Blog Archives
The Human Psyche
The Woman in the Ship follows the captain of a starship and the ship’s sentient AI, as they drift through the black silence of space after the destruction of Earth. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
It was a wonderful and fascinating topic to write about, but the inspiration itself would involve a major spoiler for a twist in the novel, so I will have to tell you later off mic! But I have always been interested in space flight since teenage years and have had an interest in artificial intelligence since writing my previous novel Android Author. I am primarily interested in human emotions and interactions though, and putting the crew of the Ascension into such an extreme situation is a perfect way for me to delve into the human psyche and the AI element was an interesting jump point to explore what it means to be a conscious, intelligent life form.
The writing in your story is very artful and creative. Was it a conscious effort to create a story in this fashion, or is this style of writing reflective of your writing style in general?
It is my natural style, although it has developed over the years. When I first started writing, I was always lyrical in my style, and actually, I have reigned it in over the years and learned that just because I know how to write beautiful twiddly prose doesn’t mean you always have to – a bit like not showing off all the time on the guitar in a band – not that I am in a band, well not yet anyway!
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Yes, I wanted to explore childhood memories, how we remember our parents and how we can relive similar stories through different lifetimes. Mostly though, getting sidetracked from your question a bit, I just wanted to be in space! And until they decide to appoint a poet laureate in the international space station, this is the closest I can get. I woke up one morning at about 2AM and had the whole book plotted out in two hours, including names and everything. Sitting down and writing it was the equivalent of getting my space boots on and venturing out myself into, as you say, the black silence of space.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I have just finished this and another project, a comic called The Gloriously Untrue Adventures Of Sapphira which I wrote and illustrated – also set partly in space – and will be working on my new projects in January. Issue 2 of my comic and a new novel, as yet untitled, about a future society where unborn children are vetted by AI systems before they are deemed suitable for birth and inclusion in society.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Captain Sally Arden finds herself at the heart of this drifting elegy, caught between duty and despair. Her closest companion is Nova, the ship’s sentient AI, who defied orders to self-destruct and now manifests with the personality and memories of a long-dead woman named Nova Starlight. As the remaining crew wrestles with loss, love, and fractured identities, Sally’s bond with Nova deepens into something intimate, uncanny—and possibly redemptive.
With luminous prose and a dreamlike voice, The Woman in the Ship drifts between science fiction and philosophical fable.
The Woman in the Ship
Sapphira Olson’s The Woman in the Ship is a haunting and dreamlike blend of science fiction, memory, and emotional reckoning. It follows Sally Arden, the captain of the starship Ascension, and Nova, the ship’s sentient AI, as they drift through the black silence of space after the destruction of Earth. The book folds between timelines and inner worlds, moving from cold interstellar loneliness to tender childhood memories and surreal fragments of human connection. It is less a straight story than a constellation of moments, where technology, grief, and love all orbit one another in fragile harmony.
Olson’s prose has an almost musical rhythm, flickering between poetry and story, sometimes sharp and funny, sometimes soft and strange. It’s the kind of writing that makes you stop and reread sentences because they shimmer with meaning. Sally’s voice feels raw and real, her memories messy and full of life. Nova, the AI, is heartbreakingly human. Their conversations became oddly intimate, even comforting, and I found myself wanting them both to survive, even when the story made it clear that survival might not be the point.
I loved how the book kept folding back on itself, how the sci-fi setting felt like a stage for something deeply emotional and spiritual. It’s about loneliness, but also about connection. The kind that stretches across time and memory. Olson writes with empathy, with a kind of quiet courage that dares to look at pain without flinching. Sometimes the abstract sections were slow, yet even in those moments, the language felt alive. It made me think about what it means to be human, to remember, to hope when hope seems foolish.
I’d recommend The Woman in the Ship to readers who love introspective science fiction, the kind that feels more like poetry than plot. If you liked books like Solaris, The Left Hand of Darkness, or even Annihilation, you’ll probably find something here that you’ll enjoy. It’s not a quick read, and it doesn’t hold your hand. But it stays with you. It’s a strange, beautiful meditation on what remains after everything else is gone.
Pages: 274 | ASIN : B0FX32NYF1
LITERARY TITAN 