A review by tsunni
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense 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

The lack of human characters that I could immediately emphasize with, or familiar characters from the other books (I didn't recognize Pei at first), made me think this would be the first Wayfarers book that I might not enjoy. I was wrong. As usual, Chambers hit it out of the park and got me emotionally invested; she has a masterful skill for showing real humanity, in all it's ups and downs, through very alien guises, and I found myself genuinely sympathizing and upset and sad and happy for all these very different alien creatures who are just struggling with the ups and downs of their daily lives, just like we are.

I absolutely loved it, and highly recommend it. I don't really think you need to have read the other Wayfarers to enjoy this one, but there are some names and mentions that will be familiar if you do. I hope Chambers does write another  book in the Wayfarers universe, but if not this was a really nice end to the series.