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bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
New favorite Becky Chambers book? I think yes.
Record of a Spaceborn Few is a cozy sci-fi novel about several humans in the Exodan fleet--descendants of those who left Earth centuries earlier in search of life elsewhere in the galaxy. They found it, and many humans now live planetside or work as spacers, but many others still live in the fleet itself, a socialist society without money where everyone is guaranteed food and housing and where the dead are recycled--and treated with honor.
All of our main characters have unique relationships to the Exodan fleet, its customs, and its history, and they give us a window into the questions that the fleet--and humanity at large--is grappling with. Why stay in a ship that has reached its destination? What happens to a post-money society in a galactic context that still uses currency? How do you avoid feeling worthless when your entire species seems so much smaller and more helpless than so many others, and when you are dependent on others for so much of your everyday existence? Is humanity inherently tied to Earth? What are we without it?
Becky Chambers doesn't attempt to answer any of these questions. She just explores them and has characters muse on them and produces a lovely, character-driven story in the process.
There IS death in this one. Quite a bit of it. So be warned.
My only gripe is the continued existence of law enforcement, honestly, but the Exodan model was never going to be perfect, so it's okay.
Record of a Spaceborn Few is a cozy sci-fi novel about several humans in the Exodan fleet--descendants of those who left Earth centuries earlier in search of life elsewhere in the galaxy. They found it, and many humans now live planetside or work as spacers, but many others still live in the fleet itself, a socialist society without money where everyone is guaranteed food and housing and where the dead are recycled--and treated with honor.
All of our main characters have unique relationships to the Exodan fleet, its customs, and its history, and they give us a window into the questions that the fleet--and humanity at large--is grappling with. Why stay in a ship that has reached its destination? What happens to a post-money society in a galactic context that still uses currency? How do you avoid feeling worthless when your entire species seems so much smaller and more helpless than so many others, and when you are dependent on others for so much of your everyday existence? Is humanity inherently tied to Earth? What are we without it?
Becky Chambers doesn't attempt to answer any of these questions. She just explores them and has characters muse on them and produces a lovely, character-driven story in the process.
There IS death in this one. Quite a bit of it. So be warned.
My only gripe is the continued existence of law enforcement, honestly, but the Exodan model was never going to be perfect, so it's okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Bullying
strange_little_ranger's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Colonisation, Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
scifi_rat's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.25
Plot: 3.75★
Prose: 3★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 4★/4★
Characters: 3.25★
Worldbuilding: 4.5★
Ending: 3.25★
Prose: 3★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 4★/4★
Characters: 3.25★
Worldbuilding: 4.5★
Ending: 3.25★
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Drug use, Grief, Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing
eleanora's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death
Minor: Colonisation, Alcohol, Cursing, and Bullying
eni_iilorak's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug use and Grief
Minor: Bullying, Medical content, and Sexual content
racheleanne06's review against another edition
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
Although I didn’t quite love this book as much as I did ‘a close and common orbit’ (that one is hard to top for me though, I absolutely adored it), this book was still wonderful.
Wayfarers is a science fiction series, set in a time and place very far from our own. Yet the stories, the emotions and the people are so real and recognisable. And I just want to eat up every single detail of this universe that Becky has created, as I have mentioned before, she has the most incredible imagination.
I never thought I would enjoy a character-focused series so much as I do this one (I have always favoured plot-based books in the past) but Becky has really changed that for me.
I am sad I only have one more book left to read.
Wayfarers is a science fiction series, set in a time and place very far from our own. Yet the stories, the emotions and the people are so real and recognisable. And I just want to eat up every single detail of this universe that Becky has created, as I have mentioned before, she has the most incredible imagination.
I never thought I would enjoy a character-focused series so much as I do this one (I have always favoured plot-based books in the past) but Becky has really changed that for me.
I am sad I only have one more book left to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Drug use
Moderate: Bullying
beereads27's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Toxic friendship
Minor: Bullying
novella42's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
In some ways, the darkest of the Wayfarer series, but also the most beautiful. The most human. The central themes of this book remind me of Alice Walker's short story, Everyday Use. What do we preserve? What do we carry with us, and why, and how? What matters most when we're grappling with our own mortality and purpose and connection to other people who live like we do, in frail, mortal bodies in fragile, finite spaces?
I agree with some reviews that this book is slower than the others, and that the teenage character can be hard to empathize with because he's struggling with boredom and purpose. But the payoff. For me, the payoff is everything. I cry throughout this book and feel so peaceful at the end. Like I'm a little bit closer to finding my own purpose.
I agree with some reviews that this book is slower than the others, and that the teenage character can be hard to empathize with because he's struggling with boredom and purpose. But the payoff. For me, the payoff is everything. I cry throughout this book and feel so peaceful at the end. Like I'm a little bit closer to finding my own purpose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, and Chronic illness
Minor: Death of parent, Deportation, Colonisation, Racism, Sexual content, Genocide, and War
There's a prominent scene in the book that needs a tag but isn't among those content warnings listed. Car accident is technically the closest, and I think it could be triggering for someone who had experienced that. But it's more specific, so I'm putting a slightly more detailed one behind a spoiler.georgw's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
So far the worst of the series, probably because the many characters having more sprawling storylines made it feel less focused and the characters were less rich as a result. The plot points were also a bit more obvious, for lack of a better term. Still a great book, it’s hard to follow up the masterpieces that started this series.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying and Drug use
toffishay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
I was a little wary going into this installment of the Wayfarers series. The first book had such a fun cast of characters and the second spun off from them in a way that felt a little connected. This one still has a connection to the first through Tessa, Ashby's sister and the stories of life on the Fleet were really interesting. If you like an exploration of how humans would cope in a far off, space born world more than alien life, then you might really enjoy this installment. The drama and conflicts were still really human, which shouldn't be surprising but was to me I guess lol! It explores themes of life and death, what we all do it for, what's important to us, what makes us human, how we want to be. I have never been a big space person, but this made me want to learn more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Bullying, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Xenophobia, Sexual content, and Medical content