter with the terrifying ‘Mother’ and is framed for murder, and falls into the rackety company of a bunch of salvagers. It is an environment that, while not personally hostile to Brio, certainly has no damns to give about her special status. It’s a very fast-paced adventure, with a lot of fight scenes which (despite these really not being a big draw for the present reader) are ingenious and engaging. There are a couple of romances (again, not a draw here) that manage not to slow down the pace, and are quite fun, and occasionally funny in their bristly way, as well as earning a LGBTQ+ sticker.

What is not entirely clear is why exactly everyone is so desperate to get their hands on the eponymous big ship. The Harrow was thought to have been destroyed, and can itself wreak terrible devastation, but it all feels a bit vague, as though the fact of the ship’s existing is reason enough; like Edmund Hillary saying ‘it was there’ when asked why he climbed Mount Everest.

But the pace of the action and the polished, if not remarkable, writing mean that it is easy enough to suspend the disbelief. The Big Bad—‘Mother’—is properly scary, and the overall world-building, which involves both detailed technology and mind-magic, is very well done, thorough and convincing. The characters are well-drawn, though so instantly recognizable—the egotistic darling of the sporting fraternity, the noir-ishly washed-up and betrayed treasure-hunter dragged into ‘one last job’, the bickering, loyal crew—as to seem not entirely three-dimensional. If not a new favourite, 'Big Ship…' is definitely worth a read.

I really enjoyed this book. A clever mash up of science fiction and fantasy. The book starts with its foot on the gas pedal and never hits the brakes. I look forward to reading the next one. ( )

felt like there should have been a third book

This was a good/fun book in the way a buddy action movie can be. But in the same way, car chases and explosions galore, melodramatic emotional scenes, it wasn't a "good" book. Solid "summer read" for sure, though. ( )

3,6 stars

I went into this book expecting it to be scifi, so it took me a while to adjust to it actually being fantasy in space. It's not a bad thing for a book to be, it's just not what I was looking for. The magic system was okay, even though it was a little ill defined.

The character tropes were a little too glaring, but I appreciate the attempt at character growth. I don't really get the point of Boots' losses. Too much pandering to shock value. The other characters were okay, but none really struck me as relatable or particularly memorable. Well, with the exception of Mother, I did enjoy her character.

All in all, this was good fun, if nothing really original or special. I'll probably end up reading the sequel, bu I'm not in any rush to get to it. ( )