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

I never read Becky Chambers before and to be honest, I also rarely reading pure science fiction that is not space opera or intergalactic wars. I found To Be Taught, If Fortunate in my local bookshop sale and snatch it because of the title. Color me intrigue. In the early of 2024, John Scalzi proved that science fiction can be engaging and fun which is proven by The Kaiju Preservation of Society. However, To Be Taught, If Fortunate is lean toward hard science fiction rather than pop sci-fi like the Kaiju book. Didn't mean that this novella is bad. I quite enjoy it.

My first foray into astronaut and anything space was The Martian, the movie version to be exact although I have the book and still not read it yet. If The Martian more like rock and roll, To Be Taught is like a ballad. Or a slow song, whatever I can't find the comparison, lol. To be Taught is more like travelogue or journal written by one of the crew of Merian, the spacecraft with missions to explore planets and moon in red dwarf star called Zhenyi. The technology already advanced so much, people found the way to transform their body-called somaforming- to be able to adapt into any planets or moons or asteroids that they will explore. This novella told entirely from Ariadne O'Neill's PoV, present a somehow precise but also relaxing enough to be read.

To Be Taught for me was like a non fiction disguised as a fiction. Some part can be too confusing, but I will be lying if I don't share the excitement when the crews of Merian find a new life or species in the strange planet or feel their desperation while trapped for months in their spacecraft because of unpredictable weather. Beside Ariadne, we will get known her other crews, Elena Quesada-Cruz, Jack Vo and Chikondi Daka. Quite diverse in race and also sexuality although not explicitly stated but I think Ariadne is a bi, while Elena is a lesbian, Chikondi is asexual, and Jack is het. Their interactions was one of the spotlight of this book although from all four, Jack is the less explored not like Elena and Chikondi. To Be Taught was divided into four big chapters (or parts) just like the Merian's mission. To explore the icy moon Aecor, the bountiful planet Mirabilis, the unpredictable Opera and in the end, the vast and dry Votum. While seems mundane at first, the Merian crew also find challenges in their journey and in the end, an uncertainty if they will come back to Earth after all.

The book is pretty short but also provide some meaningful commentary. The vibe is not bleak, quite optimistic to be exact. I'm intrigued by the somaforming technology, with how the body with the help of supplement patches can adapt so fast into the new environment and I wonder if there's any side effect. The somaforming was innovative and I like that Chambers choose that technology instead of terraforming because the mission of Merian is to study and explore not to colonize. Even with knowledge as their mission value, Chambers through Ariadne also questioned some of ethical moral regarding their exploration. However, I fell a little bit disappointed with the end of the novella, although maybe Chambers try to manage the real and pragmatism vibes of the story since it's a hard science fiction.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate is a slim book and under 200 pages but pack quite a punch. Despite the length, this is a book that is not easy to read and can make your mind wander because the book was pretty much in narrative and description. Just like reading a travelogue or journal written by scientist (although Ariadne is an engineer, not a scientist). A "fun" hard science fiction read with some innovative technology (somaforming), exploration into the place unknown (space, the final frontier) while also provide some meaningful commentary.

Content Warnings

latelygrace's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful reflective sad 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

3.75

Thought-provoking and rich narrative. Becky Chambers is a power house. I totally get the point of leaving it open ended. I understand the narrative function of that and the implications of the ask, but I am a sucker for a neat ending and would have loved even a little choose your own adventure moment. Still, her thorough research and ability to create something so engaging and air-tight at the same time astounds me. I love how subtlety weaves into something greater with her writing. Overall, recommend!

Content Warnings

queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.0

4 ⭐ CW: Animal death

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers is a scifi novella following four astronauts on a deep space mission. I very much enjoyed this story. It was very different from Chambers' Wayfarer series. Though still character focused, this story was more science heavy. Usually with novellas I wish we had more, but I think it served the story well to keep it short.

The book starts with a message to Earth from Ariadne, a spaceflight engineer, detailing the ship Meran's exploits to different planets and moons in deep space. This simplified summary tells us all about each of the crew members, their experiences and discoveries, and their hardships. They are on an ecological mission, doing their best not to contaminate or harm these new environments, and no intent to colonize.

I loved the idea of somaforming in this. This is the process of changing the human body to be better suited to its environment instead of terra forming and environment to fit human needs. This is a lot of emphasis on the science in science fiction in this, but I don't think it's too complicated for non-sciencey people (I am not sciencey).

Chambers always does such an excellent job of making you fall in love with the characters without having to give you an entire backstory heavy with a useless plot. Everyone is queer in one way or another. It's a very efficient story, so you don't feel like you've ended without satisfaction. Would I like to know what happens with the crew in the end? Yes, but I'm sure that would be another story.

Once again, I implore you to read anything by Becky Chambers.

Content Warnings

chellyfishing's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? No

4.25

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