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

emotional 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? Yes

4.25

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is the fourth and final book in Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series, and it was nominated for this year’s Hugo Award. 

The story is about a group of people, all of different species, who find themselves temporarily trapped on a small planet that basically just has the equivalent of a rest stop on it. The recognizable character is Pei, Ashby’s secret girlfriend who is also a badass bad-guy fighter.

I loved that with this book, we get more of one of the best parts of Small, Angry Planet: having all these species in one place together, learning and confronting biases and xenophobia, forcing us as readers to think about how this applies to our own biases and xenophobia. Of the four Wayfarers books, this one feels the most like her Monk & Robot books: just enough plot to give the book a bit of a shape, and lots of philosophical conversations between characters about morality, purpose, and acceptance. Personally, I love that stuff, and Chambers of course does it so so well.

If you’re on the fence about the Wayfarers books, or about continuing past Small, Angry Planet even though the characters change, I say go for it. Becky hasn’t led us astray yet.
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