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A review by readingrainbill
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
It's a bittersweet ending to a unique sci-fi series. I absolutely loved the first two books and these last two have been harder to get through. While I didn't hate this book, I also felt it was too easy to put down. This whole series is character driven and there's no action to speak of and while that's okay, the story has to be pretty compelling or interesting to keep the pages turning and this one had trouble.
The plot made me feel like Chambers wanted to take Ann Patchett's Bel Canto and mix it with the 80's movie Enemy Mine, because that's exactly the vibe I got. But unfortunately this book wasn't nearly as interesting as the media it reminded me of.
I do love how Becky Chambers is very inclusive and builds a world that's a dream of what our own could be with how everyone gets along and people aren't discriminated against for something like gender or sexual orientation. Pronouns are respected and cultural differences are celebrated and cared about. It's beautiful. For that reason I wanted to love this book, the the previous one, way more than I did. I actively want to love books that are inclusive like this, but this fell flatter than a crepe.
Just a note if you're thinking about the audiobook. One character uses xy/xyr pronouns instead of the more common they/them, and while that's perfectly fine it's a bit jarring listening to it when there's a sentence like "Xy picked up xyr phone and checked xyr messages." While I doubt this was the actual reason, I wondered if xy/xyr was chosen because it sounds more sci-fi than they/them.
The plot made me feel like Chambers wanted to take Ann Patchett's Bel Canto and mix it with the 80's movie Enemy Mine, because that's exactly the vibe I got. But unfortunately this book wasn't nearly as interesting as the media it reminded me of.
I do love how Becky Chambers is very inclusive and builds a world that's a dream of what our own could be with how everyone gets along and people aren't discriminated against for something like gender or sexual orientation. Pronouns are respected and cultural differences are celebrated and cared about. It's beautiful. For that reason I wanted to love this book, the the previous one, way more than I did. I actively want to love books that are inclusive like this, but this fell flatter than a crepe.
Just a note if you're thinking about the audiobook. One character uses xy/xyr pronouns instead of the more common they/them, and while that's perfectly fine it's a bit jarring listening to it when there's a sentence like "Xy picked up xyr phone and checked xyr messages." While I doubt this was the actual reason, I wondered if xy/xyr was chosen because it sounds more sci-fi than they/them.