Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Ship Who Searched

By: Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey
Narrated by: Constance Towers
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $11.66

Buy for $11.66

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Hypatia Cade—a headstrong, smart, and spunky 7-year-old girl—falls ill after contracting an alien virus that renders her a quadriplegic. Robbed of her mobility, Tia's only hope to be free of the prison of her body is to train to be one of the legendary star travelers, a brainship—a cyborg human being and interstellar spacecraft. Following her training, she must find the right partner to be her brawn, the human element every brainship requires.

When the disease that debilitated Tia threatens thousands more, selecting a brawn who is her true soul mate may allow Tia to find the origin of the terrible plague—and perhaps even a cure.

©2013 Anne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey (P)2022 Phoenix Books
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Ship Who Searched

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    188
  • 4 Stars
    80
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    10
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    155
  • 4 Stars
    54
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    156
  • 4 Stars
    47
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    10

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Prefer unabridged but not too bad

The abridged version leaves out much of the soul searching and parentheses that Ms Lackey indulges in, which is good. But this version, as other readers have said, goes a little - just a little - too far. The scene where Hypatia chooses a 'brawn' is cut drastically and looses it's coherance. The bits with the bear are cut too much. Lars is cut too much. Etc. The book is cut to a little more that two hours. A three hour version would be much better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

The story is still enjoyable

However, as others have commented, the abridgement is very poorly done, with characters making reference to comments made earlier in the story that were cut, and, in one case, a character "replies" to a question that was not asked.

As this is a story I know very well (I have lost count of the number of times I've reread it), I'm frustrated by the editing. While some of the edits don't noticeably interrupt the flow of the tale, others are so glaringly obvious, I find myself pausing the book for a period of time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love all the Brain Ship Books

I’ve read the actual paper back copies of the entire book. My only regret with the audio version is that it isn’t the entire book. I think the narrator’s voice is perfect for this book. At least as far as Hypatia goes. Listening to the abridged version does make me want to go out and buy the actual print version, which of course I already had long before I ever heard of Audible. Excellent job, in any case!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my favorite brain ship books

My favorite. of all the MCCaffrrey series. This one had some new twists on the brain/brawn relationship

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My trust in the quality of audiobooks on amazon is greatly diminished

This audiobook with Constance Towers as the narrator is just terrible. Instead of “abridged”, it should say is hacked and slashed. Both parts that gave the story it's special something and parts that connected the different scene changes were haphazardly skipped. It was common for there to not even be a 1 second pause between one scene and the next, leaving you confusion as to how things had just progressed.

This book is my favorite of the Brain Ship series, so i am upset that this book has been so mangled by the “editing.” If i did not know the original work, i may have become too confused to be able to follow this glitchy version of the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great story... but

Unfortunately for Audible, as this is my favorite book of all time, I memorized the original complete work and clearly noted the missing parts in the audible version. However, the story runs together well enough for anyone who has never read the original. My first book experience from audible and I enjoyed it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Won't buy abridged book ever again

I really enjoyed this story and Mercedes Lackey is one of my favorite authors. This abridgement, however, was horribly done. Some parts of the story made no sense because pertinent information was taken out earlier in the story. OR, frustratingly, a plot point is begun, but never brought to fruition. I have since purchased the book, read it, and loved it. If this was a performance of the full, unabridged book, I would easily rate it 5/5.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A good story and clear narration

I have loved Anne McCaffrey's books for years now. In fact, I'd had this audiobook on tape long ago, and was happy to see it here on Audible. Listening to it was like visiting with an old friend.

The story line itself is about the 'brain ships'. It starts off with Tia being this perfect child, who then gets seriously ill and is paralyzed. Her only option for a full life is being a brain ship. She's smart and real, as she remembers her happy childhood and is a well adjusted adult who happens to be the brain running the ship. Her partner or 'brawn', Alex, is very likable too.

The story is a bit implausible, but I still like it. I'm happy to have purchased it again and would recommend it for a light read. There's no stress, bloodshed, etc., that so many of todays stories have. It's a good old fashioned science fiction/fantasy. The world Anne McCaffrey has painted is easy to visualize and follow along with. I'm sorry that she has passed away and there will be no more of these fun stories. Her mind worked in mysterious ways!

The narrator is good, but I felt her voice was way too older sounding to be reading the part of a 7 year old girl. Of course, that was only the first half hour of the audiobook, and after that it didn't bug me anymore. Her voice is clear and easy to listen to, but she's definitely suited to more adult roles.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Abridged- not full audio

Well performed and read but I bought the audio version to supplement my reading and it is , unfortunately, abridged. I kept thinking I was missing things. I had to go back and reread the chapters I had listened to for everything to make sense. Anne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey are excellent authors and don’t need their works shortened. I am disappointed. I rated three overall and four for the story because of the abridgment. The original is great- especially considering what was known about prosthetics, plagues and AI at the time they were written,

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Unabridged Version

This is my favorite of Anne MacCaffrey's Ships series - however, the abridgement detracts from the story. I would love to hear this as an unabridged version.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful