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Wayfarers #3
Record of a Spaceborn Few
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Science Fiction (2018)Hundreds of years ago, the last humans left Earth. After centuries wandering empty space, humanity was welcomed - mostly - by the species that govern the Milky Way, and their generational journey came to an end.
Today, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, and those Exodans who have not yet left for alien cities - among them a young apprentice, a lifelong spacer, a planet-raised traveller, an alien academic, a caretaker for the dead and the Archivist who ensures no one's story is forgotten - are left grappling with the question: What is the purpose of a ship that has reached its destination?
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 24, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 7,250 reviews
May 15, 2021
Here's the part where you think I'm going to eat my words. But I don't think I have to: think of it as being able to love Star Wars, and The Empire Strikes Back, but not Return of the Jedi. In fact, it's nearly exactly like that.
In this book, Chambers seems to think people are basically this:
hippie commune
Or, in my analogy,
Ewok village
But they aren't. People are basically beings with a variety of upbringings, chemical soups, and experiences. Which often suck. Except in this book, where they don't suck. Sure, humans might be tired, or selfish, or cranky, or scared. But they'll feel guilty, or talk it out at the end of the day, or Do The Right Thing (TM), and basically respect each other's right to be people. Chambers has forgotten that out in the world, there is this:
creepy molester and criminal boss
or this:
beings willing to capture your ass for money and sell you to the highest bidder
But hey! I’m usually an At-Least-You-Have-a-Glass-of-Water kind of person, so I could have gotten on board with a book that tended to forget about the more dysfunctional among us, if only the narrative hadn’t been so disjointed. We followed a bunch of different people doing a bunch of different things. I get the agenda: show the microcosm of experience through the individual and let it gestalt into a whole picture of how a civilization coped with diaspora. Except it doesn’t, not at all.
The story begins with a woman, Tessa, and her small child, Aya, and ends on Aya’s scream. It then switches point of view to Isabel the Archivist as she films the scene at a horrible space accident. It switches again to that of Eyas, a professional undertaker, a ceremonial and practical position, as she and her colleagues try to comprehend how they will process forty-three thousand bodies on the fragile eco-system of the space station. We jump to young Kip and his dad as they witness the arrival of the alien Aeluons who will help, then jump again to the human Sawyer, on his home installation, witnessing a group of Exodans mourning the disaster. The space accident frames our introduction to these people, but in an odd way, has very little influence on the story. I rather missed the fallout (ha!) when I realized Chambers had moved on to another story.
I really wish I could have gotten behind the stories of these people. Not Kip, because his is the story of the adolescent-on-the-verge-of-adulthood, and I don’t care very much about that story, and Chambers brings exactly nothing new to it to keep me interested. And honestly, not so much Tessa, because Tessa’s the core of most women’s lit-fic where a woman is just raising her family the best she can while her partner is far, far away. My interest in Sawyer’s story was limited by his devastating naivete, kind of like Luke when he first goes to the space station, only Sawyer doesn’t have anyone watching out for him, so it’s pretty obvious he’s going to Fall In With Bad People. But Eyas’ involvement in ritualized death and organic reclamation is vaguely interesting, as is Isabel’s general work, along with her guest, the alien ethnologist.
Which, now that I count, amounts to two stories that were really interesting and a couple that were vaguely interesting, and one that was annoying. The book might have still worked for me if it was told a bit more like A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, or as short stories that gave insight into each character, but the chapters frequently ended on a sort of emotional or plot cliffhanger. It was a poor choice, because it disrupted the character build and ruined the plot build. Frequently, the ‘resolution’ would be finding out the aftermath of how something was managed, not the actual scene where it played out. Contributing further to the sense of disjointedness, Chambers also resorts to a device from the first book, and gives a sort of alien journalist-historical entry perspective at the beginning of each of the seven sections.
Ultimately, I could have gotten behind a rose-colored-glasses look at a human exodus from Earth, had it been better told, or with more interesting characters. For the most part, these stories were too small to tell such a big story, trying too hard to wrap the breadcrumbs of everyday life into world events. I lost interest about halfway through and resorted to skimming. I thought I’d keep it around and try giving it a more serious go, but someone else in the library system wants it, and frankly, they’re welcome to it.
I might try it again, but only in the way that I try custard every few years, to see if it is still as uninteresting as the last time I tried it. And the same way I watch Return of the Jedi, which is to say, hardly at all, and only if I’m feeling particularly completionist (I just quit after Han is freed, naturally.)
In this book, Chambers seems to think people are basically this:
hippie commune
Or, in my analogy,
Ewok village
But they aren't. People are basically beings with a variety of upbringings, chemical soups, and experiences. Which often suck. Except in this book, where they don't suck. Sure, humans might be tired, or selfish, or cranky, or scared. But they'll feel guilty, or talk it out at the end of the day, or Do The Right Thing (TM), and basically respect each other's right to be people. Chambers has forgotten that out in the world, there is this:
creepy molester and criminal boss
or this:
beings willing to capture your ass for money and sell you to the highest bidder
But hey! I’m usually an At-Least-You-Have-a-Glass-of-Water kind of person, so I could have gotten on board with a book that tended to forget about the more dysfunctional among us, if only the narrative hadn’t been so disjointed. We followed a bunch of different people doing a bunch of different things. I get the agenda: show the microcosm of experience through the individual and let it gestalt into a whole picture of how a civilization coped with diaspora. Except it doesn’t, not at all.
The story begins with a woman, Tessa, and her small child, Aya, and ends on Aya’s scream. It then switches point of view to Isabel the Archivist as she films the scene at a horrible space accident. It switches again to that of Eyas, a professional undertaker, a ceremonial and practical position, as she and her colleagues try to comprehend how they will process forty-three thousand bodies on the fragile eco-system of the space station. We jump to young Kip and his dad as they witness the arrival of the alien Aeluons who will help, then jump again to the human Sawyer, on his home installation, witnessing a group of Exodans mourning the disaster. The space accident frames our introduction to these people, but in an odd way, has very little influence on the story. I rather missed the fallout (ha!) when I realized Chambers had moved on to another story.
I really wish I could have gotten behind the stories of these people. Not Kip, because his is the story of the adolescent-on-the-verge-of-adulthood, and I don’t care very much about that story, and Chambers brings exactly nothing new to it to keep me interested. And honestly, not so much Tessa, because Tessa’s the core of most women’s lit-fic where a woman is just raising her family the best she can while her partner is far, far away. My interest in Sawyer’s story was limited by his devastating naivete, kind of like Luke when he first goes to the space station, only Sawyer doesn’t have anyone watching out for him, so it’s pretty obvious he’s going to Fall In With Bad People. But Eyas’ involvement in ritualized death and organic reclamation is vaguely interesting, as is Isabel’s general work, along with her guest, the alien ethnologist.
Which, now that I count, amounts to two stories that were really interesting and a couple that were vaguely interesting, and one that was annoying. The book might have still worked for me if it was told a bit more like A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, or as short stories that gave insight into each character, but the chapters frequently ended on a sort of emotional or plot cliffhanger. It was a poor choice, because it disrupted the character build and ruined the plot build. Frequently, the ‘resolution’ would be finding out the aftermath of how something was managed, not the actual scene where it played out. Contributing further to the sense of disjointedness, Chambers also resorts to a device from the first book, and gives a sort of alien journalist-historical entry perspective at the beginning of each of the seven sections.
Ultimately, I could have gotten behind a rose-colored-glasses look at a human exodus from Earth, had it been better told, or with more interesting characters. For the most part, these stories were too small to tell such a big story, trying too hard to wrap the breadcrumbs of everyday life into world events. I lost interest about halfway through and resorted to skimming. I thought I’d keep it around and try giving it a more serious go, but someone else in the library system wants it, and frankly, they’re welcome to it.
I might try it again, but only in the way that I try custard every few years, to see if it is still as uninteresting as the last time I tried it. And the same way I watch Return of the Jedi, which is to say, hardly at all, and only if I’m feeling particularly completionist (I just quit after Han is freed, naturally.)
January 6, 2019
(3.5) I found this book incredibly relaxing and comforting. Not what I would expect to say about a Sci-fi but Chamber's universe is so wholesome.
If you enjoy contemporary "slice of life" type of books, you need to give this series a shot. It's beautiful, not exactly my cup of tea, but enjoyable nonetheless.
If you enjoy contemporary "slice of life" type of books, you need to give this series a shot. It's beautiful, not exactly my cup of tea, but enjoyable nonetheless.
July 11, 2021
Go eco- social in space if you can handle it and the devastating real life implications
The xenosociological exploration of human development, especially regarding the difference between isolationist habitats and the free, traveling spacers and the planet bound groups, are presented as entries into the research diary of an alien. It uses the conversations with a human scientist and the knowledge about human history to find many implications, connotations, and social criticism and that´s one of the many ingenious ways sci-fi owns society.
Gaiaism and sustainability aren´t just practiced for ideological reasons, it´s more a question of needing to have a socialist, zero waste, as sustainable circular economy with as much recycling and fairness as possible. The irony lies in the fact that the human mind seems to be so twisted and sick, weird, and mad that, on a potentially endlessly self sustaining planet, greed, politics, and economy tend to destroy everything, while on a small ark ship or space habitat, the humans are far much nicer to each other because of the simple need to survive. Of course, this is highly depending on the sci-if subgenre, tone, and author´s intent of what kind of philosophy she/he wants to promote, but it comes close to the wise insight that a vast majority of rich people are rich, because, well, nothing nice to add, so I´ll better be silent.
The ultimate recycling consequence of integrating not just the usual waste such as garbage, feces, etc., into the process of growth and rebirth, has something both romantic and somewhat irritating. It shows the strange, irrational, and often ideologically poisoned approach towards death, especially regarding instrumentalizing it for faith instead of making it part of the endless circle of life, celebrating and embracing it until it is defeated forever by technologically brought immortality. That would be much better than using it as a weapon of mass destruction in the form of genocides, resulting from close to any kind of indoctrinating, state approved, and taxless (cause almighty entities can´t handle money) or fully theocracy, cult.
Positive corruption of a not perfect system becoming anachronistic itself shows the shadows in the paradise.
Some more topics, and thereby main storylines are childhood, work, research, and youth in space, making this a completely different reading experience than Chambers´first two novels that were arranged circulating around 2 to 3 main characters and a real red line of one main plot. This work is more of a collection of short stories/novellas that play in the same universe, but aren´t close as interconnected, emotionally impacting, and thereby captivating than the first parts. And I love that.
It´s an author's evolution towards more space opera, high social sci-fi, those main features include many, more or less interwoven storylines, social criticism, and a general more plot and less character driven execution of the art. It may irritate readers of the first 2 parts, but let´s one look forward to Chambers´ fourth work
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
(the setting sounds like a combination of great characterization with the backstories of the characters driving the plot dynamic and action compressed in one place like in a good crime novel)
with the knowledge that she can do all, character, worldbuilding, and plot, making her one of the most astonishing voices of 21st century female social science fiction.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
The xenosociological exploration of human development, especially regarding the difference between isolationist habitats and the free, traveling spacers and the planet bound groups, are presented as entries into the research diary of an alien. It uses the conversations with a human scientist and the knowledge about human history to find many implications, connotations, and social criticism and that´s one of the many ingenious ways sci-fi owns society.
