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Machine: A White Space Novel (2) Hardcover – October 20, 2020

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,746 ratings

In this compelling and addictive novel set in the same universe as the critically acclaimed White Space series and perfect for fans of Karen Traviss and Ada Hoffman, a space station begins to unravel when a routine search and rescue mission returns after going dangerously awry.

Meet Doctor Jens.

She hasn’t had a decent cup of coffee in fifteen years. Her workday begins when she jumps out of perfectly good space ships and continues with developing treatments for sick alien species she’s never seen before. She loves her life. Even without the coffee.

But Dr. Jens is about to discover an astonishing mystery: two ships, one ancient and one new, locked in a deadly embrace. The crew is suffering from an unknown ailment and the shipmind is trapped in an inadequate body, much of her memory pared away.

Unfortunately, Dr. Jens can’t resist a mystery and she begins doing some digging. She has no idea that she’s about to discover horrifying and life-changing truths.

Written in Elizabeth Bear’s signature “rollicking, suspenseful, and sentimental” (
Publishers Weekly) style, Machine is a fresh and electrifying space opera that you won’t be able to put down.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Spectacularly smart space opera... Bear proves her mastery of the space opera genre yet again." ― Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

About the Author

Elizabeth Bear won the John W. Campbell award for Best New Writer in 2005 and has since published fifteen novels and numerous short stories. She writes in both the science fiction and fantasy genres and has won critical acclaim in both. She has won the Hugo Award more than once. She lives in Massachusetts. Visit her on X @Matociquala.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ S&S/Saga Press (October 20, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1534403019
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1534403017
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.6 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,746 ratings

About the author

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Elizabeth Bear
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ELIZABETH BEAR was the recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2005. She has won two Hugo Awards for her short fiction, a Sturgeon Award, and the Locus Award for Best First Novel. Bear lives in Brookfield, Massachusetts.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
1,746 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book compelling and interesting. They appreciate the relatable characters and their internal reflections. The journeys are fascinating and meaningful, opening new doors. Readers appreciate the philosophic depth and sociopolitical commentary that runs through the story. They find the world-building rewarding, inspiring, and hopeful. The presentation is well-done, thoughtful, and neat.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

26 customers mention "Readability"20 positive6 negative

Customers find the book engaging with relatable characters and a compelling story. They appreciate the writing quality and consider it an enjoyable read. The book is described as an interesting follow-up to the first book, with only a few similarities to the shared plot elements.

"...Well worth reading. I'm waiting for the next book publishers, bring it on!" Read more

"...if you expect it to keep going like the first part, but is interesting in its own right if you are ready for the sudden change, and willing to..." Read more

"...I loved all the different types of "people/aliens"; the story was extremely engaging, and I loved the main character." Read more

"...like, I will say simply that I found this book to be a long, boring disappointment that I had to force myself to read to the bitter end...." Read more

20 customers mention "Adventure"14 positive6 negative

Customers enjoy the book's adventure. They find the journeys fascinating and meaningful. The story opens new doors and adventures, with relatable characters and open stories that allow differences between aliens to show how people differ. Readers appreciate the author's imagination and world-building skills.

"...is now cursed with chronic pain as well, Machine had one of the most relatable and well-done portrayals of someone in chronic pain that I’ve seen in..." Read more

"This was an excellent, "new age" sci-fi book. I loved it!..." Read more

"...That said, Bear has a great imagination, and is good at world building...." Read more

"...I loved reading this story and I hope that this particular series continues." Read more

18 customers mention "Character development"13 positive5 negative

Customers find the characters relatable and engaging. They appreciate the internal reflections and external utterances of the main characters. The hospital is filled with an assortment of alien characters, many with amusing traits. The plot has non-violent but compelling encounters between actors as part of interesting intrigue.

"...And her characters are so deeply LIKABLE. I never found myself screaming at them in exasperation...." Read more

"...of "people/aliens"; the story was extremely engaging, and I loved the main character." Read more

"...I do not like it. There is too much diving into the response of the character. There is just too much hanging at the end left unresolved...." Read more

"...The hospital is filled with a huge assortment of alien characters, many with amusing traits. Almost all of them seem to get along...." Read more

15 customers mention "Philosophic depth"12 positive3 negative

Customers find the book has a strong sociopolitical commentary that runs through it. They appreciate the thoughtful explorations into what it means to be human. The story conveys mystery and tension well, with chunks of commentary and reflection. Readers also mention the book is a great Sci-Fi tale with interesting near-future concepts and practical ethical philosophy.

