There are certain “classic” books that I have just never read. I found a copy of this one in a library book sale in New York this past summer and read it this week. I hadn’t realized that this “origin” story was actually a collection of six shorter works. This universe posits a time when severely disabled humans, if they qualify, can live a life as the human “brains” for spaceships. (The world also posits a city-controller human brain as well.)
This was an entertaining read and it’s aged fairly well. Except for some references to navigational “tapes” the other technology aspects still read well.
Apparently there are two more short stories featuring the protagonist Helva, and then a follow-on series in the universe. I don’t feel compelled to seek them out, but if they happen to come into my hands I’d read them. Overall, this is a good book to pass on to the Heinlein for Heroes program as as a really good standalone read.