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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
Chambers is one of my favorite "real" person SciFi writers. She makes writing seem so easy and simple. This story focused on a few people aboard a ship orbiting a planet. Nothing dramatic happens, but her description of life on the ship is interesting and pleasant to read. It was an escape from typical alien invades-type science fiction.
This is a wonderful series, each story is unique with a different style but all are great, insightful stories
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Cosy sci-fi
Chambers' first two Wayfarers books had driving plot, characters, and conflict. They were easy to tear through in one day each.
#3 is a lot of low-energy, low-conflict world building, sort of like a writer's notes with some sketched in characters for viewpoint. This would be interesting and enjoyable if each of the vignettes were not split into chapters and interlaced. Since they interact little and lack strong narratives on their own, combining them instead of letting each arc work in peace robs any momentum that was possible. That one terrible structural decision unfortunately takes this book down several notches.
#3 is a lot of low-energy, low-conflict world building, sort of like a writer's notes with some sketched in characters for viewpoint. This would be interesting and enjoyable if each of the vignettes were not split into chapters and interlaced. Since they interact little and lack strong narratives on their own, combining them instead of letting each arc work in peace robs any momentum that was possible. That one terrible structural decision unfortunately takes this book down several notches.
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:
Complicated
It's been a while since I read the first 2 books in this series and I had lost the thread but it didn't matter. This book can stand alone. Interesting, well written, thoughtful. Quite enjoyable.
emotional
inspiring
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
Wow, I think I may even like this more than A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet—and I really enjoyed that! All of the story lines were great, but I particularly liked Kip's character development. Overall, it's a well thought out world, and I appreciate the little connections between the books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Sexual content, Xenophobia
Another out of the park home run. Each of Becky Chambers' three novels is different, and I love each one for different reasons. In all honesty I think the finest of the three, as a novel, is A Closed and Common Orbit. But I still love this one, although I miss having more aliens, I think. A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet gave me some hope that if aliens can get along and even have romances, surely we humans can figure it out. Plus I love Chambers' imagined worlds. I loved A Closed and Common Orbit for its lovely examination of what it means to be human. I love Record of a Spaceborn Few for its pondering about belonging and tradition and when we should seek these things, and when we should forge on ahead. I love how the books touch tangentially but are their own complete stories.
I will be sure to nominate this for a Hugo. Meet the wonderful humans who dwell in exile from a ruined Earth. They live in a very cooperative society because everyone is needed to keep their workd operating. Their world is a fleet of spacecraft which are the cities in space where the human race lives. You will see this world through the eyes of a naive human immigrant from another world and the eyes of a very alien cultural anthropologist. Not much action except those of relationships and character growth and interactions. This can be a stand alone novel. You will like the characters