Gaiaism and sustainability aren´t just practiced for ideological reasons, it´s more a question of needing to have a socialist, zero waste, as sustainable circular economy with as much recycling and fairness as possible. The irony lies in the fact that the human mind seems to be so twisted and sick, weird, and mad that, on a potentially endlessly self sustaining planet, greed, politics, and economy tend to destroy everything, while on a small ark ship or space habitat, the humans are far much nicer to each other because of the simple need to survive. Of course, this is highly depending on the sci-if subgenre, tone, and author´s intent of what kind of philosophy she/he wants to promote, but it comes close to the wise insight that a vast majority of rich people are rich, because, well, nothing nice to add, so I´ll better be silent.
The ultimate recycling consequence of integrating not just the usual waste such as garbage, feces, etc., into the process of growth and rebirth, has something both romantic and somewhat irritating. It shows the strange, irrational, and often ideologically poisoned approach towards death, especially regarding instrumentalizing it for faith instead of making it part of the endless circle of life, celebrating and embracing it until it is defeated forever by technologically brought immortality. That would be much better than using it as a weapon of mass destruction in the form of genocides, resulting from close to any kind of indoctrinating, state approved, and taxless (cause almighty entities can´t handle money) or fully theocracy, cult.
Positive corruption of a not perfect system becoming anachronistic itself shows the shadows in the paradise.
Some more topics, and thereby main storylines are childhood, work, research, and youth in space, making this a completely different reading experience than Chambers´first two novels that were arranged circulating around 2 to 3 main characters and a real red line of one main plot. This work is more of a collection of short stories/novellas that play in the same universe, but aren´t close as interconnected, emotionally impacting, and thereby captivating than the first parts. And I love that.
It´s an author's evolution towards more space opera, high social sci-fi, those main features include many, more or less interwoven storylines, social criticism, and a general more plot and less character driven execution of the art. It may irritate readers of the first 2 parts, but let´s one look forward to Chambers´ fourth work
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
(the setting sounds like a combination of great characterization with the backstories of the characters driving the plot dynamic and action compressed in one place like in a good crime novel)
with the knowledge that she can do all, character, worldbuilding, and plot, making her one of the most astonishing voices of 21st century female social science fiction.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
July 3, 2019
1.) The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet ★★★★★
2.) A Closed and Common Orbit ★★★★.5
3.) Record Of A Spaceborn Few ★★
-----------------------------------------------
I am soooooo bummed. The first book in this series is easily one of my favourite books in the entire world, the second book wasn't quite as good, but I still adored it. This one, however, I really struggled with :( I didn't care about any of the characters and I think there were too many POV's, and I kept confusing who was who. I feel like the first two books, although very character driven, had an underlying plot, whereas this one didn't. It felt so directionless. I'm so so so so so so disappointed with this one.
2.) A Closed and Common Orbit ★★★★.5
3.) Record Of A Spaceborn Few ★★
-----------------------------------------------
I am soooooo bummed. The first book in this series is easily one of my favourite books in the entire world, the second book wasn't quite as good, but I still adored it. This one, however, I really struggled with :( I didn't care about any of the characters and I think there were too many POV's, and I kept confusing who was who. I feel like the first two books, although very character driven, had an underlying plot, whereas this one didn't. It felt so directionless. I'm so so so so so so disappointed with this one.
May 7, 2021
"From the ground, we stand. From our ships, we live. By the stars, we hope."
3.5 ⭐️
Now, I went into this one with a bit of trepidation. Despite this technically being a series, only 1 character from book 1 made it into book 2, and none of them were in book 3 from the reviews I read. And I am a big character lover. So when I am reading a series I expect to follow the same characters as they grow and their stories expand - having to start from scratch at the beginning of each book is less appealing to me.
Despite this, I tried to keep an open mind, and Becky Chamber's wonderful world building and imagination sucked me in all over again!
We have 5 main characters, and each chapter is from one of their POVs. Think I'll review based on characters. All of these characters are human, which is different from The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and they all live on the fleet a collection of the original ships flown from earth and inhabited by humans mainly.
"Ghosts were imaginary, but hauntings were real."
Eyas: Eyas is a caretaker. Which basically means she looks after dead bodies - arranging their funerals etc. We see how she lives a relatively solitary life, I believe she is aromantic as she doesn't display any interest in romantic attachments, and she visits a place designed for people to fulfill sexual needs without romance on a regular basis. By the end she actually becomes good friends with her regular person.
Isabel: A woman in her seventies, Isabel is married and works in the archives, maintaining the history of humanity and their travels so that everything can be kept and learned from.
Tessa: A mother of two, her husband frequently working away. Tessa is the only connection we have to any of the previous books as her brother is Ashby (the pilot from book 1). The main plot line for this book that happens pretty early on causes her children to become frightened and not feel safe in the fleet anymore. She doesn't know what to do to for them.
Kip: Kip is sixteen years old and bored. None of the job trials he has tried have stuck, he doesn't feel passionate about anything. And when he overhears a conversation he shouldn't have, between two criminals he has to decide what kind of person he will be.
Sawyer: Sawyer is the only character who wasn't born on the fleet he has heard so much about how the people on the fleet live how they trade for food and items rather than use credits. How they live in a hex a combination of family members and neighbours in a big connected group. He is intrigued by their way of life and is determined to make a new start for himself. When he is offered a job on a salvaging ship he thinks he is set.
Overall, I loved being inside each different characters minds, and once again Becky Chamber's has created a wonderfully imaginative and clever world. I will definitely be on the look out for more books from her.
"Perhaps none of us can truly explain death. Perhaps none of us should."
3.5 ⭐️
Now, I went into this one with a bit of trepidation. Despite this technically being a series, only 1 character from book 1 made it into book 2, and none of them were in book 3 from the reviews I read. And I am a big character lover. So when I am reading a series I expect to follow the same characters as they grow and their stories expand - having to start from scratch at the beginning of each book is less appealing to me.
Despite this, I tried to keep an open mind, and Becky Chamber's wonderful world building and imagination sucked me in all over again!
We have 5 main characters, and each chapter is from one of their POVs. Think I'll review based on characters. All of these characters are human, which is different from The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and they all live on the fleet a collection of the original ships flown from earth and inhabited by humans mainly.
"Ghosts were imaginary, but hauntings were real."
Eyas: Eyas is a caretaker. Which basically means she looks after dead bodies - arranging their funerals etc. We see how she lives a relatively solitary life, I believe she is aromantic as she doesn't display any interest in romantic attachments, and she visits a place designed for people to fulfill sexual needs without romance on a regular basis. By the end she actually becomes good friends with her regular person.
Isabel: A woman in her seventies, Isabel is married and works in the archives, maintaining the history of humanity and their travels so that everything can be kept and learned from.
Tessa: A mother of two, her husband frequently working away. Tessa is the only connection we have to any of the previous books as her brother is Ashby (the pilot from book 1). The main plot line for this book that happens pretty early on causes her children to become frightened and not feel safe in the fleet anymore. She doesn't know what to do to for them.
Kip: Kip is sixteen years old and bored. None of the job trials he has tried have stuck, he doesn't feel passionate about anything. And when he overhears a conversation he shouldn't have, between two criminals he has to decide what kind of person he will be.
Sawyer: Sawyer is the only character who wasn't born on the fleet he has heard so much about how the people on the fleet live how they trade for food and items rather than use credits. How they live in a hex a combination of family members and neighbours in a big connected group. He is intrigued by their way of life and is determined to make a new start for himself. When he is offered a job on a salvaging ship he thinks he is set.
Overall, I loved being inside each different characters minds, and once again Becky Chamber's has created a wonderfully imaginative and clever world. I will definitely be on the look out for more books from her.
"Perhaps none of us can truly explain death. Perhaps none of us should."
Want to read
February 13, 2018If there was ever such a thing as cover porn then this series hit the nail on its head.
June 23, 2019
4.5 stars and this may bump up to a 5 with some time to simmer.
Becky Chambers’ books are this wonderful, slice of life speculative fiction that is just as interesting as action packed sci fi. These books answer questions about how life would go for those that aren’t involved in high stakes war, violence, etc.
Becky Chambers’ books are this wonderful, slice of life speculative fiction that is just as interesting as action packed sci fi. These books answer questions about how life would go for those that aren’t involved in high stakes war, violence, etc.
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October 1, 2023
‘From the ground, we stand. From our ships, we live. By the stars, we hope.’
Storytelling is at core of understanding a culture as culture is, in its own way, a type of collective narrative. Though, as in Becky Chambers’ Record of a Spaceborn Few’ one begins to wonder if the connotative division between patriotism and propaganda is blurred when perpetuating such a narrative is essential to upholding a civilization where the reality is at odds with the stories being told. The third novel in Chambers’ Wayfarer series, Record of a Spaceborn Few is the quietest book yet though also one of the most complex and interesting to me. Set aboard the Exodant fleet and following a large ensemble cast of characters (one being the family of Cpt. Ashby’s sister, Tessa), Chambers examines a sort of eutopia where everyone’s basic needs are met but overall it is beginning to crumble, especially in the eyes of the younger generation for whom ‘survival alone wasn’t enough’ compared to their dreams which can be as vast as the cosmos. Chambers excels at crafting cultural thought experiments as sci-fi narratives and this volume furthers their extraordinaryworld galaxy building through deep investigation into how one overlooked group fits in context with the rest of the galactic commons. Family is a predominant theme in this series, be it found family or blood-relations, and here we see the whole fleet as a large family made up of smaller ones and how all their goals, fears, labors and loves fit together against the backdrop of a slowly dying fleet and culture. Thoughtful, heartfelt and thoroughly engrossing despite only minimal plot, Record of a Spaceborn Few is another excellent chapter in the Wayfarers series that places characters at a crossroads of safe banality and risky enterprise while exploring themes on death and family.
‘We are a longstanding species with a very short memory. If we don’t keep record, we’ll make the same mistakes over and over again.’
Chambers gift to make stories out of what basically amounts to sci-fi anthropology is endlessly entertaining to me and feels very indebted to the works of the late, great Ursula K. Le Guin who also told stories via cultural examinations such as in The Left Hand of Darkness. Like that novel, Chambers inserts fictional historical accounts and anthropological writings between chapters that create context for the galaxy at large, though much of how we learn about galactic politics and daily life is gleaned through the actions and conversations of characters. Often dubbed “cozy sci-fi” for the rather heartwarming messages and characters, I would add that these books also feel so cozy because they allow you to experience them as if you are nestled inside the world which comes alive and makes sense through the complexity of its construction. Though it is perhaps Le Guin’s The Dispossessed that Record feels most akin too as much of the book sets about looking at a civilization that seems to be a sort of eutopia and examining the cracks forming in the perfect veneer their own self-mythologizing would have you believe. Because, when it comes down to it, this is a hippy commune in space that is not everything they want you to think it is.
‘What was better – a constant safeness that never grew and never changed, or a life of reaching, building, striving, even though you knew you’d never be completely satisfied?’
The Exodant fleet boasts there is a home and food for every member and no job is seen as “lesser” This also includes sex work, like the character Sunny, which is seen as a form of being an entertainer not unlike a musician and Exodants are a very sex-positive culture—though this is no less embarrassing to teenagers to hear their parents speak so openly about sex which was a detail that was both humorous but also felt true (I enjoy how so much of this series is asking “how does this species think about sex?”). Self-worth is not tied to capitalist instincts and all are viewed as equally valid.
