In The Shadow of the Ship by Aliette de Bodard

TL;DR: Another fantastic entry into this series and a creepy one to boot!
Source: Netgalley, thank you to the publisher!

Plot: Khuyên returns home and everything is very much the same but also NOT the same. So good.
Characters: These definitely added to the creep factor. I loved how they played into the story.
Setting: This ship was low key terrifying. The setting was unsettling and I loved that.
Science Fiction/Horror: This is a great low SF, no in depth explanation but there were some horror notes and scenes that were very insidious and well done.

Thoughts:

This one is such a winner. The Xuya universe is one I’ve returned to over the years and it’s been a while since I’ve picked one up. In The Shadow of the Ship is a new one for me and I am so happy to have gotten to it, especially at this time of the year. Khuyên returns home to her family’s ship to find it much like she left it but also far worse and something sinister seems to be going on.

This hits the perfect vibe for it’s length. It’s insidious and creepy. You feel uncomfortable from the beginning and that only gets worse. We’re talking missing children, a very tense family situation, and a ship whose mind may be going or worse. Khuyên comes for a funeral but it becomes so much more as she grapples with the expectations of her family and how she’s chosen her own life, perhaps at the cost of others.

I could gush at length about these books and I think this is a great, very short, example of them. I’m excited to keep picking these up and really recommend it for fans of shorter Sci-fi or sentient ships. These really hit those spots perfectly.

5 out 5 Static Blind Spots