This is a good bit of space opera. I have to say that the first thing that struck me was that it isn't super original--the tightly bonded crew of a small spaceship thing is done, and done, and done. Making some of the characters aliens isn't quite working here as the aliens have recognizably human personalities. So I end up stacking it up against a series like The Expanse (which I'm also reading) and the character development just isn't the same. Good, not great. I do look forward to the day when characters with same-sex relationships aren't automatically boxed as LGBTQ+ explorations. Mostly these are people having relationships, and they happen to be with the same sex or with aliens, but I do think Rambo brings some depth here. Captain Niko's relationships get beyond sexuality into attachment in a way that you don't usually find with SF.
The Holy Hive Mind universe that the crew inhabits is a deadly serious place. Niko's nemesis, the pirate Tubal Last, is a deeply disturbed, capable and fanatical enemy. Their personal battle exacts massive costs on both sides. This is set in a book that just isn't that heavy--they enlist the title character (a biologically constructed self-aware ship) by teaching it to cook. I think I'm agreeing with reviewers that say this book isn't sure what it wants to be.The book does not say it is the start of a series but there's a lot of world-building here so it seems safe to say that it is. Maybe the world will decide what it is, and allow Cat Rambo to write it.
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