However, the fleet technology is old (it opens with a ship equipment failure that causes a mass death), the people live meagerly, and propagating one’s own narrative is losing its luster. Particularly with younger people for whom the possibilities of the wider cosmos full of danger and potential glory seem quite attractive. This is best explored through the character Kip, who, as only a teen can so eloquently put it, says ‘Stars, fuck this place. Fuck these stupid rules and stupid jobs and fuck being sixteen. He was getting out...anything was better than here.’ (I LOVE how Chambers has characters say ‘stars’ like a curse word like everyone yelling ‘frak’ in the rebooted Battlestar Galactica). And there is also Tessa’s daughter, Aya, who is scared of space and wants to live on the ground. Yet, for all its shortcomings, we see how the fleet can be attractive to someone like Sawyer who seeks refuge there: even a poor home and meager living is better than being broke and unhoused. As Le Guin once wrote, ‘Every eutopia contains a dystopia, every dystopia contains a eutopia.’
‘That’s a poisonous thing, thinking your way is all there is.’
The interactions between archivist Isabel and a Harmagian, Ghuh'loloan, were exceedingly enjoyable and ponderous (I love the aspect that humans smell bad to other species, sort of like humans to Vulcans in Star Trek) because in this way the Exodant’s cultural narrative is lit up against the larger narrative of the Galactic Commons for a more dynamic picture of everything. The Exodants are caught either falling behind keeping their old ways or accepting help and adapting, though a big lesson is ‘ I worry about those who think adopting someone else's story means abandoning their own.’ I really appreciate the angle of looking at the cultures and the galaxy as a whole as a big narrative (I mean, we process experience as a narrative in general) and how, sometimes, we need to access if the narrative is useful or harmful.
This of course details the Harmagians rejecting their own empire when faced with the consequences and horrors of their wars and creating the Commons to try to do something good and cooperative, but another aspect of Chambers novels is always how excellently their sci fi worlds correlate to present-day social issues. In the US, for example, there has been huge pushback against any mentioning of negatives in the US, like the history of slavery, leading to mass book bans and attacks on public institutions to control the narrative. But nobody is perfect and we must learn responsibility to our stories and accept reality.
Chambers shows how storytelling can quickly become propaganda and that facing the harsh truths is always better than dismissing them and mistaking it for patriotism. But, will the Exodants be able to adapt and how will they maintain their culture if they do (okay but it is super heartbreaking when Tessa brings up that she doesn’t understand why her brother, Ashby, is so upset over replacing his AI…).
‘learn nothing of your subjects, and you will disrupt them. Learn something of your subjects, and you will disrupt them.’
Narratives, however, also show what cultures value and I find Chambers always does a wonderful job with this in their books. Family and home are a big one here, but also death. It is noted ‘socially unsettled [humans] become around death,’ and how much this seems connected to their ideas of family, something the Harmagians find quite odd. For Eyas, this also means that in her role as caretaker for the dead she too becomes a sort of cultural narrative but she is struggling with how stifling this all feels ‘because I always have to be Eyas the symbol…I can only ever be this one thing.’ How much do we find ourselves living stories that tell of our culture, nation, family or perhaps become a mere symbol of ourselves instead of an authentic self (paging Jean-Paul Sartre), and is this useful or merely propagating our own myths. Speaking of, I love the aspect that Exodants want to use names of the past on Earth but are bad at it, like intending to name a child Wolf but ending up with Walrus.
‘Knowledge should always be free,’ she said. ‘What people do with it is up to them.’
The quietest of the series but also the most focused, I really loved Record of a Spaceborn Few. I like the whole aspect that the hippie-commune place is both cool but also becoming impractical and the message about adapting to change can be a way to benefit all. I loved the family dynamics in this one (the adorable older lesbian couple is great) and how it just offers another heartfelt look at what its like to live in this world. Another solid read.
4.5/5
‘We are the Exodus Fleet. We are those that wandered, that wander still. We are the homesteaders that shelter our families. We are the miners and foragers in the open. We are the ships that ferry between. We are the explorers who carry our names. We are the parents who lead the way. We are the children who continue on.’
Storytelling is at core of understanding a culture as culture is, in its own way, a type of collective narrative. Though, as in Becky Chambers’ Record of a Spaceborn Few’ one begins to wonder if the connotative division between patriotism and propaganda is blurred when perpetuating such a narrative is essential to upholding a civilization where the reality is at odds with the stories being told. The third novel in Chambers’ Wayfarer series, Record of a Spaceborn Few is the quietest book yet though also one of the most complex and interesting to me. Set aboard the Exodant fleet and following a large ensemble cast of characters (one being the family of Cpt. Ashby’s sister, Tessa), Chambers examines a sort of eutopia where everyone’s basic needs are met but overall it is beginning to crumble, especially in the eyes of the younger generation for whom ‘survival alone wasn’t enough’ compared to their dreams which can be as vast as the cosmos. Chambers excels at crafting cultural thought experiments as sci-fi narratives and this volume furthers their extraordinary
‘We are a longstanding species with a very short memory. If we don’t keep record, we’ll make the same mistakes over and over again.’
Chambers gift to make stories out of what basically amounts to sci-fi anthropology is endlessly entertaining to me and feels very indebted to the works of the late, great Ursula K. Le Guin who also told stories via cultural examinations such as in The Left Hand of Darkness. Like that novel, Chambers inserts fictional historical accounts and anthropological writings between chapters that create context for the galaxy at large, though much of how we learn about galactic politics and daily life is gleaned through the actions and conversations of characters. Often dubbed “cozy sci-fi” for the rather heartwarming messages and characters, I would add that these books also feel so cozy because they allow you to experience them as if you are nestled inside the world which comes alive and makes sense through the complexity of its construction. Though it is perhaps Le Guin’s The Dispossessed that Record feels most akin too as much of the book sets about looking at a civilization that seems to be a sort of eutopia and examining the cracks forming in the perfect veneer their own self-mythologizing would have you believe. Because, when it comes down to it, this is a hippy commune in space that is not everything they want you to think it is.
‘What was better – a constant safeness that never grew and never changed, or a life of reaching, building, striving, even though you knew you’d never be completely satisfied?’
The Exodant fleet boasts there is a home and food for every member and no job is seen as “lesser” This also includes sex work, like the character Sunny, which is seen as a form of being an entertainer not unlike a musician and Exodants are a very sex-positive culture—though this is no less embarrassing to teenagers to hear their parents speak so openly about sex which was a detail that was both humorous but also felt true (I enjoy how so much of this series is asking “how does this species think about sex?”). Self-worth is not tied to capitalist instincts and all are viewed as equally valid.
‘There is no such thing as a meaningless job in the Fleet. Everything has a purpose, a recognisable benefit. If you have food on your plate, you thank a farmer. If you have clothing, you thank a textile manufacturer. If you have murals to brighten your day, you thank an artist. Even the most menial of tasks benefits someone, benefits all.’
However, the fleet technology is old (it opens with a ship equipment failure that causes a mass death), the people live meagerly, and propagating one’s own narrative is losing its luster. Particularly with younger people for whom the possibilities of the wider cosmos full of danger and potential glory seem quite attractive. This is best explored through the character Kip, who, as only a teen can so eloquently put it, says ‘Stars, fuck this place. Fuck these stupid rules and stupid jobs and fuck being sixteen. He was getting out...anything was better than here.’ (I LOVE how Chambers has characters say ‘stars’ like a curse word like everyone yelling ‘frak’ in the rebooted Battlestar Galactica). And there is also Tessa’s daughter, Aya, who is scared of space and wants to live on the ground. Yet, for all its shortcomings, we see how the fleet can be attractive to someone like Sawyer who seeks refuge there: even a poor home and meager living is better than being broke and unhoused. As Le Guin once wrote, ‘Every eutopia contains a dystopia, every dystopia contains a eutopia.’
‘That’s a poisonous thing, thinking your way is all there is.’
The interactions between archivist Isabel and a Harmagian, Ghuh'loloan, were exceedingly enjoyable and ponderous (I love the aspect that humans smell bad to other species, sort of like humans to Vulcans in Star Trek) because in this way the Exodant’s cultural narrative is lit up against the larger narrative of the Galactic Commons for a more dynamic picture of everything. The Exodants are caught either falling behind keeping their old ways or accepting help and adapting, though a big lesson is ‘ I worry about those who think adopting someone else's story means abandoning their own.’ I really appreciate the angle of looking at the cultures and the galaxy as a whole as a big narrative (I mean, we process experience as a narrative in general) and how, sometimes, we need to access if the narrative is useful or harmful.
‘Our species doesn’t operate by reality. It operates by stories. Cities are a story. Money is a story. Space was a story, once. A king tells us a story about who we are and why we’re great, and that story is enough to make us go kill people who tell a different story. Or maybe the people kill the king because they don’t like his story and have begun to tell themselves a different one. When our planet started dying, our species was so caught up in stories. We had thousands of stories about ourselves – that’s still true, don’t forget that for a minute – but not enough of us were looking at the reality of things. Once reality caught up with us and we started changing our stories to acknowledge it, it was too late.’
This of course details the Harmagians rejecting their own empire when faced with the consequences and horrors of their wars and creating the Commons to try to do something good and cooperative, but another aspect of Chambers novels is always how excellently their sci fi worlds correlate to present-day social issues. In the US, for example, there has been huge pushback against any mentioning of negatives in the US, like the history of slavery, leading to mass book bans and attacks on public institutions to control the narrative. But nobody is perfect and we must learn responsibility to our stories and accept reality.
‘Show me a species who has never wronged another. Show me a species who has always been perfect or fair…either we are all worthy of the Commons or none of us are.’
Chambers shows how storytelling can quickly become propaganda and that facing the harsh truths is always better than dismissing them and mistaking it for patriotism. But, will the Exodants be able to adapt and how will they maintain their culture if they do (okay but it is super heartbreaking when Tessa brings up that she doesn’t understand why her brother, Ashby, is so upset over replacing his AI…).
‘learn nothing of your subjects, and you will disrupt them. Learn something of your subjects, and you will disrupt them.’
Narratives, however, also show what cultures value and I find Chambers always does a wonderful job with this in their books. Family and home are a big one here, but also death. It is noted ‘socially unsettled [humans] become around death,’ and how much this seems connected to their ideas of family, something the Harmagians find quite odd. For Eyas, this also means that in her role as caretaker for the dead she too becomes a sort of cultural narrative but she is struggling with how stifling this all feels ‘because I always have to be Eyas the symbol…I can only ever be this one thing.’ How much do we find ourselves living stories that tell of our culture, nation, family or perhaps become a mere symbol of ourselves instead of an authentic self (paging Jean-Paul Sartre), and is this useful or merely propagating our own myths. Speaking of, I love the aspect that Exodants want to use names of the past on Earth but are bad at it, like intending to name a child Wolf but ending up with Walrus.
‘Knowledge should always be free,’ she said. ‘What people do with it is up to them.’
The quietest of the series but also the most focused, I really loved Record of a Spaceborn Few. I like the whole aspect that the hippie-commune place is both cool but also becoming impractical and the message about adapting to change can be a way to benefit all. I loved the family dynamics in this one (the adorable older lesbian couple is great) and how it just offers another heartfelt look at what its like to live in this world. Another solid read.
4.5/5
‘We are the Exodus Fleet. We are those that wandered, that wander still. We are the homesteaders that shelter our families. We are the miners and foragers in the open. We are the ships that ferry between. We are the explorers who carry our names. We are the parents who lead the way. We are the children who continue on.’
November 21, 2019
Another beautiful spaceborn story from the talented Becky Chambers following her first two Wayfarer books. While I enjoyed this book, I appreciated it slightly less than the first book Angry Planet probably due to my more masculine taste for a voyage-type story whereas Spaceborn Few is more of an internal voyage. Humanity is adjusting to centuries of living in the Fleet (sort of like Battlestar Galactica’s fleet or Leia’s ragtag Rebel fleet) as the Exodans having escaped the collapse of Earth’s viability as a planet. The book follows one curious alien who is writing about the Fleet for other alien species in the Galactic Commons (GC), a few Exodans on the Fleet, and one unfortunate Grounder who comes to the Fleet out of curiosity. These lives are all loosely intertwined during the book with insights about accepting difference, accepting change, and working for the common good. It is well-written with a little less tech than the first book (and less character development than the second one).