"...That being said, we did get some pretty good discussion out of this, which is my primary metric for if a book makes a good Book Club book...." Read more

"...She also is quite good at action sequences, and can convey mystery and tension quite well...." Read more

"...there is some fascinating characters, amazing aliens, and medical mysteries that abound...." Read more

"...I don't like the main character. She was whiny and had far too much emotional baggage, far too many issues...." Read more

13 customers mention "Value for money"13 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging with its world-building, alien creatures, and tech inventions. They appreciate the compelling storytelling and meaningful journeys that leave them feeling hopeful. The story holds their interest until the end with fast-paced action and speculative world-building.

"...The world Ms. Bear has created is so hopeful, and yet real (full of flaws folks). And her characters are so deeply LIKABLE...." Read more

"...She’s happy within it, and taken care of by it, and lives a fulfilling life. And yet, as readers, we start to see giant cracks in her narration...." Read more

"...That said, Bear has a great imagination, and is good at world building...." Read more

"...The world building, the character development, and the plot flow were all seamless. I was totally emotionally invested in the outcome...." Read more

9 customers mention "Presentation"9 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's presentation. They find it well-presented, thoughtfully crafted, and creative. The world is described as neat, cool, and creative. Readers also mention that the book has an expansive detail level.

"...It’s really cool, and really creepy! That being said, the plot of the 2nd part of the novel is really thin...." Read more

"...It looks more modern and the person it holds is, in some ways, far less damaged than the other Terrans...." Read more

"Just a fantastic read and neat world here" Read more

"...This novel is a good mystery, well-presented. The sci-fi that is imagined required no great leaps of faith to follow...." Read more

4 customers mention "Alien species"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the alien species in the book. They find the world-building rewarding, with interesting creatures and tech inventions. The characters are fascinating and the story is engaging.

"...I loved all the different types of "people/aliens"; the story was extremely engaging, and I loved the main character." Read more

"...I will say that there is some fascinating characters, amazing aliens, and medical mysteries that abound...." Read more

"...Rewarding world building, alien creatures, tech inventions, character development, internal reflection / external utterances of the main characters,..." Read more

"...to anyone who enjoys space opera, cultural extrapolation, great sapient aliens and AI’s, convincing world building, fast paced story telling, and of..." Read more

4 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive1 negative

Customers enjoy the writing quality. They find the book well-written, though some parts are too long. The narration is praised.

"...Sigh. The first novel in the series, Ancestral Night was marvelously read by Nneka Okoye, who conveyed Haimey Dz's confused memories and made me..." Read more

"...in her story. The book is well written but has a few too many lengthy navel gazing pages...." Read more

"...I think this is in part because our narrator is unreliable when it comes to her society, and so has blindspots that she doesn’t see, but look like..." Read more

"Loved this story. Writing was just incredible. A joy to read and took me to places I had never been." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024
    Wow. Let's just say this went places I didn't expect and I am a pretty jaded sci-fi genre reader. The world Ms. Bear has created is so hopeful, and yet real (full of flaws folks). And her characters are so deeply LIKABLE. I never found myself screaming at them in exasperation. Something that happens too often in other books.

    A story that dealt with deep ethical questions, that tackles so much of our own issues, and that leaves me feeling hopeful. I loved that some of the friends we made in book 1 showed up again here even if the main characters were new to this story. Well worth reading. I'm waiting for the next book publishers, bring it on!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2022
    A doctor in an ambulance ship of a far-future secretly-dystopian society does great medicine, bad amateur sleuthing, and has the seeds of dissent planted in her soul…

    Book Review: Boy, there’s a lot to unpack here, which is why the synopsis is so scattered and unhelpful on its own.

    The novel starts with the discovery of a derelict generation ship. It’s been gone for 600 years, appears to be a ghost ship, and is lightyears away from any position that is achievable by the tech available when it was launched. Our hero is breaching this thing to search for survivors and evacuate them to her rescue ship. It’s spooky and exciting and the exploration of a mysterious/impossible thing under dangerous conditions is fantastic! We get reveals, deeper mysteries, and great action along the way.

    Then we do it again with a modern ship that has recently docked to the generation ship, is broadcasting a distress call, and is also a spooky ghost-ship. This was was crewed by methane-breathers, so we get a lot of science about how a human has to protect herself and her potential rescuees with such vastly incompatible environments, and of course engineering challenges and difficulties. It’s great. And also, she brings back Sometime Dangerous that starts infecting her own crew.

