The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

Surprisingly difficult to connect with.

This is still a well written, interesting, continues the Wayfarer universe and prompts some challenging thoughts.

Where I did struggle was connection with the characters. Because they're exclusively alien, and entirely so: 4 arms and a shell, tiny sloth like swinging creatures, laru furball bendy things (though I imagined the creature from Ice Age oddly enough), because they're hard to visualise in my head I found it harder to connect to the characters.

I do also suspect this is a way of putting the reader in a position of a minority, to be unable to recognise oneself amongst the peers, which is what kept flipping back and forth in my head whilst continuing with the tale.

As with other Becky Chambers' books, the story isn't some fantastical explosion of events, but a soft observation of life and interaction of species and races living together - and that's something I'll continue to love about their books.

My favourite is still the first book, I'm not sure anything is going to top that for many years, but this is still a solid entry into the Wayfarer world.

OK, I need to be honest: this isn't really five stars, more like three point nine, but it is five stars right now, in this shitty post-Roe moment. This was exactly what I needed to read: a handful of characters, each broken in their own way but each also compassionate, kind, thoughtful, Present, aware of and listening to every other character, doing their absolute best together under tough scary conditions.

Chambers is just so fucking wonderful. Yeah, treacly at times, but I need that right now and so, probably, do you. She packs so much in this obviously-post-pandemic book: good communication, emotional intelligence, gender identity, body autonomy, bioparents vs nurture parents, cooperation in the face of uncertainty; she slams “differing opinions” when it comes to killing sentient beings, magat cultures, and closeting.

Warning: a bit tough to get into: the characters are all alien (to us) races, and it takes some time (maybe 50 pages) to get them mentally sorted out. It's totally worth it. And: you do not need to read any of the prior books. Same universe, one shared character. Readers familiar with that character's backstory will nod in recognition, but the backstory is not necessary to understand this book.