Scan barcode
bergha1998's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
4.5
Becky Chambers is magical, it was heartbreakingly beautiful like all her damn books. We jump around with all of these characters in another piece of this universe she has created and come out of it learning more about herself. I will never get over how much I love her books and writing.
Sci-Fi, Philosophical Discussions, Diversity
“So many years of training and study, always striving, always chasing the idea at the end of the road. She’d reached that end by now. She had everything she had set out to do. So now… what? What came next? Do well, be consistent, keep things up for however long she had?”
“Humans aren’t really supposed to do anything in particular, and we get to choose the kind of lives we have. But that doesn’t mean any of it has a point.”
“If the only reason you want to do it is because you’re looking for a point, you’re going to end up miserable. You’ll float around forever trying to make peace with that.”
“Give me someone who wants it and had to work for it any day.”
“Figure out what you love, specifically. In detail. Figure out what you want to keep. Figure out what you want to change. Otherwise, it’s not love. It’s clinging to the familiar— to the comfortable.”
Sci-Fi, Philosophical Discussions, Diversity
“So many years of training and study, always striving, always chasing the idea at the end of the road. She’d reached that end by now. She had everything she had set out to do. So now… what? What came next? Do well, be consistent, keep things up for however long she had?”
“Humans aren’t really supposed to do anything in particular, and we get to choose the kind of lives we have. But that doesn’t mean any of it has a point.”
“If the only reason you want to do it is because you’re looking for a point, you’re going to end up miserable. You’ll float around forever trying to make peace with that.”
“Give me someone who wants it and had to work for it any day.”
“Figure out what you love, specifically. In detail. Figure out what you want to keep. Figure out what you want to change. Otherwise, it’s not love. It’s clinging to the familiar— to the comfortable.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, and Grief
bhnmt61's review against another edition
4.0
Generations ago, a fleet of ships left a devastated earth and struck out to see what they could find. Chambers imagines a fascinating future society in detail. In fact, the bulk of this book is about describing what life would be like in such a fleet, contrasted with the alien races they encounter. Her most surprising insight is that all this time later, the push-pull between "stay with what we have" and "strike out for something different" is still relevant. Thoroughly enjoyed this entry in the Wayfarers series, even though--as other reviewers' have mentioned-- the emphasis is less on an over-arching plot and more on understanding the Exodans' lives. It gets a little preachy at times, but the cast of characters she creates were interesting enough to pull me in.
rach149's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
4.0
calliopeo'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? No
4.5
skylar2's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
amageek's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely beautiful! I didn't think I'd like this one as much as Closed and Common Orbit but oh this one was so good. Made me cry at the end! I cried at the first naming ceremony too. It's just the history & the hope of the people just hits me so good. The idea of having to leave their failing planet because of like human caused global warming is so poignant and apt for this current time. And spending generations upon generations in space with only what they brought with them, until they found alien life and a new sun, it's awe inspiring.
I admit it took a bit to get absorbed into this book vs Closed and Common Orbit but I think that's because there were a lot of main characters. Five to be precise. Which felt a bit much to jump from one to the other each chapter. But I understand now why she chose to have that many, so you get a full rounded essence of the people in the Fleet and their nuanced perspectives. About leaving the Fleet, about staying, about their traditions and why they do what they do.
It was... just a absolutely beautiful book.
I admit it took a bit to get absorbed into this book vs Closed and Common Orbit but I think that's because there were a lot of main characters. Five to be precise. Which felt a bit much to jump from one to the other each chapter. But I understand now why she chose to have that many, so you get a full rounded essence of the people in the Fleet and their nuanced perspectives. About leaving the Fleet, about staying, about their traditions and why they do what they do.
It was... just a absolutely beautiful book.
simonator's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Becky Chambers' books are always a cozy, lighthearted read - this one even more than her others. Scene after scene, we get to know the domesticity and lived reality of the inhabitants of an enormous human fleet drifting in space and poverty, but under some form of space communism. In lengthy, lengthy dialogues, the characters discuss their lives and how they feel about it. Frankly, that gets hella boring at some point - which is, too, a theme for the Wayfarer series. The communist nature of the fleet society is interesting for a second of fans of organised space life, but it lacks a serious, deeper foundation based on a critique of capitalism or even understanding of planned economies/societies (especially regarding the incessantly brought-up topic of money and trade). Everybody's just an emotionally mature hippie who doesn't like money and who's fluent in therapy-speak - that's communism, apparently.
If you're waiting for a plot in the first third, don't get your hopes up too much. The author prefers much mroe to revel in the little moments and little lives of her creations, letting them yap for pages on end, with not much of a plot, or even problems, to spur them on. Then, halfway in, a genuinely intriguing plot takes shape of an immigrant who falls through the fleet society's cracks, hangs out with the wrong people, and tries to make a living in the wake of a major industrial disaster. And THEN, two chapters later, that plot just ... fizzles out off-page. The rest of the book's THIRD is about the remaining cast DISCUSSING what just happened - even though most of them didn't even have anything to do with the events! I wanted to scream at this waste of a great story idea.
I still finished this book fairly quickly, though, as the writing is charming at times, and the world-building undeniably creative, combining hard sci-fi geekdom with fantastically alien aliens. But I think this'll be the last book of the author for me.
If you're waiting for a plot in the first third, don't get your hopes up too much. The author prefers much mroe to revel in the little moments and little lives of her creations, letting them yap for pages on end, with not much of a plot, or even problems, to spur them on. Then, halfway in, a genuinely intriguing plot takes shape of an immigrant who falls through the fleet society's cracks, hangs out with the wrong people, and tries to make a living in the wake of a major industrial disaster. And THEN, two chapters later, that plot just ... fizzles out off-page. The rest of the book's THIRD is about the remaining cast DISCUSSING what just happened - even though most of them didn't even have anything to do with the events! I wanted to scream at this waste of a great story idea.
I still finished this book fairly quickly, though, as the writing is charming at times, and the world-building undeniably creative, combining hard sci-fi geekdom with fantastically alien aliens. But I think this'll be the last book of the author for me.
myakemovic's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
4.25
youngthespian42's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 rounded up. This setting and cast did not grip me as much as the first two wayfarers books. A Close and Common Orbit took a long time to get going but it took off when it did. This book felt like it was missing the reveal backstory or plot device that drove the last one. It meander with a cast of POVs like the first one, but I didn’t find these characters nearly as interesting. It still has a lot of the Beck Chambers charm and original Star Trek vibe, but I think this one is skippable.