A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White

Furious and fun, the first book in this bold, new science fiction adventure series follows a crew of outcasts as they try to find a legendary ship that just might be the key to savings themselves-and the universe. Boots Elsworth was a famous treasure hunter in another life, but now she's washed up. She makes her meager living faking salvage legends and selling them to the highest bidder, but this time she got something real--the story of the Harrow, a famous warship, capable of untold destruction. Nilah Brio is the top driver in the Pan Galactic Racing Federation and the darling of the racing world--until she witnesses Mother murder a fellow racer. Framed for the murder and on the hunt to clear her name, Nilah has only one lead: the killer also hunts Boots. On the wrong side of the law, the two women board a smuggler's ship that will take them on a quest for fame, for riches, and for justice.

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!

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe was a quick and easy read that started off really capturing my attention but in the end fell a bit short of a four-star review. First the positives. I found the idea of magic in a sci-fi fresh and interesting. The magic powered racing, the tattoos and the way people used their abilities and the technology that resulted was unique. I loved the ragtag crew of the Capricious and their quest to find a legendary spaceship. The characters were interesting and diverse. Lots of great female characters too. The negatives are few, but I felt like the second half of the novel became a bit too action-packed. It was battle after battle, and while I do like a good space battle, there wasn't a whole lot of down time in between to develop the characters a bit more. I came away at the end thinking that the story had spread itself a bit thin. Like it had a lot of great ideas that I would have loved to learn more about, but as the battles took up a large chunk of the story these ideas were not really explored much. At the end of the day though, I would recommend giving this story a shot. I hope that in future novels we get to explore this interesting universe that Alex White has created in a little more depth.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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“If we separate, our odds of survival go down, and make no mistake, I know odds better than anyone you ll ever meet.”

She tongued the inside of her cheek as she thought it over. ‘Interesting ...1 figured you'd be happier with me dead.”

“Oh, I might. But I should also point out that your presence seduces the chance I'll be shot first. So do we have a deal?”

He snatched up her whiskey bottle and tipped the neck slightly toward her. She clinked her tumbler against it.

“All right. Until we salvage the Harrow, consider me part of the crew.”

A BIG SHIP AT THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE

Harrow

Capricious

Harrow

The Expanse

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

The Codex Alera

Alex Verus

Kings of the Wyld

* Not really, but it's the best I can come up with at the moment.

“...Hunter One and Two, standing by for orders.”

Those were the code names they'd been given. A few months ago, basking in the luxury of a PGRE hospitality suite, Nilah would've thought a code name was cool. Now, it just meant she was doing something stupid. Worse still, she was Hunter Two, and she had a pathological hatred of being second.

A BIG SHIP AT THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE