In a spaceship of her own making...

Having now read both Space Opera and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making, I understand what norabombay said about Catherynne Valente's writing.

There is an extremely strong narrative voice. The narrator is talking to you. The narrator is omniscient and has opinions.

I imagine that for people who are accustomed to only a nearly-invisible third person narrator, this is jarring. I was raised on enough old-fashioned books to be comfortable with this kind of narrator, so I don't find it excessively precious. I enjoy it.