MEDUSA UPLOADED

A tense sci-fi thriller about a woman determined to remake her society—at any cost.

Oichi Angelis is supposed to be insignificant. She’s part of the working class on the generation ship Olympia, bionically modified to see and hear only what the Executives want her to, and expected to work for subsistence-level food and no other reward. But Oichi has her own agenda. She’s not out to avenge her parents, killed when a powerful Executive blew up Olympia’s sister ship, Titania. She’s trying to continue their work, to pass on the vast database of classical and folk music her father compiled and spread the secret encoded within that database—modifications that make it possible to bond with the incredibly powerful Medusa AIs, modifications that will upend the Olympia’s rigidly hierarchical social structure. On a generation ship halfway to its destination, Oichi is starting a revolution, and she’ll kill whomever gets in the way. Oichi is a fascinating character, cold and implacable in pursuing her goals but capable of deep emotion. The worlds she inhabits, both physical and virtual, are richly detailed and gorgeously imagined. The revelations about the secret machinations behind the Olympia’s journey don’t all have as much impact as they should, but overall this is a gripping and unusual read, with a tense plot driven forward by Oichi’s determination to change her world.

Sci-fi fans will love exploring the world of Oichi’s spaceship home and living inside the head of a not-quite-coldblooded killer.