This is a story that is more about world building than plot. In the hands of someone like Kelly, that is a good thing. Set on an interstellar starship on a mission of exploration, we follow a young man and how he deals with the arrival of some new crew members.

Tor.com

What I like about this story is how Kelly builds this little microcosmos and make it feel real. The information about the ship and its crew comes naturally, where their purpose of gathering information, not data - there is a specific point to the difference, is not fully explained, but it allows for some musings on humans place in the universe and the role of artificial intelligences.

And it is also a nice coming of age sort of story on top of that. Though given the title of the story, where Grace is the name of the ship, makes it actually more about her than the young protagonist.

Read in Forever Magazine, February 2025
Read online at Tor.com
Rating: 4