Reviews with content warning for War - To Be Taught, If Fortunate

Reviews tagging 'War'

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

25 reviews

avacadosocks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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smitha_r's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This was a really, really amazing story but I couldn't give it a higher rating because: 1) I wanted it to be longer; 2) I don't feel like I truly knew Ariadne as well as I knew the other characters, and she's the narrator/the story is in her POV, and 3) something about the vibe of this book was depressing. Especially when

the crew never heard back from Lawki 5,

that really sealed the deal on the downer mood. But MAN the scientific explanations! The creativity of the alien worlds! How they altered their bodies for each planet! Loved all of that. I still feel weirdly uneasy about how it ended which says a lot in a good way. If the feeling stays with me, that's a positive. 4.3/5 stars.

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sammy357's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-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? Yes

4.0

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the_reading_wren's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book perfectly fulfilled the form of a novella; it’s punchy and got me thinking. I also like the inclusion of the bonus content in this edition, which gives more context about Chambers’ thinking behind the book and how she was able to weave so much science so well into the story.

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messymimms's review against another edition

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adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Every time I read a Becky Chambers book (yes, the two whole times) I feel fortunate to be taught. Taught about something new, hopeful and inspiring.

The relationships between the characters of this book are not explained or displayed, but so much closeness is hinted at. You just know there’s so much behind it. Experience, love, complexity. Even if you wish you could witness it a little more.

As someone who took an astrobiology module on Coursera once (an expert), I loved the detail of this book. As always, the worldbuilding is epic yet thoughtful. The critters are excellent. Far-fetched and grounded and begging to be televised, honestly. Becky Chambers, CGI is ready for you. I’m ready.

As a bit of a philosopher (still not an expert but more so than I am in astrobiology) I loved the reflective, tender thread running through this novel. “Why are we here? What are we doing? Why are we doing it?” Ontologists, metaphysicians, epistemologists; my dudes, this one’s for you.

If anything, I wish this had been longer, I wish I was able to hear the crew’s deliberations and meander longer on these strange worlds. I wish I knew a tiny bit more of what was going on inside the characters’ heads, their history, their lives. But as Ariadne says, some things aren’t to be shared. I guess.

Still, it filled my mind with a sense of wonder. Which is one of my top one things a book can do. I guess it’s bigger on the inside.

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penofpossibilities's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed this alot and read it almost in one sitting, to me the pacing was really pleasant and I didn't feel infodumped upon despite the amount of new terms and concepts to learn. The only reason I am disappointed in the ending is that if you present a mystery to me, I am going to want it answered. Rarely does an open ending work satisfactory to me. I figured, after reading a psalm for the wild built, that Becky Chambers is more about creating a world and some characters in order to explore philosophical questions, and isn't particularly interested in developing a clear cut answer for you. That's nice and interesting, but I still wanted to know so many specifics

what happened to earth, what happened to the lawki 5,...

I don't want to criticise the book for this though - it's definately more a style/genre preference on my end than a fault of the book or the writing. I like Becky Chambers' writing a lot and will probably read her other works as well.

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marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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lonelylooper's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective fast-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

5.0

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depmythmoon's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The novella follows 4 astronauts: Ariadne (the FMC whose name I’m still unsure how to pronounce), Jack, Chikandi, & Elena. They are sent on a mission to study planets beyond Earth’s solar system. Their trip there takes them 14 years—though they have something called ‘torpor’, which is similar to cryosleep without the ice; it slows their aging so that it’ll feel more like 2 years for them. The mission they’re on will last them a total of 80 years, but they get communications from Earth to hear about what happens in their absence.

This novella isn’t like your typical story that is action-packed or full of twists and turns. It’s not meant to be that, I’m sure. Rather than tell you of some alien that challenges the crew or life or death scenarios, this novella is more of a slice-of-life for astronauts. If you’ve ever been curious about the profession and what it entails, this will be the book for you. We keep track of the discoveries the group makes and get some detailed explanations of how they have to categorize this new information. So, if you’re jumping into this novella expecting a tale of alien civilizations or conquering planets, this may not be the read for you.

I wasn’t expecting it when I started reading, so I did find myself a bit bored for the first 50 or so pages, but I did get more enjoyment from it when the main conflict is introduced. The real enjoyment came when the story was ending. This is a novella that aims to make you think, and it leaves you pondering if the pursuit of knowledge is worth it. I love when reads make me question things in real life, so I found that the ending gave me a second wind of enjoyment. This novella also touches on our, human, impact on the environment. It points out that while there are dangers to us in new environments, we also have to recognize the dangers we cause knowingly and unknowingly. I enjoyed it.

Overall, the majority of the content in this book is mundane and tame compared to other books in the sci-fi genre, but the thoughtfulness and introspection it leaves you with are worth the read, in my opinion.

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_david_'s review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book is exactly the type of story and focus I want from a sci-fi space exploration book.

The book and its descriptions of their discoveries sparked a magical feeling in me that I haven't felt since I was a child: Of looking up to the sky and wondering what's out there.

The focus is on the characters and their mindset. It shows the curiosity of scientists and how different a stressful situation can influence people. I loved the diversity of planets and what was on them. A planet doesn't have to be an oasis bursting with flora and fauna to be mesmerizing.

I loved the mindset of the crew, that they were observers, not colonizers. I wish OCA was real. I don't think there's a book with a more fitting title than this one.

The story felt a lot longer than it was, in a good way. It felt very full without feeling rushed or too fast paced. There was a moment just before the ending that I can imagine to be dull to someone without a (bio)chemistry background, but the narrator acknowledges that and it makes use of its dullness to make the ending even stronger. I really liked the ending.

The reason that I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that the characters did not all feel feel fully rounded. The quirks and parts of the personalities which were described were strong and interesting. I think what I would've liked to see was a little less predictability in the three side-characters personalities.

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