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moonbasket's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I really enjoyed this book. There was a broad range of ages across our POV characters which was lovely. I loved learning more about the Fleet and world building. I think the way the exposition was included felt natural and seamless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Death of parent
plantdonut's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Racism, Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Cancer, Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit, Toxic friendship, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book feels like a love letter to humanity, and a reminder that we all should be/ must be kind to each other. I admit, I missed seeing aliens all the time in this installment, but like all of Chambers' books it touched my heart and made me feel so so happy. This book also joins the small ranks of novels that have made me cry, so really I don't think I could give it anything less than 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Xenophobia
Moderate: Drug use and Grief
Minor: Sexual content and Medical content
the_reading_wren's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
This one is less adventure and more reflective than the previous books in this series, covering heavy themes. Chambers guides us through these topics with masterful writing, while enveloping us in a world so well developed it feels like a home from home. I think it was a work of genius weaving the reader’s role of bearing witness into Sawyer’s storyline in such a profound way…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Pregnancy
mercerhanau's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This book is slower paced and less dramatic than the previous two books. I personally found the “slice of life” style less compelling, but still cozy and enjoyable to read. It continues to flesh out the galaxy Becky Chambers has created, focusing on the people living on “homesteaders” (generation ships, but self-sustaining and not heading to a new planet), especially from the perspectives of teenagers, parents with ordinary jobs, and elders. The author does her usual great job of having characters explore what they really want from life.
It’s fun to read sections of an ethnography about humans by a Harmagian. Interesting to see a human culture described by an outsider and compared to squishy, slug-like aliens with different rituals and cultural norms around birth and death.
Real-world themes the book touches on: (hidden for some minor spoiler details)
* Collective trauma, mass death (at the very beginning of the book)
* How we handle the dead, relationship to resources in a closed system (whether planetary or in a spaceship), human composting.
* Communal living
* Sex work (pro! As an important, legitimate, unstigmatized profession with regulations and safety measures for all involved)
* Ethical non-monogamy (mentioned more briefly than previous books)
* Challenges of solo parenting with a partner who travels frequently
* Children and toddlers using technology like video games (“sims”)
* Shared labor: everyone healthy and over 14 years old in the fleet takes turns working on sanitation so it isn’t out of sight or out of mind. Nothing is left to “lesser people.” Other roles are more specialized, but this shared responsibility both breaks up undesirable tasks and keeps people humbly in touch with the resource recycling.
* Professions and compensation: Labor isn’t compensated, nor do some professions receive more resources than others. All basic needs are met: food, water, housing, oxygen, etc. It’s rare for adults not to work, but it’s scorned. The question “what do you do?” asks what a person does for the community, for “us”. People thank each other for what they provide: artists for murals, farmers for food, doctors for medical attention, etc.
* Personal property: Property is communal until it enters a family home. Then stealing would be illegal, but people don’t need to steal anyway since their basic needs are met. (Cf. better social support reduces crime, rather than more criminalization and policing)
* Economics with multiple currencies: trade worked fine until outside currency and goods entered the equation. (Cf. Cuba, from my understanding?)
* Caring for aging parents. Some of this book’s topics remind me of A Prayer for the Crown-Shy: body mods, medical intervention for failing body parts, community care, alternative economic systems without strict currency
* Pros and cons of this lifestyle, especially for raising kids. Parents struggling to explain traumatic subject matter to their children, but also nice examples of parents being supportive and good listeners regarding their kids’ fears (and possible PTSD)
* Critiques of the inefficiency of bureaucracy meant to ensure fairness. People breaking protocol to claim more resources for themselves.
* Stages of fetal development between different species: a Harmagian reflects on how she doesn’t remember her life as a polyp, so it wasn’t really “her”. The transition between being a polyp and one’s baby self is seen as a death in her culture. Perhaps commentary on pro-life arguments of “life begins at conception”? She’s also bringing it up in the context of grieving for children and human parents holding their children close when they hear of a young person’s death. She has a different, more distant relationship to her own offspring.
* Politicization of the death of a newcomer. Who to blame, who to grieve, what this means for immigration acceptance vs. restriction, outsiders using limited resources, how to prevent future tragedies, etc.
* What kinds of jobs can (and will) be replaced by artificial intelligence
* A Harmagian’s brief reflections on her species’s “superiority” by means of conquest. Regret, reparations, sharing of technology and partnership with those they once harmed. What makes a species “worthy” of membership in the Galactic Commons?
* Archives and museums: what’s the point of keeping old things around rather than repairing/recycling them? Are people studying them and learning useful things? The homesteaders’ archives keep digital records and no physical objects, since space and resources are limited.
It’s fun to read sections of an ethnography about humans by a Harmagian. Interesting to see a human culture described by an outsider and compared to squishy, slug-like aliens with different rituals and cultural norms around birth and death.
Real-world themes the book touches on: (hidden for some minor spoiler details)
* Collective trauma, mass death (at the very beginning of the book)
* How we handle the dead, relationship to resources in a closed system (whether planetary or in a spaceship), human composting.
* Communal living
* Sex work (pro! As an important, legitimate, unstigmatized profession with regulations and safety measures for all involved)
* Ethical non-monogamy (mentioned more briefly than previous books)
* Challenges of solo parenting with a partner who travels frequently
* Children and toddlers using technology like video games (“sims”)
* Shared labor: everyone healthy and over 14 years old in the fleet takes turns working on sanitation so it isn’t out of sight or out of mind. Nothing is left to “lesser people.” Other roles are more specialized, but this shared responsibility both breaks up undesirable tasks and keeps people humbly in touch with the resource recycling.
