I'm not particularly a fantasy reader. But, as The Martian surprised me last year with how much I enjoyed it, I decided to give this one a go. I read the majority of it as an audiobook and enjoyed the novel so much that before I'd even finished it, I'd gone out and bought the second book.

I loved this book. To the point that I didn't actually want it to finish. I want to read more about the Wayfarer crew and their movements through space. With so many interesting characters with such complex and intricate back stories, I want to know so much more about it.

This novel follows Rosemary, a human woman from Mars who joins the crew of the Wayfarer as a clerk and is thrust into a mess of species, relationships and politics within seconds of being employed. It's almost a collation of literary fiction and science fiction, using space and a huge variety of alien life forms to explore relationships, society, politics, individual growth and development and it was just...brilliant.

I fell in love with this novel, I really did. I can't wait to read the next book.