Reviews

Even though one of my best friends and I both love fantasy, we both love a different side of it. She prefers the historical fantasies, where I lean a little more towards the sci-fi. When Fairyloot was doing a book by Becky Chambers I therefore didn't just get it. I also got all the other books she had written. Yesterday I needed a shorter sci-fi novel to fill a sci-fi prompt for a challenge and I discovered that this was a stand-alone. Time to dive in!

It took me a little while to really get into this book, mostly because for a while I was actually searching for a bigger plot, for a point, and it didn't really come soon enough. However, once I dared to let go that this book needed a plot, once I started enjoying the exploring, getting to see different planets, getting to meet life in outer-space, I could read faster and faster and actually liked the mix of science and fantasy Chambers presented.

Although the novel is focussed on the science, mostly because the characters in the novel are focussed on the science, I like how we get to know the four astronauts quite well through small tellings and almost meaningless interactions. We see why they do the job they do, what makes them tick and what kind of personality they have. We also see what they offer each other and why the four of them make such a good team.

However, when a book is focussed this much on science and on the different planets and the things the astronauts discover, the science needs to be good, needs to be sold well. I quite liked how in the extra material the author explains that even though it's still fiction, the science must feel real enough and must therefore be rooted in the truth. Chambers did this amazingly well. I bought her science, mostly because the factual science was right.

katieinca's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a short, quiet, thoughtful sci fi book. It's a small group of explorers visiting a series of planets, expressing wonder at the life forms they find. It spends a lot of time thinking about how the explorers would do that without cross contamination, more any other sci fi book I can remember reading.
I don't know how to to compare it to Becky Chambers' other books - I liked them both, but this is so different, beyond just not taking place in the same universe. It has different rules and cares more about science. It has a much smaller cast. I think the biggest similarity is the easy camaraderie of the characters.

azenor's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

peheje's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

atlastheninth's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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