A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe

4.5 stars! This was such a cool ride! Star Wars meets a world of magic and conjuring. It was energetic, refreshing, new and familiar all at the same time. The writing was detailed and the action scenes and space battles felt very immersive. Boots, Nilah, Orna, I loved the characters as their personalities were very flushed out and relatable. The glyphs and the different ‘specialites' of sigils pulled in a tiny bit of the D&D, we know there are Mechanists, Shieldmasters, and an Influencer. I can't wait to see what new magic and characters pop up in the rest of the series. I'm excited to dive into Book 2!

??It is fantasy in a sci-fi setting which I found unusual and refreshing. I liked the diverse group of characters in a “found-family” kind of setting. I missed having more information about the villains, they seemed undeveloped. Some action scenes where magic, space battles, or spacewalking were being described seemed a bit confusing to me, it was hard to understand exactly what was going on. It is a light read, with lots of action scenes and I tried not to overthink the magic to enjoy it. I don't think I will continue the series, but the book builds nicely for the sequel without ending in a cliffhanger.??

This book was recommended in a Facebook group of fans of Space Opera. GIven the review in the recommendation, the ad copy in iBooks, and the low price, I grabbed a copy without reading the “sample” I could have downloaded. I was unprepared that the story would involve significant amounts of magic right from the start. And the first chapter was all about drivers of magic-fueled racing cars, which are not a stale of the space opera I thought I had purchased. I almost put the book down at that point, but the first main character we meet, Nilah, is thrust into a tantalizing mystery that compelled me to keep reading. In the second chapter, the character of “Boots” is introduced, a garrulous and embittered veteran of a war in which she fought for the losing side, she now is making her living selling treasure maps to gullible treasure seekers. She too gets thrust into the same mystery. The story spirals nearly out of control at that point, with both of them being captured by the crew of a pirate ship (that Boots once served on and sold a bogus map to), and still being pursued by an overwhelmingly powerful and relentless foe. It certainly turns into a grand space opera yarn at that point, with lots of action, perilous conflict, personal sacrifice, and yes, magical feats. I especially enjoyed the fact that the good guys employ heaping amounts of intelligence and ingenuity rather than simply blowing through their opponents with superior firepower. They are smart, capable people facing down formidable odds. The book has a thoroughly (to me) satisfactory ending while leaving some major threads open for the follow-up books. I enjoyed it a lot more than I had expected after the first chapter.

I was especially excited when it came to the comparisons this book was made to Firefly. So of course I was ecstatic to buddy read with my fellow book addict, Holly! Head over to her account to see her review. Seriously, folks, they really hit the nail on the head with this one! It has crazy Firefly vibes and I love it. Now I'm going to keep it spoiler free, so don't worry. Now I'm not the most avid lover of mixing fantasy and sci-fi (except for my beloved Star Wars. The Wars are life!), but this is the type of book to convert me. They kept reasonable limitations on the magic system, which by the way is maddeningly awesome! Between that and the space battles, the one on one fights, the Indiana-Jones-style treasure hunting, and the characters that had me legitimately caring for what happened, I can not praise this book enough!!!