There are some concepts here for which one needs to have read the first two books: the gender- and species-neutral pronoun and term of respect, xyr and M respectively. Also, like the previous two books, there is a definite feminist bent to the story and characters which is both rare in science fiction and yet is neither overbearing or condescending- it feels natural and fluid under Chamber’s pen.
These ideas - as fundamentally human as they seem to this reader - may seem heretical to some of the knuckle-dragging Trumpists now disproportionately taking up media space. Chambers’ universe is one of inclusion. A futuristic Copernican universe where the Earth, its tech, its mythologies, and its destiny are not dependent on “God’s will”, where Earth is hopelessly behind on technology and cannot survive without alien help, and where all genders and sexual choices are equally valued. This is what strikes me as the most original element to the GC: its utopian inclusiveness. One would hope that the solutions that the Fleet creates for countering greed and grift would truly work, but the current state of humanity would leave one skeptical in the extreme.
I have to admit a little frustration from not hearing from Jinks and the rest of the Wayfarer crew (other than a side reference to Ashby since his sister Tess is a protagonist in Spaceborn and allusions to the events at the end of Angry Planet). I guess I'll hold on to some hope that Chambers will come back with a 4th volume to give me some closure :)
A breath of fresh air (from the spaceborn grass as it were), Spaceborn Few is an agreeable read about a distant utopia whose ideals we would be remiss not to value more in the present.
There are some concepts here for which one needs to have read the first two books: the gender- and species-neutral pronoun and term of respect, xyr and M respectively. Also, like the previous two books, there is a definite feminist bent to the story and characters which is both rare in science fiction and yet is neither overbearing or condescending- it feels natural and fluid under Chamber’s pen.
These ideas - as fundamentally human as they seem to this reader - may seem heretical to some of the knuckle-dragging Trumpists now disproportionately taking up media space. Chambers’ universe is one of inclusion. A futuristic Copernican universe where the Earth, its tech, its mythologies, and its destiny are not dependent on “God’s will”, where Earth is hopelessly behind on technology and cannot survive without alien help, and where all genders and sexual choices are equally valued. This is what strikes me as the most original element to the GC: its utopian inclusiveness. One would hope that the solutions that the Fleet creates for countering greed and grift would truly work, but the current state of humanity would leave one skeptical in the extreme.
I have to admit a little frustration from not hearing from Jinks and the rest of the Wayfarer crew (other than a side reference to Ashby since his sister Tess is a protagonist in Spaceborn and allusions to the events at the end of Angry Planet). I guess I'll hold on to some hope that Chambers will come back with a 4th volume to give me some closure :)
A breath of fresh air (from the spaceborn grass as it were), Spaceborn Few is an agreeable read about a distant utopia whose ideals we would be remiss not to value more in the present.
April 6, 2018
* I was sent this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review *
"From the ground, we stand. From our ships, we live. By the stars, we hope..."
This book isn't quite a direct sequel to the events of The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet, but it does start at the same time as the events in tLWtaSAP are finishing up. We follow a host of entirely new host of characters, all of whom are connected to, or interested in, the Exodus Fleet. One of these characters has a tie to Ashby from the first book, she's his sister, but other than that, there's not a lot of connections between the characters, it's more about a new focus within the same universe.
The Exodus Fleet is the fleet of space-ships specially designed by humanity to blast their culture into the stars away from Earth and to never go back. It was built at a time when humanity was desperate, and the slow shift from lone voyagers to becoming part of the GC was a long time coming. We pick up the Fleet many generations later when they have been a part of the GC for quite a few decades, and we follow a variety of people who all have an interest in the Fleet.
What i love about Becky Chamber's writing is that it never feels like a big space battle, but more of a focus in on the everyday lives of those who live in this universe. She's very good at showing you a society where things are better, people are more open and accepting, and she can draw you into the narratives of the characters too. I really think her books are about people who just so happen to be in Space, as they are thought-provoking and honest and emotional.
Some of the characters we follow included:
- Isobel and her wife. They are some of the older members of the Fleet so they remember the time that was spent trying to convince the other alien races of the GC that Humans were a species worth inviting in. She works in the Archives, and she has a great understanding of what the Fleet stands for and what it seeks to protect. She also has a friend Harmaegeon (sp? - I don't have my copy of the book with me as I am writing this) who is interested in coming to examine the Fleet, and she brings xry in to the lifestyle there.
- Eyas is a young worker who works in the Fleet as a composter and burial expert. Her time is spent preparing corpses to return to the Earth and give back to the community as they are now in Space and have limited resources Her job is vital to the survival of the Fleet, and she sees her task as a monumental one which gives value to those who have left this life. She's proud of her job, and yet she seeks something more for her Fleet.
- Kip is a teenage boy who is bored with his lot in the Fleet. He's grown up here his whole life and he can't seem to find anything he particularly likes and wants to get involved in. He's a typical teen who does stupid stuff because his friends tell him to, and yet he learns a lot about his own heritage and place by the end of the story.
- Tessa is the sister to Ashby (a character from tLWtaSAP) and she has two kids, Ky and Aya. They are both quite young and she spends most of her time taking care of them when she's not at work. Her aspirations aren't quite clear at the start of the book as she isn't quite clear on them herself, but she has a strong motherly desire to protect her kids and when they are later put under pressure she has to think about whether the Fleet can offer what they need.
- Sawyer is an outsider to the Fleet, although he is Human and somehow generations back he's connected to them. He comes from Mushtullo which is a place of crime and hunger and he's heard that the Fleet will always feed everyone and always provide for their own. He wants to make a go of it, and so he travels to the Fleet to start a new life there.
- Gol'loloha (sp? - this for sure isn't the spelling of this, but I will correct it when I have my copy in my hands) is a Harmaegeon (sp?) alien who is interested in learning about the Fleet from another point of view. Xe is not overly familiar with Human ways, and so xe comes tot he Fleet to learn and to write about it and let the other people in the GC learn about them too. The Fleet is quite insular at times, and so not too much is actually known y those who aren't a part of it and so xyr job is to inform others.
What I love about this solar system is just how nice everyone is. Sure, there are plenty of bad things that happen and it's not all sunshine and roses, but the people and aliens know that the only way to survive is to be accepting and open and try to listen. I feel like the integrating of xe/xyr pronouns and same-sex couples was seamless and fit the universe. It makes perfect sense that these things would become completely 'normal' and beyond comment in a society such as the one Chambers is showing us. I love it, and I think she's done an excellent job.
Overall, this was brilliant. Each story opens up the character and the universe more, and with every book in this universe (and in my opinion she could go on writing in this universe forever and I would read them all) I feel like I am more enchanted and captivated. 5*s of course, and I will be eagerly awaiting the next thing she decides to write :)
"From the ground, we stand. From our ships, we live. By the stars, we hope..."
This book isn't quite a direct sequel to the events of The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet, but it does start at the same time as the events in tLWtaSAP are finishing up. We follow a host of entirely new host of characters, all of whom are connected to, or interested in, the Exodus Fleet. One of these characters has a tie to Ashby from the first book, she's his sister, but other than that, there's not a lot of connections between the characters, it's more about a new focus within the same universe.
The Exodus Fleet is the fleet of space-ships specially designed by humanity to blast their culture into the stars away from Earth and to never go back. It was built at a time when humanity was desperate, and the slow shift from lone voyagers to becoming part of the GC was a long time coming. We pick up the Fleet many generations later when they have been a part of the GC for quite a few decades, and we follow a variety of people who all have an interest in the Fleet.
What i love about Becky Chamber's writing is that it never feels like a big space battle, but more of a focus in on the everyday lives of those who live in this universe. She's very good at showing you a society where things are better, people are more open and accepting, and she can draw you into the narratives of the characters too. I really think her books are about people who just so happen to be in Space, as they are thought-provoking and honest and emotional.
Some of the characters we follow included:
- Isobel and her wife. They are some of the older members of the Fleet so they remember the time that was spent trying to convince the other alien races of the GC that Humans were a species worth inviting in. She works in the Archives, and she has a great understanding of what the Fleet stands for and what it seeks to protect. She also has a friend Harmaegeon (sp? - I don't have my copy of the book with me as I am writing this) who is interested in coming to examine the Fleet, and she brings xry in to the lifestyle there.
- Eyas is a young worker who works in the Fleet as a composter and burial expert. Her time is spent preparing corpses to return to the Earth and give back to the community as they are now in Space and have limited resources Her job is vital to the survival of the Fleet, and she sees her task as a monumental one which gives value to those who have left this life. She's proud of her job, and yet she seeks something more for her Fleet.
- Kip is a teenage boy who is bored with his lot in the Fleet. He's grown up here his whole life and he can't seem to find anything he particularly likes and wants to get involved in. He's a typical teen who does stupid stuff because his friends tell him to, and yet he learns a lot about his own heritage and place by the end of the story.
- Tessa is the sister to Ashby (a character from tLWtaSAP) and she has two kids, Ky and Aya. They are both quite young and she spends most of her time taking care of them when she's not at work. Her aspirations aren't quite clear at the start of the book as she isn't quite clear on them herself, but she has a strong motherly desire to protect her kids and when they are later put under pressure she has to think about whether the Fleet can offer what they need.
- Sawyer is an outsider to the Fleet, although he is Human and somehow generations back he's connected to them. He comes from Mushtullo which is a place of crime and hunger and he's heard that the Fleet will always feed everyone and always provide for their own. He wants to make a go of it, and so he travels to the Fleet to start a new life there.
- Gol'loloha (sp? - this for sure isn't the spelling of this, but I will correct it when I have my copy in my hands) is a Harmaegeon (sp?) alien who is interested in learning about the Fleet from another point of view. Xe is not overly familiar with Human ways, and so xe comes tot he Fleet to learn and to write about it and let the other people in the GC learn about them too. The Fleet is quite insular at times, and so not too much is actually known y those who aren't a part of it and so xyr job is to inform others.
What I love about this solar system is just how nice everyone is. Sure, there are plenty of bad things that happen and it's not all sunshine and roses, but the people and aliens know that the only way to survive is to be accepting and open and try to listen. I feel like the integrating of xe/xyr pronouns and same-sex couples was seamless and fit the universe. It makes perfect sense that these things would become completely 'normal' and beyond comment in a society such as the one Chambers is showing us. I love it, and I think she's done an excellent job.
Overall, this was brilliant. Each story opens up the character and the universe more, and with every book in this universe (and in my opinion she could go on writing in this universe forever and I would read them all) I feel like I am more enchanted and captivated. 5*s of course, and I will be eagerly awaiting the next thing she decides to write :)
December 18, 2020
It took me a little over 2 years to finally get through this one, but WOW was it worth the wait. Becky Chambers has such a gift. This book was absolutely delightful.
December 3, 2018
“From the ground, we stand. From our ships, we live. By the stars, we hope.”
Hey Becky Chambers .... if you're listening ..... *slides across a $5 note* .... write more of these
This entire series has been such a pleasure to read and I am so sad it is over. Although this is probably my least favourite of the three I still enjoyed reading it and even felt a bit emotional at the end with the thought of this series ending. Everything about this series is so wholesome. I love the simple message of hope and a future where people are just better to eachother, and coming out of reading these books I always feel so warm and good. I LOVE that about them. These books are just such a bright sweet spot in my heart.
