Reviews

As someone who adored the previous books in the series, I really struggled with this one initially. The pacing is slow, with many altering POVs, which made me struggle to immerse myself and truly care about several of the characters. I actually considered returning the book to the library several times. Around halfway through, however, something grabbed my attention, and from there on I was hooked. As usual in the Wayfarer series, the ending is poignant and ties the overarching themes and character perspectives together really well. While this is my least favorite out of the three Wayfarer books I've read, I think it's well worth the read if you're a fan of the series.

sarahmelized_onions's review against another edition

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5.0

My heart is so full. Thank you Becky Chambers for writing an imagined future like this one. I love the sort of science fiction where the science is anthropology and sociology. This is a book in the tradition of Ursula K. LeGuin, and it makes me proud just to be human.

hungeberg's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.75

barrit89's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

dr_ew's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective 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 love the way that Becky Chambers writes, and the world she’s created is awesome. But I’m only giving this one three stars because it wasn’t nearly as engaging as the first two in the series. I didn’t find the characters as compelling in this one. Since there were so many characters whose stories were almost entirely disconnected, I found it difficult to get invested.

I know all of the stories link up at some point, but it’s not until very late in the book.

I’m still glad I gave this a read, but I’m hoping that the next book feels a bit more like the first two.

katieinca's review against another edition

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3.0

I do enjoy this universe, and Chambers' characters, and I liked this book, but not as well as the previous two. It's less story, more character-study-with-meditation-on-some-themes than her other two books, or than the cover might lead you to believe. Some things happen, but they aren't always... the point. I don't hate that, but I don't love it. If you hate it, this book will bother you.
I don't have a problem with five POV characters - that can be fun. But if four of the five interact with at least one of the others, then the remaining one feels like an aside.
I thought it was an interesting choice the way she'd end a character right before what might have been an interesting scene, but one that you could probably predict about how it was going to go, and then pick up way later, and you can just assume it probably went about he way you'd expect. I'm still not sure whether that was an efficiency that really worked for her, or whether it left things feeling thin.

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