Xenobiologist Kira Navárez is part of a survey crew studying a moon called Adrasteia, many light years from Earth.
When Kira was a child, humans found the first known alien artefact, called The Great Beacon. Kira, who was thrilled by the discovery, decided the study of alien life forms would be her future occupation.
Kira and the rest of the survey crew is about to finish its work, after which its members will be assigned to separate projects elsewhere in space. In an effort to stay together Kira and her geologist boyfriend Alan have become engaged, and Kira is deeply in love and very happy.
Thus when Kira is doing a final survey on Adrasteia, and comes across an unusual columnar formation, she decides to take a closer look.....for Alan.
Kira climbs up, falls into a cave, and though Kira doesn't know it yet, her life will be changed forever.
Black dust from a basin in the cave climbs onto Kira's foot and creeps up her leg. Kira faints and is rescued, but things aren't fine. A skintight black suit soon covers Kira's entire body, and is impossible to remove.
It turns out the black suit, which is called the 'Soft Blade', is a kind of symbiont with intelligence, memories, and remarkable abilities.
Kira's merging with the Soft Blade is followed by a series of disasters, including vicious attacks by an alien species called the 'Jellies', who have various body types, but generally look like mutant squids with tentacles sprouting everywhere. The Jellies are after the Soft Blade, which they'd hidden on Adrasteia for safekeeping.
In time Kira ends up on a salvage vessel called the Wallfish....
.....and comes to bond with the crew members, who up until now have spent most of their time making questionable deals for profit.
However now that the Jellies have declared war on humans, the Wallfish embarks on a mission to save humanity from the Jellies and another - even more barbarous - alien species called the "Nightmares', which have myriad hideous body forms.
As the story unfolds Kira taps into the Soft Blade's memories, and discoveries the incredible things it can do. The Soft Blade is especially useful when Kira is threatened, as it can form deadly weapons to protect her.
The book is a kind of combination science fiction and fantasy, since the Wallfish crew goes on a quest for the 'Staff of Blue', which is the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. The Jellies and Nightmares are also after the Staff of Blue, and it's a race to see who gets there first. The Staff of Blue, in turn, is guarded by a MEGA evil being called the 'Seeker' - who inadvertently gets loose.
There are many space battles in the book, between humans, Jellies, and Nightmares, fought with all manner of futuristic weapons.
The book also has other science fiction tropes like FTL (faster than light) travel; cryosleep; genetic manipulation and nano-enhancements to produce super humans; a spaceship cat (and pig); antimatter fuel; and more.
The books has a large cast of characters, and Kira forms friendships and alliances that add a warm comradely feel to the story. One of my favorite characters is "Gregorovich", the Ship Mind (essentially a giant human brain) that runs the systems on the Wallfish. He's a hoot!! Paolini also infuses the narrative with a good bit of humor, which is a nice break from the fighting and scheming.
The story spans almost 900 pages, but moves along at a good clip and held my attention. I was especially intrigued by the Kira-Soft Blade melding, which turns out to have fascinating ramifications.
I'd recommend the book to science fiction fans.
When Kira was a child, humans found the first known alien artefact, called The Great Beacon. Kira, who was thrilled by the discovery, decided the study of alien life forms would be her future occupation.
Kira and the rest of the survey crew is about to finish its work, after which its members will be assigned to separate projects elsewhere in space. In an effort to stay together Kira and her geologist boyfriend Alan have become engaged, and Kira is deeply in love and very happy.
Thus when Kira is doing a final survey on Adrasteia, and comes across an unusual columnar formation, she decides to take a closer look.....for Alan.
Kira climbs up, falls into a cave, and though Kira doesn't know it yet, her life will be changed forever.
Black dust from a basin in the cave climbs onto Kira's foot and creeps up her leg. Kira faints and is rescued, but things aren't fine. A skintight black suit soon covers Kira's entire body, and is impossible to remove.
It turns out the black suit, which is called the 'Soft Blade', is a kind of symbiont with intelligence, memories, and remarkable abilities.
Kira's merging with the Soft Blade is followed by a series of disasters, including vicious attacks by an alien species called the 'Jellies', who have various body types, but generally look like mutant squids with tentacles sprouting everywhere. The Jellies are after the Soft Blade, which they'd hidden on Adrasteia for safekeeping.
In time Kira ends up on a salvage vessel called the Wallfish....
.....and comes to bond with the crew members, who up until now have spent most of their time making questionable deals for profit.
However now that the Jellies have declared war on humans, the Wallfish embarks on a mission to save humanity from the Jellies and another - even more barbarous - alien species called the "Nightmares', which have myriad hideous body forms.
As the story unfolds Kira taps into the Soft Blade's memories, and discoveries the incredible things it can do. The Soft Blade is especially useful when Kira is threatened, as it can form deadly weapons to protect her.
The book is a kind of combination science fiction and fantasy, since the Wallfish crew goes on a quest for the 'Staff of Blue', which is the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. The Jellies and Nightmares are also after the Staff of Blue, and it's a race to see who gets there first. The Staff of Blue, in turn, is guarded by a MEGA evil being called the 'Seeker' - who inadvertently gets loose.
There are many space battles in the book, between humans, Jellies, and Nightmares, fought with all manner of futuristic weapons.
The book also has other science fiction tropes like FTL (faster than light) travel; cryosleep; genetic manipulation and nano-enhancements to produce super humans; a spaceship cat (and pig); antimatter fuel; and more.
The books has a large cast of characters, and Kira forms friendships and alliances that add a warm comradely feel to the story. One of my favorite characters is "Gregorovich", the Ship Mind (essentially a giant human brain) that runs the systems on the Wallfish. He's a hoot!! Paolini also infuses the narrative with a good bit of humor, which is a nice break from the fighting and scheming.
The story spans almost 900 pages, but moves along at a good clip and held my attention. I was especially intrigued by the Kira-Soft Blade melding, which turns out to have fascinating ramifications.
I'd recommend the book to science fiction fans.
Rating: 4 stars
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