In Record of a Spaceborn Few we dive into life on the Fleet, examining how Exodan humans have lived and adapted to life in space. Told partly through a documentary being conducted on the humans by an alien from the outside, the worldbuilding is admittedly fascinating. I loved the focus on humans as space refugees, and how the narrative reinforced the inherent value and worth of people. Using a podcast to tell a part of the story was one of my favourite concepts here, I loved the formatting and the alien perspective on human activities was funny and endearing. Of all the books, this probably has the best worldbuilding, or it is at least equal with book one. And I've always loved this books soft take on science fiction, as well as the careful detail and bountiful creativity Chambers put into constructing her vision of space. It absolutely shone in this book.
“The guilt lingered, even so. Ghosts were imaginary, but hauntings were real.”
that all being said I didn't quite connect to this one as much as previous books in the series. I was hoping old characters would reappear but they did not. On top of that, there is literally no plot until 70% through. And while these books aren't exactly plot driven, I get annoyed when an entire books feels like the first 100 pages - setting up the characters and world of an event that will supposedly eventually happen.
I also just didn't connect to the characters as much. I found them a bit confusing and sometimes got them mixed up. There was a lot of POV's and I felt like some of them weren't adding a lot to the story some of the time.
🚀 Tessa: Tessa's brother is Ashby from the first book. I loved this connection between book one and three. I enjoyed Tessa's character most of the time but I found her arc quite predictable. I also felt that the character growth wasn't really there until the last kinda 10%.
🚀 Kip: Probably my favourite character in the book. Kip is a teenager sick of living on the fleet and eager to escape into wider space and discover his true meaning. I think Kip was fun to follow, he's angsty and moody but I found him funny and endearing and I loved his character growth. His arc had the perfect ending, and I was getting totally teary eyed over it. Also, he is gay, so we love a queer icon.
🚀 Eyas: My second favourite character. Her role in society is to turn the remains of people into soil to be used in the colony. I loved Eyas and her relationship with Sunny. It was cool to see a positive and empowering representation of a sex worker here. Eyas role was extremely interesting and I enjoyed the pondering introspective tone of her chapters.
🚀 Isabelle: I appreciated her chapters because her wife was often present and that good sapphic content made me happy. But I also felt like her chapters didn't add a whole lot to the story until the ending? I did enjoy her interactions with Kip though.
🚀 Sawyer: Potentially where this novel falls down the most is in the characterisation and role of Sawyer. The main conflict relies on the reader feeling sorry for Sawyer but I was never that invested. Failing to make me really care about him or his plight, which is what the entire novels hinges on, definitely contributed to why I felt so disconnected to the story at times.
We are the Exodus Fleet. We are those that wandered, that wander still. We are the homesteaders that shelter our families. We are the miners and foragers in the open. We are the ships that ferry between. We are the explorers who carry our names. We are the parents who lead the way. We are the children who continue on.
If you're into space operas, and space stories that focus heavily on people and worldbuilding rather than space battles and action DEFINITELY pick up this series. It's quite and introspective and focusses a lot on working out what makes humans, human. I really appreciated that philosophical thread throughout this series, but particularly in Record of a Spaceborn Few. Although it is not my favourite of the three, it was still very beautiful and gave me that warm, wholesome feeling I love about this series. I am definitely sad I don't have any more books in this series to look forward to.
November 6, 2019
Each book in this series is beautiful in its own way, but RoaSF just really hit in me in a particular way that I can't explain. There's so much humanity in Chambers' books, and while very little actually happens in terms of plot, the stories of the character unfold in a way that never feels boring.
August 21, 2018
Oddly enough, I had to revise my original rating on book 2 down to accommodate my feelings for this one.
Whoa, right? Well, I found I liked this one more than the second, but that's just the thing. I didn't fall head over heels for this one.
So I had to deal with that dissonance.
This novel is about as bucolic as you can get aboard a spacecraft. Totally pastoral. The focus is on ordinary people doing ordinary things and backing off the whole action schtick to get introspective and a bit aimless. I like that on occasion, but sometimes I just have to be in the mood for it.
In this case, I was. These novels are all character driven. I can't expect huge happenings and anyway, they didn't happen. So what do we have left?
Details, themes, and asking the biggest question of all... why are we here? What does it mean to live in a place where you're scared, how do you know what to do with your life, and how to hold on to happiness. The big stuff.
I liked it.
Generational space ship, aliens, communication stuff, closed systems, the spirit of wonder... all this is still in the novel, of course, but the focus threw all that into the background. What we have left is a close to the cuff drama. :)
Pretty nice, actually. :)
Whoa, right? Well, I found I liked this one more than the second, but that's just the thing. I didn't fall head over heels for this one.
So I had to deal with that dissonance.
This novel is about as bucolic as you can get aboard a spacecraft. Totally pastoral. The focus is on ordinary people doing ordinary things and backing off the whole action schtick to get introspective and a bit aimless. I like that on occasion, but sometimes I just have to be in the mood for it.
In this case, I was. These novels are all character driven. I can't expect huge happenings and anyway, they didn't happen. So what do we have left?
Details, themes, and asking the biggest question of all... why are we here? What does it mean to live in a place where you're scared, how do you know what to do with your life, and how to hold on to happiness. The big stuff.
I liked it.
Generational space ship, aliens, communication stuff, closed systems, the spirit of wonder... all this is still in the novel, of course, but the focus threw all that into the background. What we have left is a close to the cuff drama. :)
Pretty nice, actually. :)
August 9, 2018
5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/08/09/...
Record of A Spaceborn Few might be my favorite Wayfarers novel yet. Structurally and thematically, it is quite unlike either of its predecessors, but these differences from book to book are what I love most about this series. First, readers got to explore the galaxy and encounter new alien species and civilizations in A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. In contrast, A Closed and Common Orbit was a smaller and more intimate affair, narrowing the scope to focus on the journeys of two outsiders who ultimately found home in each other. Likewise, this third volume in the series is a deeply personal tale, but at the core of its narrative, the novel also explores the evolution and development of human society, focusing particular attention on the shipborne descendants of the last people to leave a dying Earth.
Needless to say, the anthropology student in me couldn’t help but jump for joy. Chronologically, most of the events in Record of a Spaceborn Few take place right after A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, though the story itself is a standalone. This time, Becky Chambers welcomes us to the Exodus Fleet, a collection of ancient ships home to the largest population of humans found outside the Sol system. Since their departure from Earth, generations have been born and raised here. And while some have left for greener pastures, never to return, others have chosen to stay and carry on the way of life. The Exodans have long abandoned their original goal of finding the perfect planet upon which to settle, deciding on space as their permanent home. The many centuries, however, has taken its toll on the fleet’s deteriorating hulls. In the novel’s prologue, an accident aboard the Oxomoco causes a catastrophic breach and decompression, killing tens of thousands.
As the rest of the fleet rushes to provide aid, the aftermath of accident is related through the eyes of our main characters, who are still affected by memories of the horror years later. Tessa is an Exodan, sister of none other than Ashby who left the fleet years ago to captain the Wayfarer. Her daughter was just shy of five-years-old when the Oxomoco disaster occurred, the trauma of the incident etching itself onto the little girl’s psyche. Then there’s Isobel, a senior archivist who has dedicated her life to recording and preserving the history and memories of the Exodus Fleet. Whether they are happy or sad, all significant events must be documented for posterity. Another character is Eyas, a “caretaker”, the euphemistic name for a person on the fleet who handles the remains of the dead in a highly ritualized process. Nothing is wasted in space, including the bodies of those who pass. Next is Kip, a teenage boy who has no idea what he wants to do with his life, other than the fact he wants to leave the Exodus Fleet as soon as he graduates. And finally, there is Sawyer, a young man from the colony of Mushtullo who arrives at the fleet in order to find his ancestral roots—and maybe, just maybe, a chance at a new life now that there’s nothing left for him planetside.
This book touched me in a profound, beautiful way. Years ago, when I was in college, I read an ethnography for class about a society of island people whose traditions were rapidly disappearing in the face of modern technology and civilization. More and more, their old ways were becoming relics of another era, and young people were leaving in droves for jobs and education on the mainland. To preserve their history and culture, the islanders who remained were a closely-knit community who fought hard to preserve their customs and beliefs that were handed down from generation to generation. I was reminded of all this, because in many ways, I saw parallels in the Exodus Fleet. For some, who can’t imagine a home anywhere else, perpetuating life on the fleet was paramount, while others who felt trapped by it were drawn to opportunities in the wider galaxy beyond. Then there are those who felt obligated to stay out of a sense of duty of guilt, or simply because this was the only life they’ve ever known. Outsiders, even those who came to discover and learn, were not always welcome and were sometimes mistrusted. And when it came to aliens—most of whom saw the Exodus Fleet as a quaint oddity at best, a futile drain on resources at worst—the emotions involved were even more confusing and contentious. This perhaps was best illustrated by the interludes featuring Ghuh’loloan, a Harmagian ethnographer who came to work with Isabel to study and write about the Exodan experience.
Like the previous novels, Record of a Spaceborn Few is celebration of life, love, and hope. The antithesis to the new crop of sci-fi coming out these days featuring nihilistic themes and gritty stories and characters, the Wayfarer series honestly feels like a breath of fresh air. There is just so much heart here, the message being that the galaxy might be a big and scary place, but you can always count on the best of humanity to come out in a crisis. Once again, I’m simply astonished at the level of warmth and compassion found in the individual character’s stories. Each person is someone you can relate to, someone you can come to care deeply about.
What more can I say? Becky Chambers is probably one of the most remarkable talents to break out in recent years, and even with three books under her belt in the Wayfarer series, she’s showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, I think her stories are only getting better and better. Go and read this book. Read A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet too, if you haven’t already. And A Closed and Common Orbit. Read it all. You won’t regret it.
Record of A Spaceborn Few might be my favorite Wayfarers novel yet. Structurally and thematically, it is quite unlike either of its predecessors, but these differences from book to book are what I love most about this series. First, readers got to explore the galaxy and encounter new alien species and civilizations in A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. In contrast, A Closed and Common Orbit was a smaller and more intimate affair, narrowing the scope to focus on the journeys of two outsiders who ultimately found home in each other. Likewise, this third volume in the series is a deeply personal tale, but at the core of its narrative, the novel also explores the evolution and development of human society, focusing particular attention on the shipborne descendants of the last people to leave a dying Earth.
Needless to say, the anthropology student in me couldn’t help but jump for joy. Chronologically, most of the events in Record of a Spaceborn Few take place right after A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, though the story itself is a standalone. This time, Becky Chambers welcomes us to the Exodus Fleet, a collection of ancient ships home to the largest population of humans found outside the Sol system. Since their departure from Earth, generations have been born and raised here. And while some have left for greener pastures, never to return, others have chosen to stay and carry on the way of life. The Exodans have long abandoned their original goal of finding the perfect planet upon which to settle, deciding on space as their permanent home. The many centuries, however, has taken its toll on the fleet’s deteriorating hulls. In the novel’s prologue, an accident aboard the Oxomoco causes a catastrophic breach and decompression, killing tens of thousands.