* Professions and compensation: Labor isn’t compensated, nor do some professions receive more resources than others. All basic needs are met: food, water, housing, oxygen, etc. It’s rare for adults not to work, but it’s scorned. The question “what do you do?” asks what a person does for the community, for “us”. People thank each other for what they provide: artists for murals, farmers for food, doctors for medical attention, etc.
* Personal property: Property is communal until it enters a family home. Then stealing would be illegal, but people don’t need to steal anyway since their basic needs are met. (Cf. better social support reduces crime, rather than more criminalization and policing)
* Economics with multiple currencies: trade worked fine until outside currency and goods entered the equation. (Cf. Cuba, from my understanding?)
* Caring for aging parents. Some of this book’s topics remind me of A Prayer for the Crown-Shy: body mods, medical intervention for failing body parts, community care, alternative economic systems without strict currency
* Pros and cons of this lifestyle, especially for raising kids. Parents struggling to explain traumatic subject matter to their children, but also nice examples of parents being supportive and good listeners regarding their kids’ fears (and possible PTSD)
* Critiques of the inefficiency of bureaucracy meant to ensure fairness. People breaking protocol to claim more resources for themselves.
* Stages of fetal development between different species: a Harmagian reflects on how she doesn’t remember her life as a polyp, so it wasn’t really “her”. The transition between being a polyp and one’s baby self is seen as a death in her culture. Perhaps commentary on pro-life arguments of “life begins at conception”? She’s also bringing it up in the context of grieving for children and human parents holding their children close when they hear of a young person’s death. She has a different, more distant relationship to her own offspring.
* Politicization of the death of a newcomer. Who to blame, who to grieve, what this means for immigration acceptance vs. restriction, outsiders using limited resources, how to prevent future tragedies, etc.
* What kinds of jobs can (and will) be replaced by artificial intelligence
* A Harmagian’s brief reflections on her species’s “superiority” by means of conquest. Regret, reparations, sharing of technology and partnership with those they once harmed. What makes a species “worthy” of membership in the Galactic Commons?
* Archives and museums: what’s the point of keeping old things around rather than repairing/recycling them? Are people studying them and learning useful things? The homesteaders’ archives keep digital records and no physical objects, since space and resources are limited.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, and Grief
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Medical content, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lipstickitotheman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Through the grief, this book is still wonderfully hopeful. It was really hard for me at first to keep all the narratives straight, but it got easier as I got to know the characters better. It was beautiful how they all intersected with each other and with the first book in the series.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, and Colonisation
strange_little_ranger's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation
eni_iilorak's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug use and Grief
Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, and Medical content
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Becky Chambers does it again, folks.
Record of a Spaceborn Few is the third book in her Wayfarers series, and her writing style is filled with compassion and enthusiasm for the intricate world - or in this case, galaxy - she has created.
These books are not for those who like their plots fast-paced. Indeed, for the first two-thirds of Record, there is hardly any plot at all.
I would normally count myself among those who prefer a fast pace, but for Becky Chambers I've learned to make an exception. Her books are slow, for sure, but for me, I find the worldbuilding to be incredibly detailed and endlessly fascinating, so I don't get too bored.
Such was the case - yet again - for Record. It took time for me to readjust to the pace, the terminology used in this series, but once I did, I found myself intrigued and absorbed.
Chambers uses Record to explore the concept of something with which we are all familiar: what makes us human. And here's the genius thing: she does this from the point of view of the descendants of the original humans who abandoned earth when it became uninhabitable, and built giant space ships to live in. The characters here are largely human, with a few notable exceptions which I won't spoil here.
I've read criticism that the vision of society depicted in Record is too idealistic to be believable, and I agree that argument has some merit. But for me personally, I'm willing to accept this idealised view, mostly because in the world we live in now, I like to be able to imagine a society where people work and live in harmony with one another. It's a fantasy, sure, but in my opinion we all need a little escapism from time to time.
To sum up, this book shows us Becky Chambers in peak form, and I look forward to reading the final book in the Wayfarers series, The Galaxy and the Ground Within.
Record of a Spaceborn Few is the third book in her Wayfarers series, and her writing style is filled with compassion and enthusiasm for the intricate world - or in this case, galaxy - she has created.
These books are not for those who like their plots fast-paced. Indeed, for the first two-thirds of Record, there is hardly any plot at all.
I would normally count myself among those who prefer a fast pace, but for Becky Chambers I've learned to make an exception. Her books are slow, for sure, but for me, I find the worldbuilding to be incredibly detailed and endlessly fascinating, so I don't get too bored.
Such was the case - yet again - for Record. It took time for me to readjust to the pace, the terminology used in this series, but once I did, I found myself intrigued and absorbed.
Chambers uses Record to explore the concept of something with which we are all familiar: what makes us human. And here's the genius thing: she does this from the point of view of the descendants of the original humans who abandoned earth when it became uninhabitable, and built giant space ships to live in. The characters here are largely human, with a few notable exceptions which I won't spoil here.
I've read criticism that the vision of society depicted in Record is too idealistic to be believable, and I agree that argument has some merit. But for me personally, I'm willing to accept this idealised view, mostly because in the world we live in now, I like to be able to imagine a society where people work and live in harmony with one another. It's a fantasy, sure, but in my opinion we all need a little escapism from time to time.
To sum up, this book shows us Becky Chambers in peak form, and I look forward to reading the final book in the Wayfarers series, The Galaxy and the Ground Within.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Racism, Medical content, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War
There are detailed descriptions of the ritual Exodan practice of