Reviews with content warning for Vomit - The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

Wow! After the last one was kind of tricky to follow this one really brought together everything I loved from the whole series. I had a hard time getting into it in the beginning because I was like “oh great more character perspectives to keep track of” but since these characters firmly overlapped with each other’s lives it was MUCH easier to follow between different perspectives each chapter than the previous book where they had their own lives that didn’t really interact until the end. I also continue to absolutely love learning about the different cultures and their histories. I really liked the part where Pei and Speaker had their disagreement and conflict about politics. It was also really great to learn more about the Laru, Akaraks, and Quelin but I liked having Pei as a character as well since this built on our prior knowledge/connection to this character. I also felt like this one had a more clear plot than the other ones while still balancing the great character development. I continue to love the way Becky Chambers writes different characters and gets their voice so clearly for us, like Tupo and xyr very teen mannerisms which are apparently cross-species to recognize. I felt like this book also had much of what I enjoyed about the first book where there are multiple species interacting in a small space which helps you quickly learn about culture, temperament, and personalities of the characters. The interactions are rich. The ending was very fulfilling and even though I’m sad and I don’t think this should be the last book, I think it had the best ending. One thing that was weird upon beginning this book (especially after the last one) was that there were no humans in this one. All prior books had humans as the most central characters and this one had no humans until the doctor showed up which was a bit weird at first but I wouldn’t complain about it. Would recommend! Loved it! Sad it’s over!!

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avacadosocks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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fionamclary's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A compact conclusion to an expansive series, taking place in a limited area of one small planet over the course of five days and involving only five characters for the vast majority of the book, yet retaining the sense of vastness and diversity of the galaxy built up in previous books and exemplified by the unlikely group we encounter in book 4. I especially enjoyed having an Akarak POV character. This disabled anarchocommunist bird woman has my whole heart. Becky Chambers has created a unique species with a tragic history of colonization and cultural genocide, now living on the fringes in a fascinating social structure. The contrast with having an Aeluon POV character (recurring from book 1!) allowed for especially nuanced cultural and political commentary. And of course, Roveg the Quelin is an icon, the party-hosting, food-offering, considerate exile artist we all wish we had in our lives. I'd like to be his friend please and thank you. As always, Becky Chambers develops complex analyses and critiques of the world she has created that are unique to this scifi universe as well as mapping onto our own world.

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caryndi's review

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emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

It's been so long since I read the previous books in the Wayfarers series that I only have vague impressions of them. However, since we're jumping in with a new cast of characters that's only tangentially related to the prequels, I didn't feel lost.

If this book was a TV episode, I'd call it a bottle episode: The main characters all ended up stuck together for the majority of the book. The conflict was largely interpersonal/internal, and fairly low-stakes, which is in line with this series/Becky Chambers' work in general. The driving idea was that vulnerability can bring people together, and even individuals who disagree with each other on major points (and may not ever agree) can learn from each other. I enjoyed spending the brief few days with these characters, watching how they had interactions that would change the course of their lives—maybe in subtle ways, but in lasting ones. This was a gentle and hopeful read full of the idea that people can come together to help each other when times are hard.

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scifi_rat's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Plot: 3.75★
Prose: 3★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 4.5★/3.25★
Characters: 3.25★
Worldbuilding: 4.75★
Ending: 3.25

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athryn's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Really enjoyed this whole series, and this was a good one to go out on, although honestly Chambers could come back to this setting any old time she wants as far as I'm concerned.

I really enjoyed the premise of just a bunch of people stuck at an interstellar truck stop, and what happens when you stick all those personalities together. Very different from most of the Scifi I read, but also incredibly enjoyable. Made me tear up a couple of times.

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scruffie's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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_forestofpages's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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