As the rest of the fleet rushes to provide aid, the aftermath of accident is related through the eyes of our main characters, who are still affected by memories of the horror years later. Tessa is an Exodan, sister of none other than Ashby who left the fleet years ago to captain the Wayfarer. Her daughter was just shy of five-years-old when the Oxomoco disaster occurred, the trauma of the incident etching itself onto the little girl’s psyche. Then there’s Isobel, a senior archivist who has dedicated her life to recording and preserving the history and memories of the Exodus Fleet. Whether they are happy or sad, all significant events must be documented for posterity. Another character is Eyas, a “caretaker”, the euphemistic name for a person on the fleet who handles the remains of the dead in a highly ritualized process. Nothing is wasted in space, including the bodies of those who pass. Next is Kip, a teenage boy who has no idea what he wants to do with his life, other than the fact he wants to leave the Exodus Fleet as soon as he graduates. And finally, there is Sawyer, a young man from the colony of Mushtullo who arrives at the fleet in order to find his ancestral roots—and maybe, just maybe, a chance at a new life now that there’s nothing left for him planetside.
This book touched me in a profound, beautiful way. Years ago, when I was in college, I read an ethnography for class about a society of island people whose traditions were rapidly disappearing in the face of modern technology and civilization. More and more, their old ways were becoming relics of another era, and young people were leaving in droves for jobs and education on the mainland. To preserve their history and culture, the islanders who remained were a closely-knit community who fought hard to preserve their customs and beliefs that were handed down from generation to generation. I was reminded of all this, because in many ways, I saw parallels in the Exodus Fleet. For some, who can’t imagine a home anywhere else, perpetuating life on the fleet was paramount, while others who felt trapped by it were drawn to opportunities in the wider galaxy beyond. Then there are those who felt obligated to stay out of a sense of duty of guilt, or simply because this was the only life they’ve ever known. Outsiders, even those who came to discover and learn, were not always welcome and were sometimes mistrusted. And when it came to aliens—most of whom saw the Exodus Fleet as a quaint oddity at best, a futile drain on resources at worst—the emotions involved were even more confusing and contentious. This perhaps was best illustrated by the interludes featuring Ghuh’loloan, a Harmagian ethnographer who came to work with Isabel to study and write about the Exodan experience.
Like the previous novels, Record of a Spaceborn Few is celebration of life, love, and hope. The antithesis to the new crop of sci-fi coming out these days featuring nihilistic themes and gritty stories and characters, the Wayfarer series honestly feels like a breath of fresh air. There is just so much heart here, the message being that the galaxy might be a big and scary place, but you can always count on the best of humanity to come out in a crisis. Once again, I’m simply astonished at the level of warmth and compassion found in the individual character’s stories. Each person is someone you can relate to, someone you can come to care deeply about.
What more can I say? Becky Chambers is probably one of the most remarkable talents to break out in recent years, and even with three books under her belt in the Wayfarer series, she’s showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, I think her stories are only getting better and better. Go and read this book. Read A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet too, if you haven’t already. And A Closed and Common Orbit. Read it all. You won’t regret it.
December 27, 2022
The lengthy time I took to finish this sweet novel had everything to do with the birth of our son Rai, and nothing to do with my enjoyment of Becky Chambers’ work. While I didn’t find this installment as emotionally gripping as A Close and Common Orbit, I still enjoyed the richness of the people whose stories she told, and the specificity and believability of the societies they inhabit. I’m glad she remains a prolific author so I can continue following her work.
January 22, 2025
So far, perhaps my favorite in this universe. Just an utterly incredible world.
Record of a Spaceborn Few begins with the explosion of Oxomoco, one of the 30 Exodan ships which carry part of the human race - and, along with it, the death of forty-three thousand people. But this novel isn't one focused on these deaths, per se. The bulk of the novel takes place just moments past the Toremi attack at Hedra Ke that ended Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, as the Exodan fleet continues to recover and rebuild in its way.
The members of the Exodan Fleet – the 30-in-number set of ships to evacuate a destroyed Earth nine generations earlier, and the largest conglomerate of humans outside of the Solar System – live in a society based around sharing. Food portions are provided equally, and vocations are not paid but simply encouraged. Though it isn't a planet, in some ways the ships are utopian.
Yet as the fleet ages, the ships are becoming wildly less stable, and even supplemental power from the Aeluons or from their adoptive sun Risheth can’t fix the issue. Humans have only been members of the GC for seventy years, and already new generations are learning galactic Klip before their home Ensk.
Tessa Santoso, sister to Ashby, spends her days sorting the technical remnants of the exploded Oxomoco, as new GC technologies threaten her livelihood. Aged human archivist Isabel hosts Harmagian archivist Ghuh’loloàn to teach her of their ships. Eyas Parata works the compost system, which recycles human bodies, and builds a relationship with a sex worker named Sunny. Kip works as an apprentice while his friend Ras dreams of escaping the Exodan ship. And Sawyer is new in town and looking for a new career.
I found this book to be utterly arresting. Becky Chambers takes on humanity, and non-humanity, with such an eye towards hope - she believes utterly both in our capacity for negligence and cruelty, and in our capacity for good. Though the Exodans are constantly changing, defined by their willingness to recycle bodies and repurpose old technology, Record of a Spaceborn Few still finds hope in archives, in the ways the Exodans have held on to what once made them Earthen. They find ways to preserve the old ways and the new.
On a plot level, this is decidedly the most fast-paced of this series so far, and much faster than A Closed and Common Orbit. I enjoyed the genuine sense of mystery and progression within the novel. I adored this, and it may be my favorite of the series so far.
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Record of a Spaceborn Few begins with the explosion of Oxomoco, one of the 30 Exodan ships which carry part of the human race - and, along with it, the death of forty-three thousand people. But this novel isn't one focused on these deaths, per se. The bulk of the novel takes place just moments past the Toremi attack at Hedra Ke that ended Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, as the Exodan fleet continues to recover and rebuild in its way.
The members of the Exodan Fleet – the 30-in-number set of ships to evacuate a destroyed Earth nine generations earlier, and the largest conglomerate of humans outside of the Solar System – live in a society based around sharing. Food portions are provided equally, and vocations are not paid but simply encouraged. Though it isn't a planet, in some ways the ships are utopian.
Yet as the fleet ages, the ships are becoming wildly less stable, and even supplemental power from the Aeluons or from their adoptive sun Risheth can’t fix the issue. Humans have only been members of the GC for seventy years, and already new generations are learning galactic Klip before their home Ensk.
Tessa Santoso, sister to Ashby, spends her days sorting the technical remnants of the exploded Oxomoco, as new GC technologies threaten her livelihood. Aged human archivist Isabel hosts Harmagian archivist Ghuh’loloàn to teach her of their ships. Eyas Parata works the compost system, which recycles human bodies, and builds a relationship with a sex worker named Sunny. Kip works as an apprentice while his friend Ras dreams of escaping the Exodan ship. And Sawyer is new in town and looking for a new career.
I found this book to be utterly arresting. Becky Chambers takes on humanity, and non-humanity, with such an eye towards hope - she believes utterly both in our capacity for negligence and cruelty, and in our capacity for good. Though the Exodans are constantly changing, defined by their willingness to recycle bodies and repurpose old technology, Record of a Spaceborn Few still finds hope in archives, in the ways the Exodans have held on to what once made them Earthen. They find ways to preserve the old ways and the new.
On a plot level, this is decidedly the most fast-paced of this series so far, and much faster than A Closed and Common Orbit. I enjoyed the genuine sense of mystery and progression within the novel. I adored this, and it may be my favorite of the series so far.
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August 2, 2021
Can't finish. Which is a shame because I loved the first two. I’m 25% through and still feel nothing for the too many characters there are, and I have no interest in what little plot there is. Can’t keep slogging through at this point.
August 22, 2018
I wasn't sure about this when I started, but it really grew on me. The story is much more understated than in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and the sequel, A Closed and Common Orbit. What all three books do have in common, however, is that they are intensely character focused, and the characters are engaged in reevaluating their lives, and what it means to be a person.
Unlike many other books of this genre, Record of a Spaceborn Few doesn't use a central conflict to drive the story, but instead looks the ordinary struggle of the average person in their daily life. The citizens of the Exodan fleet are humans who left Earth behind generations ago, and have since redefined their human culture into something unique. But is living in this place and in these circumstances enough? What does it mean to live a fulfilling life? Ultimately I found this to be a relatable story that follows several different, yet wholly average, people in their personal quests to answer these questions.
Unlike many other books of this genre, Record of a Spaceborn Few doesn't use a central conflict to drive the story, but instead looks the ordinary struggle of the average person in their daily life. The citizens of the Exodan fleet are humans who left Earth behind generations ago, and have since redefined their human culture into something unique. But is living in this place and in these circumstances enough? What does it mean to live a fulfilling life? Ultimately I found this to be a relatable story that follows several different, yet wholly average, people in their personal quests to answer these questions.
July 25, 2018
I'm not sure if I wanna write a very long review for this one, as there are some books that you just wanna kinda... keep for yourself. Those books that you don't want to sit and analyse, because you'd rather just enjoy the fact that you've just read a great book that really got you.
Recor of a Spaceborn Few is a wonderful story that made me tear up a whole bunch of times. It's an exploration of humanity, and of what society could be... But on a very relatable level. It's a slice-of-life tale about the lives of a small cast of characters, their struggles, and their dreams.
There's a kid trying to discover what he wants to do with his life. There's a young adult searching for a place to call home. There's a mother trying to care for herself and her family, and there's a woman who helps others grieve when the time comes.
All of this is set against the backdrop of a truly "equal" society. There's no need for money, as everyone is provided the same food and standard of living. Nobody needs to work, but they do it for the good of their community. This is the life of the Exodan Fleet, a group of humans that lives in a giant honeycomb-like system of spaceships around a star.
I'm making it sound like a perfect utopia, but the beauty of this setting is that it's anything but perfect. Resources may be allocated equally, but that just means that everyone has the same sparse lifestyle, without much in the way of luxuries. To the other species in the universe... the Exodan humans are almost seen as a charity case. Becky Chambers takes the time to explore the problems and challenges of the society she has created. She presents her world to the reader without judgement, and allows them to draw their own conclusions.
This is a beautiful, shining little gem of a book. It's wholesome, tragic, thoughtful, and uplifting. Somehow all at once. It took me a little while to forge a connection with the characters, but when I got it... Man, did I care.
This is a fantastic addition to the Wayfarers series, and if you're a fan of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet or A Closed and Common Orbit, you should pick this up immediately.
My only complaint about Becky Chamber's books is that when they're finished... They're finished. I just want to read about these characters forever.
Recor of a Spaceborn Few is a wonderful story that made me tear up a whole bunch of times. It's an exploration of humanity, and of what society could be... But on a very relatable level. It's a slice-of-life tale about the lives of a small cast of characters, their struggles, and their dreams.
There's a kid trying to discover what he wants to do with his life. There's a young adult searching for a place to call home. There's a mother trying to care for herself and her family, and there's a woman who helps others grieve when the time comes.
All of this is set against the backdrop of a truly "equal" society. There's no need for money, as everyone is provided the same food and standard of living. Nobody needs to work, but they do it for the good of their community. This is the life of the Exodan Fleet, a group of humans that lives in a giant honeycomb-like system of spaceships around a star.
I'm making it sound like a perfect utopia, but the beauty of this setting is that it's anything but perfect. Resources may be allocated equally, but that just means that everyone has the same sparse lifestyle, without much in the way of luxuries. To the other species in the universe... the Exodan humans are almost seen as a charity case. Becky Chambers takes the time to explore the problems and challenges of the society she has created. She presents her world to the reader without judgement, and allows them to draw their own conclusions.
This is a beautiful, shining little gem of a book. It's wholesome, tragic, thoughtful, and uplifting. Somehow all at once. It took me a little while to forge a connection with the characters, but when I got it... Man, did I care.
This is a fantastic addition to the Wayfarers series, and if you're a fan of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet or A Closed and Common Orbit, you should pick this up immediately.