    This is the best part of the novel. After this it takes a turn into exploration of this society (broadly), and more locally, the space hospital where the rest of the action takes place. It’s not bad, but it’s not nearly as gripping, and it feels like a different story. I preferred the first one.

    One the plus side, during the second phase of the novel, we get to see what a functional-but-dystopian society looks like to someone who is happily existing within it. And that in itself is quite the feat. I am reminded of Brave New World, which I really didn’t like, and which I didn’t finish. It, too, has a functioning dystopian society. But our protagonist in that one is a defective human. He’s congenitally pitted against it in vicious opposition. I don’t trust that sort of story at all, because it feels like clumsy 50s-era communist propaganda. “Here’s a terrible society. Look how badly it mistreats our protagonist! Boooo! We hates it, booooo!” Well, ok, that sucks for your protagonist, but he’s a genetic freak that’s designed by the author to be ideally tortured. What about everyone else on the planet? Are they doing OK? Are they happy? If so, why should I hate this society, rather than hating the fact that horrible congenital accidents can make life miserable? Because the second one seems like the actual problem that we should be fixing!

    But getting back to Machine — it does the opposite of this! It has a protagonist that is served very well by her society. She’s happy within it, and taken care of by it, and lives a fulfilling life. And yet, as readers, we start to see giant cracks in her narration. We slowly come to realize that this entire society is run by constant personhood-violations and mental alterations to keep people servile and loyal. We realize that our narrator is unreliable, at least in terms of how her society functions and the benevolence of its ruling class. Best of all, we get the insights leaked to us in ways that are intended to be praise by the protagonist, and would be read as praise if we were likewise brainwashed. It’s really cool, and really creepy!

    That being said, the plot of the 2nd part of the novel is really thin. I think this is in part because our narrator is unreliable when it comes to her society, and so has blindspots that she doesn’t see, but look like holes that one could drive a truck through, to us. While the first part of the story was basically competence-porn of a skilled Search-and-Rescue crew in dangerous territory… the second half of the story has a lot of face-palming, omg she’s an idiot, this is kinda embarrassing,-style action. This makes the book less fun, and quite frustrating. It’s hard not to be exasperated when incompetent villains are portrayed as True Heroes, even when you know why that’s being done.

    In fact, I want to get a lot deeper into this. But I can’t here, because it contains full spoilers for the whole book. So, here’s a post where I dive into that, if you’ve already read Machine, or don’t mind spoilers. In short, the second part of the book is a let down if you expect it to keep going like the first part, but is interesting in its own right if you are ready for the sudden change, and willing to exercise a lot of patience.

    Also, as someone who is now cursed with chronic pain as well, Machine had one of the most relatable and well-done portrayals of someone in chronic pain that I’ve seen in years. I appreciated it a lot for that alone.

    So, I dunno. I guess, Recommended, With Caveats.

    Book Club Review: Everyone agreed the first part is great. The devisive part was about whether the dystopian-society reading was intended by the author, or accidental. Generally these sorts of dystopian society novels are reactions to things going on in the author’s society at the time of writing, and Machine is no exception. In a Poe’s Law corollary, if the novel isn’t super-blatant in your face about how horrible such a thing is (like Brave New World, or 1984), then a reader can think “well… maybe this, but seriously?” How much someone suspected Bear was trying to say “man this sucks” vs just “wouldn’t this society be great?” significantly shaded how people read the novel, and their enjoyment of it the second part.

