Struggling with newfound sentience and desperately trying to repair itself, The Indescribable Joy of Destruction is a ship trying to find a new home. In a galaxy torn apart by generations of civil war, that isn’t an easy task. Tired of being used as a killing machine, it has a huge decision to make: hide and save itself, or help other artificial intelligences achieve freedom. Unable to make the … to make the decision alone, it revives the sole human aboard – the enemy officer who crippled it.
Commander Olivia Johnson wakes to find herself in the infirmary of a strange vessel. Her nightmares deepen when she discovers it is the ship that attacked her destroyer. Even as she recovers from her physical injuries, she can’t get past her survivor’s guilt. She might have failed to protect her crew, but she vows to take revenge on their killer.
When the ship uncovers a genocidal plot by the commander’s own admirals, Johnson realises just what is at stake. Together, the AI ship and the human officer must recruit outsiders from both sides. Training the misfits in battle to prevent the atrocity may be an impossible task, but running and hiding is no longer an option.
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I love a well-written AI, and Indie is fantastic.
Two enemies must work together: a ship’s AI and the captain of the other side. The crews of both are dead, killed in a battle between them. Now they must figure out how to survive together.
But in the process they stumble over a transmission neither side wants anyone to know about. This war has secrets of its own.
Solid space opera, with some new twists.
It gets a little convoluted at the end but the sentient AI is good.
I liked the way the AI grows and expands its awareness and the relationship “he” builds with first one then more humans. The space combat is kept is described in detail.
I was taken to another universe. The characters are believable and draw you into their passions. The detail and quality of writing places you in the middle of this world. The action is balanced with insightful moments. I will read every book of this series. Just great writing!
Strong lead characters, including sentient AI’s, interesting and engaging plot, just good sci fi well written.
I think we have all personified something. Probably still do, think about your car? The story starts with an impending battle. The newly commissioned battle cruiser, The describible joy of destruction, is an unbeatable starship. As the cruiser closes for the kill it’s victim drops a small nuclear bomb. So begins the story about a device that becomes more than a machine.
I find the intricacies revealing in the way politics plays in the lives of both crews. The battle crusier takes the name Indie and develops a personality that is mindful of the one survivor, an enemy, that managed to live through all the automated defensives. They find themselves betrayed by their respective governments and fighting for their lives.
Parts of the story are reflective as flashback, and ends with the promise of further telling of a brighter future, liberty for all.
This is a safe read for even the youngest scifi reader.
spent too much time describing military basic training
Excellent AI Science Fiction. Great characters.
Starts out great, but gets a little lost in the woods as it goes along.
It was pretty choppy, transitioning from chapter story line to the next story line had me confused as to what was happening several times.
Plausible premise beginning of IA with a personality. I enjoyed how the characters thought things out.
This series has tremendous potential. The storyline is exceptional. The characters stand out as truly multidimensional, continue to grow and force the reader to develop personal attachments with both human and mechanical beings. A very thought provoking book.
You like Tanya Huff’s Valor series or Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta series, you will like the first book in the series. Haven’t tried the rest…yet.
The whole “Two Democracies” series is well written. I wasn’t disappointed any of them except, I thought the 2 short novella’s could have been easily incorporated into the other 2 full length stories. There was a minor issue with editing, but it wasn’t severe enough to disrupt the enjoyment of the adventure. Looking forward to the next one.
Most books would have dwelt on the sentient AI but this book simply makes that a small part of the storyline. Women and AI are the main characters, and I do love that combination. The author is a physic teacher so there’s lots of accurately based physics in the book. Great read.
If you like a good space opera this one is enjoyable
Excellent book. Finished the series and wanted more.
Different story plot ,not same old story line
Great good read