Diving into the Wreck

Rusch (the Retrieval Artist series) delivers a page-turning space adventure while contemplating the ethics of scientists and governments working together on future tech. Boss is a middle-aged loner who searches ancient spacecraft for historical data. Driven by the memory of her mother being lured to a mysterious station called the Room of Souls, Boss believes humanity is haunted by old science, the kind that could kill us because we don't understand it. As Boss carefully builds a crew of spacers who are mostly loners with secrets, their notions about old and new tech, and about each other, must be re-evaluated as they first dive a 5,000-year-old ship for clues and then head for the Room. Rusch's spare prose sometimes flattens the characters, but admirably suits both the adventure and the deep moral questions she raises. (Nov.)