healnotslay's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
I love the cosiness of Becky Chambers books even if I only read one wayfarer book every 2 years.
The disparate storylines in this one kind of threw me a little but I think thematically similar?
Eternally hopeful as all Chambers' books are, sometimes in ways that beggar belief but I hope I'm wrong and that kindness is actually possible in our reality.
Makes me feel a bit of anticipatory grief for our planet though, like Earth is truly IT but we as a collective won't recognise it until it's beyond saving & we realise capitalism doesn't actually serve us at all.
The disparate storylines in this one kind of threw me a little but I think thematically similar?
Spoiler
I was super shocked that Sawyer died for real though I genuinely didn't realise until Kip overheard that conversation like I thought maybe he'd just opened a weird door..Eternally hopeful as all Chambers' books are, sometimes in ways that beggar belief but I hope I'm wrong and that kindness is actually possible in our reality.
Makes me feel a bit of anticipatory grief for our planet though, like Earth is truly IT but we as a collective won't recognise it until it's beyond saving & we realise capitalism doesn't actually serve us at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
claire8's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
valleyhill's review against another edition
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Drug use
Minor: Colonisation, Xenophobia, and War
dmbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
This one didn’t captivate me as much as the first two - it fell a little flat for me. I think it could be because it focused on more on plot related to separate characters, and not as much in-depth character development and found family like in the first two. I liked that there were younger and older characters though, and it was still fun and interesting with beautiful bits of writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Drug use
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
emotional
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
Moderate: Death
innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
I enjoyed this too, but found it a slower read than the previous ones. It was a bit more challenging to keep track of all the different characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Grief and Sexual content
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
deedireads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
While Record of a Spaceborn Few wasn’t my favorite Wayfarers novel (that award still goes to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet), I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Becky Chambers never fails to deliver beautiful characters going grappling with relatable challenges in a way that makes us feeeeel feel feel.
This Wayfarers book is about a cast of characters who live on the Exodus Fleet (sort of like a nation of big space stations filled with humans who had to flee Earth when it became uninhabitable), one of whom is Tessa, the sister of Ashby from Small, Angry Planet. Without giving too much away, it tells a small slice of the story of a community that’s still healing from a big, years-ago tragedy and reckoning with the momentum of cultural change. Amid all that, another, smaller-level tragedy strikes that forces them to look inward.
While the plot here isn’t the strongest (having now read all the Wayfarers and Monk & Robot books, I can see that this is where she started to shift toward interiority over plot), her characters are as beautiful as ever. I really loved the way this book examined personal and cultural grief and guilt. And of course, very few people writing today treat representation as well as she does.
A worthy continuation of the Wayfarers books for anyone who read and enjoyed the first two!
This Wayfarers book is about a cast of characters who live on the Exodus Fleet (sort of like a nation of big space stations filled with humans who had to flee Earth when it became uninhabitable), one of whom is Tessa, the sister of Ashby from Small, Angry Planet. Without giving too much away, it tells a small slice of the story of a community that’s still healing from a big, years-ago tragedy and reckoning with the momentum of cultural change. Amid all that, another, smaller-level tragedy strikes that forces them to look inward.
While the plot here isn’t the strongest (having now read all the Wayfarers and Monk & Robot books, I can see that this is where she started to shift toward interiority over plot), her characters are as beautiful as ever. I really loved the way this book examined personal and cultural grief and guilt. And of course, very few people writing today treat representation as well as she does.
A worthy continuation of the Wayfarers books for anyone who read and enjoyed the first two!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Death, and Grief
raquelboso's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
relaxing
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
shlymiller's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
shadereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Racism