I think this has to be one of my favorite books. I first read it about ten years ago, and have read it at least once a year since then. The first chapter snares the attention and reels you in. I was reading another novel, and an excerpt from this book was in the back. I read it, and had to have it. I devoured it as soon as I got my hands on it, finishing it in an afternoon. And I wasn't disappointed.One thing I love about Anne McCaffrey is the way she wrote female characters. So often, in sci-fi...

This is another of the "Brain and Brawn" series created by Anne McCaffrey in The Ship Who Sang. The premise behind the books is that in a future time, severely handicapped people are given a chance at a fulfilling life by becoming cyborgs: an entire city or a ship becomes their "body" that they control. Only that first book is solely written by McCaffrey--the others in the series are co-written by her or by others. Of those other books, this is my favorite--I love it just as much as the first, a...

I couldn't put the book down once I started, and ended up surfacing from this thoroughly involving story at 4am the next day. Whoops!The Ship Who Searched starts simply enough: we are introduced to the protagonist (Hypatia Cade) as a child, living with her xeno-archaeologist parents on a remote dig site, with the story introducing the precocious brat, her life alone with her loving parents, and the onset of the disease which turns her into a quadriplegic. Anne & Mercedes know how to pull those h...

One of my favorite books of all time, and one I can easily read over and over! This is my favorite of all the brainship books. I love the characters and the story...it is just wonderful!

Perhaps not quite 4 stars but pretty close. Tia is an unusually well adjusted bright 7 year old. Fortunately, since she is about to have a life altering horrendous neural disease that ends her in a shell person and a brain ship. Having learned from watching a friend of hers, she is extremely picky about who becomes her brawn. Has she made the right choice in career and brawn? Read to find out! This lost a star by leaving some important points completely unfinished. One minute Tia and Alex (the b...

I gave this one 3 stars because of the ending (mentioned in spoiler tags below). Up until the ending, I was wavering between 4 and 5 stars.It is hard to get used to these books as full length novels, after reading The Ship Who Sang, which was a collection of short stories about one particular Brainship. But it was well done as a novel, employing multiple plotlines and mysteries to great effect as the Brainship and her Brawn explore the Universe. I liked the main character in this one, Tia, as he...

This is so good. Tia is an amazing character, and IMO this is the best of the series after the Helva tales. Makes me really wish that McCaffrey had written or collaborated on many more of these stories.

McCaffrey is kind of a hack (I say this as someone who ravenously consumed every Dragonriders of Pern book she could as a teen) but oh man this made me cry and cry (in a good way).I guess I liked it because it's kind of a weird emotional romance novel?

Another comfort reread from my favorite, Anne McCaffrey.The Dragonriders of Pern and the Brainship series are old favorites and definitely brain candy for me.

A long time ago I found a collection of Anne McCaffrey which comprised 'restoree', 'decision at doona' and 'the ship who sang'. This last book introduced us to the idea of people who were highly disabled being enabled by forming the 'brain' of a spaceship. The concept was fascinating: a synthesis of organic and mechanical life that allowed highly intelligent people to reach the stars. This book, 'the ship who searched', takes the concept further: rather than being paralysed from birth Tia catche...

The ship who searched is about the brain ship Hypatia, or Tia. She is an exceptional brain ship, because she was quite old when she became a shell person: 7. She is interested in archeology and finds a brawn who is interested in the same. Together they get into a few scrapes...The book was written in typical McCaffrey style, not over-emotional, but compelling nonetheless. I love this world with people who become ships and I like seeing how they interact with the world. The story itself is not ov...

Another lovely story about two souls meeting and falling perfectly for each other. There's no real 'bad guy' in this one. Just a string of adventures and a happy ending for a child who, at one point, thought it was all over before she'd even begun. I'd be happy to continue on with Tia and Alex to find the EsKays.Overall, a good edition to the Brain and Brawn series. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I love Anne McCaffrey’s books & this was a fabulous read that I couldn’t put down.SynopsisA tale of courage and adventure, set in the same universe as “The Ship Who Sang”. A precocious seven-year-old girl has been afflicted by a paralyzing alien virus, and cannot survive outside a mechanical support system. She straps on a spaceship and sets out to find what it was that laid her low.

Two of my very favorite authors, and for me the best book in the series. There is so little really good YA science fiction out there, and this book is one of the best. Tia's story is just heartbreaking and inspiring all at once. It's also possible that I'm biased because I have a Very Special Teddy Bear of my own.

