addie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0


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discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

What a delightful, charming, and deeply emotional experience. Chambers does such a phenomenal job of writing imperfect, complex, and, most importantly, intensely lovable characters. This story is no exception. The pacing is comfortable, the universe—with all of its various forms of sentient life and their respective cultures—is introduced to the reader in a way that feels natural and easy to absorb. I don’t dish out 5 star ratings easily but this book is an instant favorite for me.
I will say, I went into this book thinking it was mostly a safe, cozy sci-if read but was surprised by the death of a main character towards the end, so be aware that it is very very sad at one point and if that’s something you prefer to avoid, this book isn’t for you.

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dlrosebyh's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

5.0

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the ailing Wayfarer, she has low expectations. Even though the patched-up ship has seen better days, it nonetheless provides her with a bed, the opportunity to travel to distant parts of the galaxy, and most importantly, some separation from her past. She's never encountered anyone even quite like the ship's eclectic crew, which includes Ashby, their honorable captain, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks, who keep the ship operating, and Sissix, the exotic reptile pilot.

The hectic and crazy life on board the Wayfarer is just what Rosemary wants. The gang is going to be handed the opportunity of a lifetime, which will make things much more risky. They will live comfortably for years digging wormholes to faraway planets since it is profitable to do so. However, endangering her life wasn't in the agenda. The small Wayfarer crew will face a variety of unforeseen difficulties and exhilarating adventures in the great regions of deep space, forcing them to rely on one another. Rosemary must learn to rely on this diverse group of oddballs in order to survive, which teaches her about love and trust as well as the fact that having a family isn't necessarily the worst thing that could possibly happen.

What comes to mind when you hear the name "Becky Chambers"? I personally associate this book with found family, comfort, and space that I have discovered. Since the rumors are true—and I'm not even exaggerating—let me assure you that they are not in fact rumors. I'm thirty percent through the novel and already in tears from underdeveloped characters brought on by the discovered family. I felt like a hug after finishing this book, so I guess you could say that 2023 is off to a wonderful start.

Yes, there isn't much of a plot in this book, which is unusual for a sci-fi book. It's the definition of "no plots, only vibes," which might be quite off-putting at first. However, once you accept that there isn't a narrative, you'll be able to really enjoy this book. Becky Chambers is remarkable in that regard in terms of character. The characters are interesting, varied, and authentic. Funnily enough, they don’t seem like from another planet.

Literally, barely 10% of the book is devoted to the objective. I don't advise reading this if that offends you. The characters feel so authentic because, as has already noted, Becky Chambers spends more time developing them than she does on the plot. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm excited for the upcoming installment in the series.

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aceofknives's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful relaxing 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

5.0


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relin's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

5.0

Was an absolute joy to read, thinking about how different peoples would interact and finding family rather than the one folks are born into. Going to reread this story again as it handled hard things in soft kind ways.

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sarasreading's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

I am a sucker for found families, especially found families in space. It's a wonder I didn't have this on my radar sooner! I had such a good time reading about this crew of lovable scamps. 

Much more character based than plot based, although exciting things do happen. The focus is on the characters though, and all of their vastly different species, cultures, and experiences. This author's brilliant imagination really made the world come alive. I'd love to read more in this series! 

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neni's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

This is was not what I was expecting, but that turned out to be a good rhing. 
Although it is tecnically scifi set in space (which is still cool on its own), I would describe the plot as relatively slow-paced, and based almost entirely on character studies and character development. Nothing especially adventurous or exciting happens until the end of the book, but each small scene and problem that come up throughout the story serves as a plataform and an opportunity for exploring the characters issues and, most importantly, their relationships with each other.
At first, I wasnt sure how I felt about this model, since I was expecting a fast paced science fiction aventure and thats not at all what this is. However, about half way through I did warm up to it because I started to get attached to the characters themselves and invested in their wellbeing (which is the point I think).
Other positive points I want to mention are: 
-the writing style. Its quite simple, nothing extra flowery, but Becky Chambers is quite good at writing dialogue and character interactions in a way that really hits you in the feels
-the world building is fascinating. I found the Aandrisk and Aelon cultures particularly interesting. The exploration of different ways to structure society, families and interpersonal relationships was a joy to read.

That development at the end was so sad, it broke my heart. But it was handled incredibly well.

Also, this is really random, but I cant be the only one that kept picturing Elon Musk everytime Rosemary's shitbag father was mentioned lol

Overall, I enjoyed this and am excited to read the next installments in the series.


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cookiecat73's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25


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sacredgayometry's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is one of my favorite books I have ever read, and one of the best sci-fi novels of all time in my opinion. The story is compelling but the found family relationships are the real draw of the book. You will become attached to characters you didn’t expect to, and feel like part of the family yourself as the reader. The world building is fantastic and I felt like a tourist learning about strange and beautiful new places at times. I love this book.

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kieranlit's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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