(I wanted to give this 5 stars, but I'm not quite sure what stopped me.)

Devenport does a great job fleshing out generation ships and how human culture would have evolved in such large-but-cramped, regimented and hierarchical society - "worms"/servants, mid-levels, and those on top; the way that people of different levels have different ways of socializing and vocabularies, etc. The ship itself feels expansive and limited at the same time, especially as certain citizens don't have the access that others do.

Oichi is a fascinating character, wholly devoted to her goal no matter the cost and removed from the human emotions that her "collaborators" experience (even though she joins them in marveling at the beauty of music and film, two cultural aspects of society that have long been lost).

I very much appreciated her ability and willingness to disguise herself in order to traverse the varying social levels - we saw life and politics as a worm, a mid-level security person, and a mid-level executive, which widely varied and were well-described. The political machinations were well done as well; not too boring or detailed to slow down the plot, but crucial nonetheless.

Apparently the sequel is more of a companion novel - set in the same universe but following a different plot? If so, hopefully is answers the questions that linger from this installment. While it doesn't necessarily end on a cliffhanger, there's still so much more to know! ( )

Fantastic book! Completely unique protagonist, world, and plot — and I can’t wait to dive into the sequel! ( )

This alternated between awesome and not so much for me, mostly because I really liked the building, but the writing style wasn't my thing. I hope it's your thing, though, because the ideas in play are damn fine. ( )

Oichi is a 'worn' on a generation ship. But she's not continent with that, and is determined to extract justice following the death of her parents on a sister ship. And, boy, does she manage to find a way to change the dynamics and power structure.

Intriguing and fascinating. Great characterization and a plot that pulls you forward. ( )

Devenport, Emily. Medusa in the Graveyard. The Medusa Cycle No. 2. Tor, 2019.
In the second novel of The Medusa Cycle, our heroine, a onetime servant turned assassin and revolutionary, now finds herself in the unlikely role of diplomat. She leads a party to contact the miners in the asteroid belt of the Charon system, who welcome her into their Oceanian culture. Then it is off to the planet Graveyard itself, where all sorts of strange creatures and weird alien tech await with plenty of surprises. The story moves along briskly, but it doesn’t have the dramatic tension that the first volume had. I guess assassin girls are scarier than ancient aliens. ( )