The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus

TL;DR: A 9 year old is sent off to solve an adult problem. It goes poorly.
Source: NetGalley, so many thanks to the publisher!

Plot: All of the trigger warnings as a small child flies in a flesh ship into space.
Characters: No one here is likable, and yet I enjoyed all of them?
Setting: 60% Flesh Ship, 40% metal planet. And I wish I was exaggerating.
Science-Fiction: This was hard, leaning into fantastical SF.

Summary:

Deep into space, far past the triworld outposts, beyond range of the lethal trollbot internet, soars The Sickness: a ship woven from biomatter and capable of reacting to every need of its human crew. Sisilla, a nine-year-old cultist with a brain enhanced by arcane tech known as “niks,” has boarded to investigate the enigma of Fém—a plague-riddled planet that has abruptly gone rogue.

The mysterious crew includes a faceless assassin, a beautiful engineer jigsawed by plastic surgery, a peyote-addicted medic, and—most lethal of all—a rugged, NonModded captain with a score to settle with Sisilla. Other dangers abound. A hacked robot begins to believe Sisilla is its daughter. The Sickness itself is mutating, possibly even pregnant. And the secret of Fém is more horrific than anyone could have imagined. To survive, Sisilla will need to forsake her predetermined fate and embrace the unknown.

Thoughts:

I think this is one of the first books I can confidently say I loved the experience of this because it was so messed up, and I have no idea who to recommend this too. The closest book I can think of as far as ‘what did I just read?’ energy was Walking Practice. It genuinely will keep making left turns and throwing you for a loop.

The main character in this is a 9, eventually 11, year old girl who acts far more mature than she is (due to some mental augments) but ultimately is a child. I also have to add, if you have any kind of trigger? It’s in this book. All of the trigger warnings. Every single one. The most glaringly obvious ones would be extreme body horror, pregnancy, rape, abortion, child abuse, violence, commodification of a race and children, and I could just keep going.

If you’re okay with following this child on a tale of horror then I recommend this… hesitantly. The story itself is fascinating. Sisilla has to lead a crew on a journey to find a community after it’s been exiled from Earth and along the way family and friends are found and lost. And the horrors persist.

So yes, I enjoyed this. I was horrified frequently. I was grossed out. I can’t recommend it widely but if you’re okay with a lot of… upsetting content… then try this one.