My only complaint about Becky Chamber's books is that when they're finished... They're finished. I just want to read about these characters forever.
July 15, 2018
I loved the first two Wayfarers books, each for different reasons. This one follows several stories inside the Exodus Fleet, the people who left Earth but weren't rich enough to move places like Mars. They've continued living and building upon the ships they left in, and have slowly created a sustaining colony. The book starts with a disaster that sets a few stories in motion.
Like all Chambers books, I appreciate the focus on people and relationships, interesting aliens and their places in the universe, and seeing the "civilization" perspective of the salvage crew that shows up.
One character is an Archivist, keeping a video record of events. Another is a caretaker, welcoming those newly born to the community and aiding those who pass to contribute in other ways. One is a teenager looking for a purpose, and another is an exile from another place, looking for a home. The alternating narratives make for a quick and pleasurable read.
Thanks to the publisher for giving me access to this title via Edelweiss. It comes out in the United States on 24 July, 2018.
Like all Chambers books, I appreciate the focus on people and relationships, interesting aliens and their places in the universe, and seeing the "civilization" perspective of the salvage crew that shows up.
One character is an Archivist, keeping a video record of events. Another is a caretaker, welcoming those newly born to the community and aiding those who pass to contribute in other ways. One is a teenager looking for a purpose, and another is an exile from another place, looking for a home. The alternating narratives make for a quick and pleasurable read.
Thanks to the publisher for giving me access to this title via Edelweiss. It comes out in the United States on 24 July, 2018.
August 21, 2018
From the ground, we stand. From our ship, we live. By the stars, we hope.
(Motto of the Exodus Fleet)
This is the third installment in the Wayfarer series, a slow-burn science fiction series. I say "slow-burn" because there are no epic battles in space and even when a person is killed, it's more about the exploration of grief, how the community deals with the death as well as the local funeral rights, rather than the investigation and arrest of the culprit(s).
Here, we are on the "Osteria", one of the 32 generational vessels that make up the Exodus Fleet. Exodans are humans from Earth that had to leave the planet when it became uninhabitable (spoiler alert: we've poisoned the Earth and it, then, poisoned us). Humans have travelled through space ever since and even after finding other life forms, staying in one orbit and technically joining the GC (Galactic Commons) a long time ago, Exodans tend to stay separate - though there is a little bit of intergalactic trade and some people even leave the Fleet for good (such as Ashby, whom we know from the first installment).
The entire Fleet is based on the principle of being sustainable. Every Exodan is about being useful to the community, nothing goes to waste, which can also be seen in the ships' design which is like a honeycomb. People share everything although they do still have personal space. It's about survival of the species in the long run while remaining an individual - but how do these principles hold up after contact has been made, making most of the principles a mere philosophical question?! If it's all about the journey, what do you do when you've finally arrived, especially if your ancestors weren't even sure they or any of their descendants would ever reach any place?!
It was interesting to see the old values that all had their reason and place (and were very rational and thought through, making me question if humans would actually manage that *lol*) now being questioned thanks to outside influences. Very funny, for example, how some Exodans reacted to young kids and teenagers mixing their language with Clip (the general galactic language). Especially to me, as a linguist, this was a fascinating question since we already discuss this issue enough in real life thanks to slang and emojis and whatnot. There were also questions about the self-sustaining economy (based on trade) reacting to currency and new technology being thrown into the mix.
However, the most heavy-hitting topic, certainly, was that of life and death. You see, when you need to produce your own food and water for lack of a planet and you need to think hundreds and even thousands of generations ahead (the Exodans couldn't have known, upon leaving Earth, when or if they'd run into inhabitable planets and other species), you also have a use for dead bodies. Yes, we're talking about a cycle where dead bodies become compost, and I thought the author had a wonderful way of tactfully but also logically approaching the issue.
We get to follow five people of several ages as they interact with one another and react to Exodan customs.
One POV was Isabel, an elderly woman and archivist explaining history and therefore the reason and evolution of certain customs to an Aluon (another species) scholar who subsequently writes essays about the Exodan culture to encourage understanding in the entire galaxy. One of the characters being an alien was great beacuse it conveniently provided the reader with a completely different angle on all kinds of topics. Another POV was Tessa, a mother of two, whose husband is a space miner and therefore often away (through her we also got glimpses into how children perceive the Fleet or what her father thinks of certain medical technology). Yet another POV was Kip, a teenager, who is struggling to fit in and therefore rebels against the familiar. Not to mention Sawyer, an immigrant to the Fleet (), and Eyas who is working as a "caretaker" (they accompany Exodans in their last moments, then prepare the bodies for the funeral and subsequent "recycling process").
My second most favourite part of this book was . My favourite? I'll tell you about it in a minute.
My favourite character was actually none of the big five but Tessa's dad. He was really cool.
What I like about this series most of all is the tone. The people here, no matter their species, are thoughtful. And like I said: it's not about pewpew but about reflection. It's a quiet approach to science fiction, certainly, but maybe that is what makes it even more profound sometimes. This universe isn't peaceful and it isn't perfect, but many people in it have not only been through a lot but also reflect in wonderful ways about their own way of life and those of others, providing the reader with a different kind of exploration.
In a way, this was about roots. Weird, since there aren't any in the Fleet, but it's true. We need to know where we come from in order to know who we are and where we want to go next (finding our place in the vastness of the galaxy). Remembering your people's history is important. And this book explores that line of thought, coming back to one species' beginnings, even explaining how humans left Earth and built the Fleet in the first place (Isabel telling that story was my favourite part of the book).
I must admit that I didn't love this volume as much as the first and maybe there even is a slight difference to the second installment, but I really love what the author did with this series.
Either we're all worthy or none of us are. It's all about respect.
December 15, 2022
“From the ground, we stand. From our ships, we live. By the stars, we hope.”
Becky Chambers' Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers, #3) was completely different than previous installments. It really felt like a space opera slice of life and in that way it was refreshing. Still, I wanted either more connection to the earlier series or a full-fledged plot. After I got over this, much like in the second book when I got over the fact that it wasn't much of a continuation of the first book, it was satisfying. And well-written. 3.75 stars
“Figure out what you love, specifically. In detail. Figure out what you want to keep. Figure out what you want to change. Otherwise, it’s not love. It’s clinging to the familiar”
“If you never leave, you'll always wonder. You'll wonder what your life could've been, if you did the right thing. Well... scratch that. You'll always wonder if you did the right thing, no matter what your decision is, big or small. There's always another path you'll wonder about.”
Becky Chambers' Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers, #3) was completely different than previous installments. It really felt like a space opera slice of life and in that way it was refreshing. Still, I wanted either more connection to the earlier series or a full-fledged plot. After I got over this, much like in the second book when I got over the fact that it wasn't much of a continuation of the first book, it was satisfying. And well-written. 3.75 stars
“Figure out what you love, specifically. In detail. Figure out what you want to keep. Figure out what you want to change. Otherwise, it’s not love. It’s clinging to the familiar”
“If you never leave, you'll always wonder. You'll wonder what your life could've been, if you did the right thing. Well... scratch that. You'll always wonder if you did the right thing, no matter what your decision is, big or small. There's always another path you'll wonder about.”
Read
January 17, 2019DNF at 35%
I gave up. Because...
Nothing....
Ever.........................
Happens.....
The characters are scattered, there is no clear plot, just tons of mundane background and everyday life descriptions. But none of it moves the plot or characters forward. The tone and pace are meditative, relaxing, but it's just anthropologious study of alien-human life. The races and their lifestyle, appearance, culture were quite broadly introduced in the first two books, this one is once again a deeper look into how cool aliens are and how human see them (or as they see humans). The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is one of my all time favorites, but I had a rocky relationship with #2 and #3. Been waiting for this one eagerly, and as the chapter titles make a poem, I was really expecting something more.
I gave up. Because...
Nothing....
Ever.........................
Happens.....
The characters are scattered, there is no clear plot, just tons of mundane background and everyday life descriptions. But none of it moves the plot or characters forward. The tone and pace are meditative, relaxing, but it's just anthropologious study of alien-human life. The races and their lifestyle, appearance, culture were quite broadly introduced in the first two books, this one is once again a deeper look into how cool aliens are and how human see them (or as they see humans). The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is one of my all time favorites, but I had a rocky relationship with #2 and #3. Been waiting for this one eagerly, and as the chapter titles make a poem, I was really expecting something more.
December 14, 2018
[2.5/5 stars] Plot? What plot?
I found this book very difficult to rate. On one hand, I really appreciate Chambers’ unique perspective and fearless, unapologetic outside-the-box approach to storytelling. It’s so different than anything I’ve ever read, and I kind of love that. So I feel it deserved more stars. However, I also had to take into account my own expectations and how much I actually enjoyed reading it… which is significantly less than I’d hoped. I saw many missed opportunities to improve the story – ones that would’ve kept the integrity of her original voice while providing a much more satisfactory experience (some things as simple as changing the names a bit so readers are less likely to mix up characters at the beginning. Others a little more difficult, such as adding a few periphery universe happenings to give the story a more rounded feel).
Basically I’m applauding her for delivering something incredibly unexpected while at the same time criticizing her for not quite meeting my expectations… reviewing is hard lol. 2.5 stars it is.
The book (and series) definitely generates more subjectivity conversations than most. For the record, I was on board with the first two books – enjoying the journey more than the destination – but definitely expected some sort of momentum build or culmination at this point in the series (especially since I’ve heard it’s the last book… it gets a little leeway if it’s not the last book). The composition was just so dang odd.
The cool writing things it’s doing and the deep, casual-yet-profound character exploration makes the book beautiful. However all of that comes at the expense of developing an actual plot (okay, maybe there is one, but it’s so unconventional that nothing really comes together until the last 20% … but even then, you don’t get any conflicts on a wider scale as you did in the first book. There’s so much unused potential – I can’t get over feeling like these characters should be part of a grander scheme, even if it’s only a minor proximity. What’s more, it’s making me retroactively question my rating of the second book because, as it turns out, it has absolutely nothing to do with this one, and I kind of expected it to tie in somehow to help justify how much time we spent on it.
Overall, I think Chambers’ unique perspective and unconventional voice will inspire a litany of new writers trying their hand at her original style. I think it’s brilliant and a breath of fresh air in a market that can sometimes get cookie-cutter. However, as far as recommending it goes, it all comes down to whether or not you can let go of expectations and just enjoy the ride. Admittedly I’m not the best at this, so I didn’t quite love it as much as I’ve seen others, however, I still appreciate everything in it fiercely. It may even tweak how I tackle my own stories.
Series status: completed? I won’t be buying them for my collection, but I’m still glad I read them.
Recommendations: the Wayfarers series feels like space opera at its finest, and I’d recommend it as worth your time as long as you don’t mind a book more focused on character dynamics than any compelling external conflicts. Some hardcore sci-fi fans might find it a bit fluffy, but I think most casual sci-fi fans will revel in its originality.
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
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I found this book very difficult to rate. On one hand, I really appreciate Chambers’ unique perspective and fearless, unapologetic outside-the-box approach to storytelling. It’s so different than anything I’ve ever read, and I kind of love that. So I feel it deserved more stars. However, I also had to take into account my own expectations and how much I actually enjoyed reading it… which is significantly less than I’d hoped. I saw many missed opportunities to improve the story – ones that would’ve kept the integrity of her original voice while providing a much more satisfactory experience (some things as simple as changing the names a bit so readers are less likely to mix up characters at the beginning. Others a little more difficult, such as adding a few periphery universe happenings to give the story a more rounded feel).
