Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear

“Haimey Dz is an engineer who, along with pilot Connla Kurucz and the sentient ship Singer, are just-barely-lawful salvagers looking for that one big haul that will make their fortunes. When searching one derelict ship, Haimey becomes infected by something that gives her knowledge about the construction of the universe itself, making her a prize for not only the interstellar government Synarche but also the space pirates determined to use her for their own nefarious plans. On the run across the galaxy, Haimey and others discover that in the black hole at the center of the galaxy is a hidden alien spaceship, and that revealing lost secrets of both the universe and Haimey’s own past, neither of which she will wish to be uncovered, is the only way to save everything.

VERDICT Hugo Award winner Bear’s (Karen Memory) foray back into space introduces an immersive setting and characters. Readers will be captivated by the creative prose.” — Library Journal