I found the ending a little unsatisfying as we don't get to know if Tia found a cure for the illness that crippled her. Apart from that it was a satisfying read.

Fun, but with a sort of simplistic conflict and solution and some iffy perspectives on disability.

wow, that was quickdidn't have the emotional impact reading the book did and the reader's pronunciation of Hypatia and her robot-voiced AI detracted from it, but wow, since I love the book...

A precocious only child of a pair of archeologist who search for archeological dig sites spends significant time alone with the AI and has friend that is a brainship. She contracts an untreatable virus which wrecks havoc with her nervous system. A bright mind with a challenging, interesting future ahead of her, Tia our heroine is now trapped in body that does not move or feel. Her teddy bear is a symbol of her childhood, her vulnerability and her strength, never give up, be strong. It is a symbo...

This has to be even better than the Ship Who Sings, for me.Hypatia Cade, known as Tia to her friends, is the 7 year old daughter of a couple of archeologists, and she lives with them at their Esk Dig. Tia is an extremely bright, and emotionally stable child, and her best friend is a Brainship called Moira who, on visiting the Site just after Tia's birthday, gifts her with a wonderfully soft, blue bear, who is dressed in a Courier Service uniform.Soon after Moira and her Brawn go off on their rou...

If you finish a book in little over two days, I think there's no need to expound on how you found it. I rarely read sci fi. Thanks to Fiona for recommending it. Actually I picked it up because I wanted to write about women and technology conflict. This was perfect for my purpose but sadly I forgot about writing and became immersed in reading which says much about the readability of the work. I would have liked a more definite conclusion as far as the quest was concerned but since this is a serie...

Reread after many years. Why does heterosexual longing have to be included in this friendship between a woman who has total control over her hormonal composition and a straight man? Why is there ugly subtext for another woman who likes to wear leather and be in charge? Why is the hero so impacted when he learns a woman who’s encased in a titanium column was a very pretty little girl before that? It’s full of gross attitudes that I am saddened to think I read less critically and took in years ago...

The Ship Who Sang is one of my all-time favorite novels. Reading this during a pandemic is——interesting. However, it came across as a trifle saccharin/Disney to me. Tia is a genius level child who travels around with archaeology parents. She gets hit with an unknown alien virus. Her parents and doctors push for her to become a Brainship when her body/nervous system breaks down. However, she is older than they usually accept....

This book was absolutely what I needed to read in this moment. Between all that has been going on at home, in the nation and in the world, I needed a book with a heroine beyond compare, a hero who did the right thing even when afraid, and a happy ending. Some tense moments, BUT no betrayals, no backstabbing, no treachery, thank goodness! So it gets 5 stars for being the right book at the right time.

A story of life, love, and exploration among the stars. This was was one of my early introductions in high school to SciFi and Anne McCaffrey and loved it from the start. Now re-reading for the first time in over 20 years I can appreciate the details even more. It’s not long and does leave you wanting more. There are definitely unlaying themes I missed as a child that make it more thought provoking. Another lovely addition to the series.

Another fabulous story in the Brain Ship series. I would say this one was better again, again. I loved the characters, I loved their relationships and interactions. I thought the story was enjoyable and captivating. I did like the ending. There seems to be a bit of a Brain and Brawn boundary pushing in these novels and I thought this one probably handled it best... so far. I'm ready to see where the next story takes us.

I have a whole shelf of McCaffrey, with most I imagine being the first editions, as I started them probably 35 years ago. Reread some of them regularly, usually in times of stress or illness, particularly the Harper Hall books. This is one of my favourite Brain books, mainly because of the emotional start, and then the variety of trips Tia and her brawn is involved with.

This is a re-read for me, and it's my favourite of the Brainship series.I absolutely fell in love with Tia when I first read the book as a young teen, and her brawn Alexander is absolutely delightful. I love the relationship between the two of them, as they work together to thwart plagues, pirates, and other potential disasters.I highly recommend this book!

This is a collaboration, so it's not 100% McCaffrey, but it comes off just fine. Good tension both within the BB relationship and with external events and threats.A page-turner from the start that I enjoyed completely.

I hadn't read the Brainship books in years so I decided it was time for a re-read and I happy to report that they stood up to the test of time. I really enjoyed the story and found myself very interested in the characters in these books. I am super glad I read them again.

For some reason, I never ventured past Pern. This is my first run through the BB series. This was was better than the first two. Nothing epic, but I seem to be in a light, just for fun, mood. This fit the bill nicely.