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A review by bisexualwentworth
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
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