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

hopeful reflective 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? No

3.5

Chambers has created a beautiful world in this book. The Exodans are the humans who left Earth behind and started a new society on big ships and all of their ancestors. They live in a society with access to healthcare, shelter, and food. Everyone has access to counseling, sex work is respected and normal, and the dead are composted and returned to community gardens. Everything is recycled and nothing is trashed. They have rebuilt a human culture that does right by people. It's a fantastic speculative future. Aaaand the book fell flat to me. It's a "slice of life" book that follows several unrelated characters and because of that there was no central conflict. The people of the Exodans fleet still dealt with very human problems but they were all so...well adjusted. There was so much healthy communication that solved problems. A lot of the scenes felt like the characters giving each other therapy and things ended so sweetly. I wanted more spiciness, drama, miscommunication and conflict. There was one chapter about a group of thieves and that was my favorite part. But that's not at all what this book is trying to do and I respect that. I can't say I found it very fun to read for more than the first hundred pages but I appreciate immensely this imagined future.
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