Nascent Decay by Charles Hash ****

Like much classic science fiction Nascent Decay by Charles Hash is a mixture of philosophy and conflict, first exploring the psychology and stress of solitary confinement with the SciFi twist that Rhylie is imprisoned in a Chamber which is capable of reading Rhylie thoughts and augmenting them with complex and realistic hallucinations. Even with physical pain, psychological torment, and the destruction of her loved ones, Rhylie survives to be rescued.

For the rest of the book, Rhylie's human body is replaced with a cyberbionic skeleton and an atomorphic body. Ultimately comes the prophesy:

She is the one that is going to change things, and help us bring about peace and equality in the galaxy.

In summary, like much classic science fiction Nascent Decay is a mix of philosophy and conflict. The book opens with our protagonist Rhylie trapped in solitary confinement where the distinction between reality and imagination is blurred ... an experience reminiscent of Samuel Beckett. Eventually Rhylie escapes and the cosmic intergalactic battle ensues matching the scope and complexity of classic tales of say E E Smith or Harry Harrison. A must read for hard core SF readers.