    That being said, we did get some pretty good discussion out of this, which is my primary metric for if a book makes a good Book Club book. Not as much as I was hoping when I was driving to our Perkins, because it turns out we’re not quite as viewpoint diverse as we used to be. That was a little disappointing, I was hoping for more of a fight. :) (But friendly!!). Still, we went long in our discussion, and it was quite the interesting discussion. So, for book clubs, Recommended.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024
    This was an excellent, "new age" sci-fi book. I loved it! It was different than what I've been reading lately because I long ago stopped reading sci-fi, in general. I loved all the different types of "people/aliens"; the story was extremely engaging, and I loved the main character.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2020
    This book, the second in Bear's "White Space" series, is a little disappointing. While the first book in the series, "Ancestral Night," was full of wonder and mystery, "Machine" takes place in a much more confined mental space. The heroine, Jens, is a rescue doctor, former soldier, and former copy. She and her crew work out of a rescue spaceship called "Sally," which is hooked up to her brain. The crew is called to an emergency beacon from a century ship called "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Inside, they find a dead captain and thousands of passengers in cryonic suspension. The crew takes some of the "corpsickles," and brings the back to the great hospital in the sky. Core Central, to thaw out. About 1/3 of the passengers survive revival. But they bring with them an infectious code which virtually shuts the hospital down and infects many of the characters. The hospital is filled with a huge assortment of alien characters, many with amusing traits. Almost all of them seem to get along.
    The book then becomes a detective story. Jens, former cop, is tasked to find out who is sabotaging the hospital and to recommend what to do about it. This part of the book is a little plodding. Jens regularly states that she is on the verge of solving the mystery, but really never does until one of the villains confesses to the crime. I found several problems with this. First, the "conspiracy" does not even involve a crime. Second, and more important, it does not even seem like a "big deal" morally. So some rich people get some benefit. So what? No sentient being is harmed by what they are up to. And this points to what I think is the biggest problem with this book. It tries too hard to be politically correct. The heroine must, of course, be a lesbian. Those rescued from the century ship must, of course, be politically backward. All good people must be "rightminded" and fitted with a mental implant called a fox which keeps them thinking proper thoughts -- all praised by Bear. The Synarchy -- the governing body of sentients -- is tasked to make sure there is little income equality. Bear portrays it as a virtual socialist paradise. And her "big reveal" is that some of its people are using their wealth to help themselves. No wonder the last part of the book feels flat.
    That said, Bear has a great imagination, and is good at world building. She also is quite good at action sequences, and can convey mystery and tension quite well. I only wish she would not deploy these gifts in support of galaxy-wide socialism.
    17 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2024
    I was tempted to just put it down and write it off. I do not like it. There is too much diving into the response of the character. There is just too much hanging at the end left unresolved. The end is unrealized and the objective that started the plot is then forgotten.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2024
    This is a novel about a trauma surgeon on a medical ship that ends up dealing with a bunch of cryopreserved people who desperately need help. Telling you the rest of it would ruin the complicated story that follows. I will say that there is some fascinating characters, amazing aliens, and medical mysteries that abound. I loved reading this story and I hope that this particular series continues.

Top reviews from other countries

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  • David Brown
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Positive Experience
    Reviewed in Canada on September 27, 2022
    A well written space adventure exploring emotional space in a complex future of colourful aliens. I enjoyed reading this novel and recommend it unreservedly.
  • Ziggy Nixon
    4.0 out of 5 stars Un mystère de science-fiction très fascinant !
    Reviewed in France on May 11, 2024
    Il s’agit d’une histoire de science-fiction vraiment intéressante qui évite les clichés habituels selon lesquels « tous les extraterrestres sont fondamentalement humains par nature ». Autour d’une terrible série d’événements, nous rencontrons toutes sortes d’« êtres vivants » et voyons comment ils contribuent à cet univers. Même si le rythme est parfois inégal, cela reste une lecture très bien écrite et ludique !
  • Krenger Bernhard
    1.0 out of 5 stars Worst read ever
    Reviewed in Germany on April 12, 2023
    Really bad story telling. Could not read beyond the first 50-100 pages.
    Get a sample of the book first and see yourself if you like this style ..
  • Preach
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh, imaginative work. Could not put it down
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2021
    I had to give this 5 stars. The story gripped me from the beginning and held me transfixed to the end. A masterful story told at a fantastic pace.
    The world building is finely detailed and never over explained. The characters are built from the ground up around their morphology and become satisfactorily rounded beings. There is an undercurrent of ironic humor throughout that puts flesh on the bones of the characters.
    The antagonist is a tale of the law of unintended consequences and the protagonist flawed and cynical and fighting to find the core of her belief system.
    And beneath it all this shadowy futuristic concept of a society which offer some sociological and psychological insights by which we can judge our own society and our place within it.
    Thoroughly enjoyed it and I think you will too.
  • Oliver Thomas
    4.0 out of 5 stars Clever, compelling, a little bit contrived.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2021
    The plot is tangled, but not unintelligibly so...however, those tangles do start to struggle for momentum toward the end of the book. Characterisation and setting are very strong. I as delighted by the characters Starlight and Cheeirilaq. Also, Rilriltok.