Basically I’m applauding her for delivering something incredibly unexpected while at the same time criticizing her for not quite meeting my expectations… reviewing is hard lol. 2.5 stars it is.
The book (and series) definitely generates more subjectivity conversations than most. For the record, I was on board with the first two books – enjoying the journey more than the destination – but definitely expected some sort of momentum build or culmination at this point in the series (especially since I’ve heard it’s the last book… it gets a little leeway if it’s not the last book). The composition was just so dang odd.
The cool writing things it’s doing and the deep, casual-yet-profound character exploration makes the book beautiful. However all of that comes at the expense of developing an actual plot (okay, maybe there is one, but it’s so unconventional that nothing really comes together until the last 20% … but even then, you don’t get any conflicts on a wider scale as you did in the first book. There’s so much unused potential – I can’t get over feeling like these characters should be part of a grander scheme, even if it’s only a minor proximity. What’s more, it’s making me retroactively question my rating of the second book because, as it turns out, it has absolutely nothing to do with this one, and I kind of expected it to tie in somehow to help justify how much time we spent on it.
Overall, I think Chambers’ unique perspective and unconventional voice will inspire a litany of new writers trying their hand at her original style. I think it’s brilliant and a breath of fresh air in a market that can sometimes get cookie-cutter. However, as far as recommending it goes, it all comes down to whether or not you can let go of expectations and just enjoy the ride. Admittedly I’m not the best at this, so I didn’t quite love it as much as I’ve seen others, however, I still appreciate everything in it fiercely. It may even tweak how I tackle my own stories.
Series status: completed? I won’t be buying them for my collection, but I’m still glad I read them.
Recommendations: the Wayfarers series feels like space opera at its finest, and I’d recommend it as worth your time as long as you don’t mind a book more focused on character dynamics than any compelling external conflicts. Some hardcore sci-fi fans might find it a bit fluffy, but I think most casual sci-fi fans will revel in its originality.
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
Read
April 13, 2018I was lucky enough to snag a copy of the ARC of this from my publishers, and I'll be buying the hardback version when it comes out. Yes, these books really are that good. I loved the two previous books in this (Series? Cycle?), especially the way in which the stories slot together in a non-linear fashion within an expanding fictional world, which means they can be read and re-read in any order, with equal enjoyment. And oh, how they are enjoyable - on many different levels. I have spoken before of the excellent characterization; the masterly exploration of diversity and the subtle treatment of different races. I may also have mentioned how engaging the world is, and how easy and pleasurable it is to immerse oneself into it again. Those things continue to be true, but I think that in some ways this book is even more subtle and accomplished than the first two. Imagine THE GRAPES OF WRATH, set in space, with all the intensity, heartbreak and tension that implies. And grieve a little for the fact that the mainstream literary world is so slow in acknowledging the scope, skill and literary value of sci-fi - although frankly, anyone who scorns sci-fi as a lesser genre really doesn't deserve to read anything as splendid as this.
August 25, 2018
The first two in the series I loved to pieces. The sweetness, the writing, the message, all hit a spot. That’s why I eagerly awaited this last volume and what a disappointment turned out to be…
I read up to 20% before I abandoned it. It should be character driven but there are just mundane actions of people born in space from generations which fled Earth.
The beginning was promising, but after the catastrophe we advance 4 years in the future and the consequences of that event are left in the open. Perhaps it will have some significance further in the story but I lack the patience and interest to read on.
The only thing I found to be original and of some significance is the fact that the titles of the 7 parts put together form a statement of sort:
Part 1: From the Beginning
Part 2: We Have Wandered
Part 3: To This Day, We Wander Still
Part 4: But for All Our Travels
Part 5: We Are Not Lost
Part 6: We Fly with Courage
Part 7: And Will Undying
Regretfully, this is the only reason for the 2nd star.
Usually I do not rate books I have not finished and mark them as not-my-cup-of-coffee. However, this was supposed to be my favorite cup of coffee and I’m really disappointed for not getting it.
I read up to 20% before I abandoned it. It should be character driven but there are just mundane actions of people born in space from generations which fled Earth.
The beginning was promising, but after the catastrophe we advance 4 years in the future and the consequences of that event are left in the open. Perhaps it will have some significance further in the story but I lack the patience and interest to read on.
The only thing I found to be original and of some significance is the fact that the titles of the 7 parts put together form a statement of sort:
Part 1: From the Beginning
Part 2: We Have Wandered
Part 3: To This Day, We Wander Still
Part 4: But for All Our Travels
Part 5: We Are Not Lost
Part 6: We Fly with Courage
Part 7: And Will Undying
Regretfully, this is the only reason for the 2nd star.
Usually I do not rate books I have not finished and mark them as not-my-cup-of-coffee. However, this was supposed to be my favorite cup of coffee and I’m really disappointed for not getting it.
April 3, 2021
I think this series keeps getting stronger and stronger. This one was about belonging, colonialism and colonization, the rituals of life and death and the tapestry that weaves around us that we call culture.
I don't really know what to say about it other than it's heartfelt, contemplative and beautiful.
I don't really know what to say about it other than it's heartfelt, contemplative and beautiful.
July 26, 2018
Honestly the most forward-thinking part of Becky Chambers' books isn't the convincing alien societies or the credible, well-developed technology but in daring to imagine a future society in which people are basically decent and caring towards one another.
March 29, 2025
“Just the sight of the room felt like she'd taken a sip of water after several hours without.”
I had a similar reaction when starting this book, shortly after I’d been unexpectedly ambushed by upsetting memories of my father’s death. Yet I finished this at the start of October, and it’s now mid-March; somehow I couldn't bring myself to review it sooner.
This is a standalone story, though it picks up from the end of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1). As usual, Chambers drops the reader into situations, maybe explaining later, maybe not. She explores identity, culture, community, colonialism, reparations, and the cycle of life, with warmth and insight through engaging, relatable characters, most of them human. It’s character, rather than plot-driven (especially the first third, where each chapter is from a different, and apparently unconnected, character’s viewpoint) and set mainly among humans on the decaying Exodus Fleet: a quasi-socialist utopia, where: “Everybody had a home, and nobody went hungry.”
It’s an easy and heartwarming read, because it has the need for connection and community at its core, but there is plenty to chew on as well.
Image: ‘Elastika’ by Zaha Hadid Architects, adding connections to an architectural space of The Moore, Miami, in 2005 (Source)
Adrift
The Exodan ritual for naming and registering a baby, starts with words about how humans destroyed the Earth and so had to leave. It ends:
“From the ground, we stand. From our ships we live. By the stars, we hope.”
And the liturgy for the dead includes:
“From the stars, came the ground. From the ground, we stood. To the ground, we return.”
But the ships left ten generations ago. Those living there now have little connection to it, and none to anywhere else - yet. The Galactic Commons wants “to prepare GC-bound Exodans for life beyond the Fleet” and integrate them into the wider Galactic Community.
The big political and cultural tensions around that contrast with small scale domestic issues like stroppy teens and small children not wanting to go to bed.
Food
“The twice-round pickle felt like a salty, sour hug, and the hot sauce skirted that line between ‘ow, this hurts, please stop’ and ‘I want to eat this forever’.”
Eating isn’t just a necessity, it’s a core part of most cultures, and Chambers always delights in describing the looks, smells, tastes, and textures of different cuisines, especially those of non-human species. (In the first Wayfarers book, Dr Chef was one of the most endearing characters.)
“A large mound of wet, shredded vegetables, piled on top of two halves of a nondescript bun… It leaked, sending purple liquid running down his forearms… He took a bite> His throat tightened, his sinuses shot open, and his bravery died… It was, without a doubt, the worst thing he’d ever eaten… The tea, at least, was good.”
Image: Exodan spaceship from the cover of some editions
Quotes
• “The trick to living on Mushtullo was knowing which sunrise to wait for… The pre-dawn fog carried the kind of wetness that wormed its way to your bones.”
• “Nothing is left to lesser people, because there is no such thing,”
• “Everything Martian… was understood to be dangerously incompatible with Exodan morality.”
• “A person’s view of the stars was, ultimately, a matter of perspective. Of upbringing.”
• “Ghosts were imaginary, but hauntings were real.”
• “Our species doesn’t operate by reality. It operates by stories. Cities are a story. Money is a story. Space was a story, once.”
• “Seeing so many singular things made him realise he came from somewhere singular, too… The Fleet was priceless. The only one. If it was gone, there wouldn’t just be nothing for other Humans to learn from. There’d be nothing for him to learn from.”
I had a similar reaction when starting this book, shortly after I’d been unexpectedly ambushed by upsetting memories of my father’s death. Yet I finished this at the start of October, and it’s now mid-March; somehow I couldn't bring myself to review it sooner.
This is a standalone story, though it picks up from the end of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1). As usual, Chambers drops the reader into situations, maybe explaining later, maybe not. She explores identity, culture, community, colonialism, reparations, and the cycle of life, with warmth and insight through engaging, relatable characters, most of them human. It’s character, rather than plot-driven (especially the first third, where each chapter is from a different, and apparently unconnected, character’s viewpoint) and set mainly among humans on the decaying Exodus Fleet: a quasi-socialist utopia, where: “Everybody had a home, and nobody went hungry.”
It’s an easy and heartwarming read, because it has the need for connection and community at its core, but there is plenty to chew on as well.
Image: ‘Elastika’ by Zaha Hadid Architects, adding connections to an architectural space of The Moore, Miami, in 2005 (Source)
Adrift
The Exodan ritual for naming and registering a baby, starts with words about how humans destroyed the Earth and so had to leave. It ends:
“From the ground, we stand. From our ships we live. By the stars, we hope.”
And the liturgy for the dead includes:
“From the stars, came the ground. From the ground, we stood. To the ground, we return.”
But the ships left ten generations ago. Those living there now have little connection to it, and none to anywhere else - yet. The Galactic Commons wants “to prepare GC-bound Exodans for life beyond the Fleet” and integrate them into the wider Galactic Community.
The big political and cultural tensions around that contrast with small scale domestic issues like stroppy teens and small children not wanting to go to bed.
Food
“The twice-round pickle felt like a salty, sour hug, and the hot sauce skirted that line between ‘ow, this hurts, please stop’ and ‘I want to eat this forever’.”
Eating isn’t just a necessity, it’s a core part of most cultures, and Chambers always delights in describing the looks, smells, tastes, and textures of different cuisines, especially those of non-human species. (In the first Wayfarers book, Dr Chef was one of the most endearing characters.)
“A large mound of wet, shredded vegetables, piled on top of two halves of a nondescript bun… It leaked, sending purple liquid running down his forearms… He took a bite> His throat tightened, his sinuses shot open, and his bravery died… It was, without a doubt, the worst thing he’d ever eaten… The tea, at least, was good.”
Image: Exodan spaceship from the cover of some editions
Quotes
• “The trick to living on Mushtullo was knowing which sunrise to wait for… The pre-dawn fog carried the kind of wetness that wormed its way to your bones.”
• “Nothing is left to lesser people, because there is no such thing,”
• “Everything Martian… was understood to be dangerously incompatible with Exodan morality.”
• “A person’s view of the stars was, ultimately, a matter of perspective. Of upbringing.”
• “Ghosts were imaginary, but hauntings were real.”
• “Our species doesn’t operate by reality. It operates by stories. Cities are a story. Money is a story. Space was a story, once.”
• “Seeing so many singular things made him realise he came from somewhere singular, too… The Fleet was priceless. The only one. If it was gone, there wouldn’t just be nothing for other Humans to learn from. There’d be nothing for him to learn from.”
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