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maryellen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Bullying, Drug use, and Death
Minor: Sexual content
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: bullying, death
"From the ground, we stand. From our ships, we live. By the stars, we hope."
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers is book three in the Wayfarers series. I really enjoyed this cozy scifi story, although it didn't hit me as hard as the previous two books did. I'm really enjoying that there is very little plot to speak of. These are self-contained stories that build on the world-building established in book one.
This story focuses on the human Exodan Fleet. We follow five characters: Kip, a teen who is struggling with what he wants in life and wants to leave the Fleet; Isobel, an older lesbian Archivist who is hosting a Harmagian guest researching the Exodans; Eyas, a Caretaker of the dead for the fleet who feels like something is missing; Sawyer, a young man from a Harmagian planet that has never set foot in the fleet before, but wants to try something new; and Tessa, Ashby's sister who is also looking for something better for her family.
It was so great to finally explore Exodan culture! We get to see the way the homesteaders are run, the importance of cooperation, sharing, and letting nothing go to waste. We even get a little bit of their history in the form of articles from Isobel's guest. I love that we got to learn about the fleet's funereal rites of composting their dead. We even see how sex work has been an expected and respected profession. We see a slice of life from each of these five characters.
The themes were about human identity, community, and change. Sawyer wanted to feel connected to his ancestors and accepted into the fleet despite his ignorance of the culture. Tessa wanted her daughter to feel safe while also struggling with the thought of leaving the fleet behind. Kip learned he needed perspective in order to appreciate what was right in front of him, and the importance of remembering and preserving your history.
I'm curious and excited to see what the next story brings us!
"From the ground, we stand. From our ships, we live. By the stars, we hope."
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers is book three in the Wayfarers series. I really enjoyed this cozy scifi story, although it didn't hit me as hard as the previous two books did. I'm really enjoying that there is very little plot to speak of. These are self-contained stories that build on the world-building established in book one.
This story focuses on the human Exodan Fleet. We follow five characters: Kip, a teen who is struggling with what he wants in life and wants to leave the Fleet; Isobel, an older lesbian Archivist who is hosting a Harmagian guest researching the Exodans; Eyas, a Caretaker of the dead for the fleet who feels like something is missing; Sawyer, a young man from a Harmagian planet that has never set foot in the fleet before, but wants to try something new; and Tessa, Ashby's sister who is also looking for something better for her family.
It was so great to finally explore Exodan culture! We get to see the way the homesteaders are run, the importance of cooperation, sharing, and letting nothing go to waste. We even get a little bit of their history in the form of articles from Isobel's guest. I love that we got to learn about the fleet's funereal rites of composting their dead. We even see how sex work has been an expected and respected profession. We see a slice of life from each of these five characters.
The themes were about human identity, community, and change. Sawyer wanted to feel connected to his ancestors and accepted into the fleet despite his ignorance of the culture. Tessa wanted her daughter to feel safe while also struggling with the thought of leaving the fleet behind. Kip learned he needed perspective in order to appreciate what was right in front of him, and the importance of remembering and preserving your history.
I'm curious and excited to see what the next story brings us!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Bullying
_david_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? No
3.5
This book had some great moments and I do recommend reading it if you liked the rest of the series! I think the author nailed the use of multiple characters to tell the story about a whole culture. It created beautiful dialogue and told an interesting story about the value of tradition. I adored the characters, especially Isabel and Tamsin since they remind me of my own relationship.
I have two reasons why I've rated it lower than the other Wayfarer books so far. A small downside of especially the beginning of the book is that there are a lot of similar names for characters and a lot of characters without a very clear identifying feature at first. I can imagine that it's very hard to go through this book slowly since you might forget which character did what. The other, bigger downside is how some characters' stories ended. I didn't mind the endings themselves, but for a few of them they were told about it by others. The book expressed its morals by a very much "tell don't show" way. I think it's a shame, it made the book feel very biased, I think the same story could've been told without the very explicit dialogue. The moments I mean are:Isabel talking to Kip and 'Pop' talking to Tessa. I think the museum scene for Kip and the talk with George for Tessa would've sufficed.
Having said that, I still really enjoyed the book! It's just the weakest in the series so far to me and I wanted to reflect that in my rating. As I've expressed in the beginning of this review, it contains some beautiful moments.
I have two reasons why I've rated it lower than the other Wayfarer books so far. A small downside of especially the beginning of the book is that there are a lot of similar names for characters and a lot of characters without a very clear identifying feature at first. I can imagine that it's very hard to go through this book slowly since you might forget which character did what. The other, bigger downside is how some characters' stories ended. I didn't mind the endings themselves, but for a few of them they were told about it by others. The book expressed its morals by a very much "tell don't show" way. I think it's a shame, it made the book feel very biased, I think the same story could've been told without the very explicit dialogue. The moments I mean are:
Having said that, I still really enjoyed the book! It's just the weakest in the series so far to me and I wanted to reflect that in my rating. As I've expressed in the beginning of this review, it contains some beautiful moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Bullying, Grief, and Confinement
Moderate: Alcohol, Xenophobia, and Racism
Minor: Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Classism, War, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Violence, and Drug use
In the first chapterthe_reading_wren's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This one is less adventure and more reflective than the previous books in this series, covering heavy themes. Chambers guides us through these topics with masterful writing, while enveloping us in a world so well developed it feels like a home from home. I think it was a work of genius weaving the reader’s role of bearing witness into Sawyer’s storyline in such a profound way…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal death, War, Bullying, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death
Minor: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Murder, Racism, Confinement, and Cursing
waqupi's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Bullying
onthesamepage's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
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? No
4.0
I read this series out of order, so this is the last installment I read, and it's definitely different. With the other three Wayfarer books, I always felt that there was a specific plot or theme that the book was exploring. This one didn't feel as cohesive. We're following multiple characters, but while some of them connect within the scope of the story, others don't. There is some overlap there, and I'm not saying the perspectives weren't interesting or that I didn't get invested (it's Becky Chambers, of course I got invested), but this almost felt like reading several novellas about the lives of different characters. There's barely any plot, but if you're in the mood for something slice of life but in space, then I definitely recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Bullying
mleiv's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I have read every Becky Chambers I could find. This series is lovely, and this is my second-favorite so far (A Closed and Common Orbit was #1). The caretaker of the dead was the primary plot line for me, and I loved her so much and her perspective was very healing, in a very sad story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Death
tallulahlucy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I don’t understand this being marked medium paced - it’s slow. Don’t go in expecting anything else and you won’t be disappointed. Think of it as a documentary about the fictional Fleet rather than a single story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Classism and Colonisation
Minor: Confinement and Bullying
lipstickitotheman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Through the grief, this book is still wonderfully hopeful. It was really hard for me at first to keep all the narratives straight, but it got easier as I got to know the characters better. It was beautiful how they all intersected with each other and with the first book in the series.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Medical content, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Grief, and Xenophobia
annamorgan27's review against another edition
hopeful
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Cursing, Alcohol, Bullying, Drug use, and Grief