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Wayfarers #1-4
The Wayfarers Series
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past. But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants.
A Closed and Common Orbit
Lovelace was once merely a ship's artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in a new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has to start over, in a world where her kind are illegal. She's never felt so alone. But she's not alone, not really. Pepper, one of the engineers who risked life and limb to reinstall Lovelace, is determined to help her adjust to her new world. Because Pepper knows a thing or two about starting over.
Record of a Spaceborn Few
Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but while this has opened doors for many, those who have not yet left for alien cities fear that their carefully cultivated way of life is under threat.
To Be Taught, If Fortunate
Carrying all the trademarks of her other beloved works, including brilliant writing, fantastic world-building and exceptional, diverse characters, Becky's first book outside of the Wayfarers series is sure to capture the imagination.
Ariadne is explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does. Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home.
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past. But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants.
A Closed and Common Orbit
Lovelace was once merely a ship's artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in a new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has to start over, in a world where her kind are illegal. She's never felt so alone. But she's not alone, not really. Pepper, one of the engineers who risked life and limb to reinstall Lovelace, is determined to help her adjust to her new world. Because Pepper knows a thing or two about starting over.
Record of a Spaceborn Few
Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but while this has opened doors for many, those who have not yet left for alien cities fear that their carefully cultivated way of life is under threat.
To Be Taught, If Fortunate
Carrying all the trademarks of her other beloved works, including brilliant writing, fantastic world-building and exceptional, diverse characters, Becky's first book outside of the Wayfarers series is sure to capture the imagination.
Ariadne is explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does. Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2023
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 9, 2024
Each of these four books is a different story, though they all take place in the same universe, and are remotely connected. While the stories each stand alone, I wanted to review them together--not despite the differences in the stories, but because of the similarities and qualities they all share.
First, the main characters in each, whether human or otherwise, are completely relatable. In Becky Chambers' reality, many beings share similar desires, drives, and emotions, down at their core level. The drives that fuel the actions of an Aandrisk, or an Aeluon, or a Quelin are fully understandable to me, a human. I had no trouble getting behind their challenges, trials, joys, sorrows, and fears. And these characters are well crafted, fully formed, and three-dimensional. Even when they were doing things I didn't agree with, I could see why they did it.
Second, the diversity in all these stories (and in everything else I've read by this author) is off-the-charts superb. Characters come in every size, shape, form, and color imaginable. Sexuality and gender as displayed among and between the many species is so far beyond binary that I think the characters would be dumbfounded by the old human ways of male vs female, with nothing outside those two choices. I loved the way Chambers introduced these details, even showed them in action. And I especially loved how all the other characters simply took these differences in stride. For them--as it should be for us--it was not only acceptable, but *normal* to have all these various ways of just being.
Third, characters in a Becky Chambers novel (at least the ones I've read) are compassionate. Don't get me wrong; Chambers' worlds have antagonism, cruelty, dispassion, and exclusionism. But the *main* characters are not part of that mindset. Instead, Chambers uses the relationships between characters in her novels in a way that demonstrates a kinder, more sensitive way to live. To support one another. To at least try and reach understanding, if not respect, for each other. She's not preachy. She just lets these scenarios play out for the reader in such a way that they appeal. Each one (not just these four, but her Monk and Robot series, too) left me wishing for a world where we treated one another that way.
I wouldn't call these books hard sci-fi. Instead, I'd call them ... space opera. Or soft sci-fi. Or even science fantasy, to some degree. But each Wayfarers book definitely has an otherworldly feel, as in the events are not taking place on the Earth. The worlds that are depicted are well fleshed out, even the third book, which takes place aboard ships in the fleet. There was never a moment when I did not feel grounded (per se) in the setting, or feel like I couldn't see the world the author had created. And oh, the feels! Every single BC novel I've read has moved me to tears--not because they're sad, but because they are heartwarming, evocative. The characters actually learn and grow, and that's enough to give me hope for my own species.
There are four books in the Wayfarer series, and you'll want to read them all: Book 1, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet; Book 2, A Closed and Common Orbin; Book 3, Record of a Spaceborn Few; and Book 4, The Galaxy and the Ground Within. Even though the books can all stand alone (mostly), you'll want to read them in order since the events from book 2 flow from those in book 1, and so on.
If you love a good "human" interest story, one that will touch your heart, this series is for you. Most highly recommended.
First, the main characters in each, whether human or otherwise, are completely relatable. In Becky Chambers' reality, many beings share similar desires, drives, and emotions, down at their core level. The drives that fuel the actions of an Aandrisk, or an Aeluon, or a Quelin are fully understandable to me, a human. I had no trouble getting behind their challenges, trials, joys, sorrows, and fears. And these characters are well crafted, fully formed, and three-dimensional. Even when they were doing things I didn't agree with, I could see why they did it.
Second, the diversity in all these stories (and in everything else I've read by this author) is off-the-charts superb. Characters come in every size, shape, form, and color imaginable. Sexuality and gender as displayed among and between the many species is so far beyond binary that I think the characters would be dumbfounded by the old human ways of male vs female, with nothing outside those two choices. I loved the way Chambers introduced these details, even showed them in action. And I especially loved how all the other characters simply took these differences in stride. For them--as it should be for us--it was not only acceptable, but *normal* to have all these various ways of just being.
Third, characters in a Becky Chambers novel (at least the ones I've read) are compassionate. Don't get me wrong; Chambers' worlds have antagonism, cruelty, dispassion, and exclusionism. But the *main* characters are not part of that mindset. Instead, Chambers uses the relationships between characters in her novels in a way that demonstrates a kinder, more sensitive way to live. To support one another. To at least try and reach understanding, if not respect, for each other. She's not preachy. She just lets these scenarios play out for the reader in such a way that they appeal. Each one (not just these four, but her Monk and Robot series, too) left me wishing for a world where we treated one another that way.
I wouldn't call these books hard sci-fi. Instead, I'd call them ... space opera. Or soft sci-fi. Or even science fantasy, to some degree. But each Wayfarers book definitely has an otherworldly feel, as in the events are not taking place on the Earth. The worlds that are depicted are well fleshed out, even the third book, which takes place aboard ships in the fleet. There was never a moment when I did not feel grounded (per se) in the setting, or feel like I couldn't see the world the author had created. And oh, the feels! Every single BC novel I've read has moved me to tears--not because they're sad, but because they are heartwarming, evocative. The characters actually learn and grow, and that's enough to give me hope for my own species.
There are four books in the Wayfarer series, and you'll want to read them all: Book 1, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet; Book 2, A Closed and Common Orbin; Book 3, Record of a Spaceborn Few; and Book 4, The Galaxy and the Ground Within. Even though the books can all stand alone (mostly), you'll want to read them in order since the events from book 2 flow from those in book 1, and so on.
If you love a good "human" interest story, one that will touch your heart, this series is for you. Most highly recommended.
February 28, 2025
Une saga qui se déroule dans l'espace et sur différentes planètes. Les interactions entres humains ou diverses espèces d'aliens font la richesse de ces histoires remplies d'humanité, d'ouverture à l'autre et à la difference, de curiosité et de bienveillance. Les personnes uniques et attachants rendent ces récits captivants.
September 25, 2023
Love her books!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews