Serengeti

Serengeti is the AI that runs/inhabits a Valkyrie class warship. She and the rest of the fleet of the Meridian Alliance are hunting for ships belonging to the Dark Star Revolution. Sadly, the hunt finds them – but the DSR ships were waiting for them. The ensuing battle doesn't go well for the Alliance – and Serengeti barely survives, and the crew aboard her is decimated.

They escape the scene of the battle, but don't end up where they're supposed to be – and so Serengeti begins her trek to return to the fleet, limping along while hoping her remaining crew in the lifeboat will make it. She and a couple of repair robots make the long, limping journey alone – relying only on each other, some surprising ingenuity and hope to make it.

To help her – both for companionship and because she needs some better help, Serengeti upgrades a robot friend and the two quickly learn to rely on each other for moral support, encouragement and basic needs. It's a pretty cool story in that way, and not one I can remember seeing anything like before. It's like the Firefly episode, “Out of Gas,” starring a non-bickering C3-PO and R2-D2. But not at all, really.

There's some humor, a lot of heart, and some good SF action to be found in these pages. I'm not sure what else to say without spoiling it, so I'll keep this brief. This is a solid SF adventure with some surprisingly sympathetic AI protagonists. It's the first of a duology – and I fully intended on getting my hands on part two pronto.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for this post – I appreciate it.