Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Ship Who Sang | 1969 | Jody Lynn Nye | Buy |
| 2 | PartnerShip | 1992 | Jody Lynn Nye | Buy |
| 3 | The Ship Who Searched | 1992 | Jody Lynn Nye | Buy |
| 4 | The City Who Fought | 1993 | Jody Lynn Nye | Buy |
| 5 | The Ship Who Won | 1993 | Jody Lynn Nye | Buy |
| 6 | The Ship Errant | 1996 | Jody Lynn Nye | Buy |
| 7 | The Ship Avenged | 1997 | Jody Lynn Nye | Buy |
This series, also known as the Brain & Brawn Ship or Brainship series, was created by Anne McCaffrey with The Ship Who Sang in 1969. The books are set in a future where severely disabled humans are placed inside titanium shells at birth and connected to spaceships or space stations. These “shellpeople” serve as the brains of their vessels, while mobile human partners called “brawns” handle physical tasks. The relationship between each brain and brawn drives the stories.
After McCaffrey wrote the original novel, several co-authors expanded the universe in the 1990s. Jody Lynn Nye co-wrote The Ship Who Won (1993) with McCaffrey and later wrote The Ship Errant (1996) on her own. Other contributors include Mercedes Lackey, who wrote The Ship Who Searched (1992), and S.M. Stirling, who co-wrote The City Who Fought (1993).
The books work well read in publication order, though each novel features different brain-brawn pairings and can largely stand on its own. The Ship Who Sang remains the best starting point, as it introduces the concept and sets the tone for the rest of the series.