The galaxy, and the ground within

Well that was quick - three days from start to finish while on holiday! Largely nothing much happens in this book but that's kind of the point. Becky drops you in an alien place with alien people and you just enjoy being there and finding out about the world you're now sharing for a few tens of hours. Great holiday read in the best sense.

The whole book revolved about some stranded aliens trying their darnest to one up each other on being the nicest to everyone else.

I'm sorry but the well-meaning-but-over-the-top-goodness and tipping-around-on-alien-toes-gimme-a-group-hug was reaching too sleazy levels for me... I know it's some kind of utopianism hidden in here, but c'mon. I enjoyed the previous books in the series but this was definitely the most ridiculous one.

On retrouve dans ce dernier roman du cycle des Voyageurs tout ce que j'aime dans Becky Chambers : des personnages complexes, qui font attention les un·es aux autres et que se demandent comment faire société. J'ai adoré, je suis un peu frustrée que ce cycle s'arrête là.

Huis clos se déroulant sur une planète anecdotique située à un carrefour spatial, La galaxie vue du sol adapte un concept classique : réunir en même lieu une poignée de personnages très différents, hôtes ou voyageurs coincés pour une durée déterminée en raison d’événements ayant lieu en orbite. Cela donne un récit avec une dimension avant tout sociale et psychologique, avec une histoire entièrement dédiée à ses personnages et à la manière dont ils vont interagir / réagir les uns aux autres pour construire peu à peu des ponts par-delà leurs différences. Si la dynamique relationnelle qui traverse le récit est résolument constructive, portée par des figures sincères, attachantes à leur manière, le parti pris cosmopolite du récit n’occulte pas les préjugés à surmonter, et les passifs rattachés aux personnages et/ou à leurs espèces-peuples. Cela donne un roman posé, réconfortant dans la manière dont il prend soin de mettre en scène la pluralité et les dénominateurs communs qui transcendent les différences.

Une lecture qui m’a fait du bien. Je dirais même, une lecture « qui soigne » à sa façon.

Tbh I don't think this matches up to the preceding Wayfarer stories. The scenario strands a few characters in a hotel, a well worn device which you know will lead to self discovery, murder or both. I last saw it in a Maeve Binchy.

Chambers brings out some of her minor, & a couple of her least charming, species & has fun fleshing out their backstories & redeeming features. And she does deliver a good comfort read.

Btw Aeluons - they have no aural/oral sense but they have aural names for their species, planet & individuals. How does that happen? Answers on a (colour) postcard.

Like a warm hug. Sometimes it's nice to read something that isn't filled with major conflict or intrigue. This was the perfect book to read given the world right now.

It was mostly various people being nice to each other and discussing the differences between their cultures, but with enough tension and drama to avoid it being overly sweet. There were a lot of historical details hinted at, but sadly not explored. I'd have liked a little more of the Pei/Speaker conflict, but on the other hand I wouldn't have wanted more of it. More people (me included) need to be like Ouloo and be able to admit when they don't know enough about a situation to weigh in on it. The same is true of each character's handling of the others' difficulties.

The cheese bit was not good.

Whilst I preferred the more subtle treatment in To Be Taught, If Fortunate, I appreciate the exploration of gender and pronouns, but the use of “xe” and “xyr”, although perhaps necessary to get the idea across, is just as jarring as it was in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.

There's nothing groundbreaking here, but not everything needs to be.

becky chambers' books aren't particularly plot-driven, they're like 90% characters and world building. this is one of the things I like about them so much. this book is about a bunch of strangers who get stuck with each other for several days and learn a lot about each other and themselves in the process. it's very very heartwarming. i recommend it

I like Becky Chambers, and the way she portrays common people, or common aliens as people. Her characters are not defined only by their galactic race. They have their own histories, their own agencies, that may or may not be dictated by the world they come from. One of the most desirable future I've read, without being written as an utopia.

I'm a huge of fan of Becky Chamber's work, and this absolutely lives up to expectations. It's exactly what I've grown to expect and love. On one level it's got a slow and meandering pace and not a lot happens, and on another level there's so much going on. Small personal stories woven together beautifully. Characters who approach the world with love and kindness even when bad things are happening. Rich and thoughtful world building and alien cultures. This is a story about home: missing it, building it, choosing it, and not having it. I'm so sad to this series come to an end, but I'll come back to these books.

A feel good sci-fi story tailor made for 2020.

Good:
It's nice to be back in the wayfarers universe.
[a:Becky Chambers|8389735|Becky Chambers|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562580587p2/8389735.jpg] is still delightfully creative.
Captain Pei is an interesting character with real progressions thorough the story.

Bad:
Other characters feel flat and stagnant.
* A bit too positive / optimistic for my taste. Like a job candidate listing "caring too much" as their greatest weakness.

Der letzte Band der Wayfarers-Reihe. Ich bin ein bisschen sehr traurig, dass sie damit abgeschlossen ist, ich hätte gerne jedes Jahr einen weiteren Band gelesen. Inhaltlich knüpft das Buch nur insofern an die vorherigen Bände an, dass es im gleichen Universum spielt, d.h. auch die gleichen Spezies (und ein paar neue) vorkommen und ein paar kleine Verbindungen zu Charakteren aus den ersten Bänden vorkommen. Aber es ist nicht so, als würde man die Crew des ersten Bandes wiedersehen.

Es passiert nicht viel im Sinne von großen Kämpfen, politischen Scharmützeln oder Krönungen von Auserwählten Individuen. Das ist bei Chambers ja üblich, aber in diesem Buch passiert tatsächlich noch weniger. Auf Dauer wäre das langweilig, aber so gibt es der Geschichte die Möglichkeit, kleinere Konflikte näher zu betrachten und das Worldbuilding für die einzelnen Spezies zu verbessern. Riiichtig in die Tiefe geht hier nichts aber es ist wirklich einfach sehr sweet. Insbesondere die Besitzerin der Transitstation hat es mir angetan, die alles daran setzt, dass alle sich wohlfühlen, egal von welcher Spezies sie sind und welche Bedürfnisse sie haben. Fühle das sehr. Das eröffnet auch die Möglichkeit,

Wie bei jedem von Chambers Büchern finde ich es toll, dass eben keine:r richtig Oberschichtig ist, zum Adel gehört oder sonstwas. Die Charaktere sind eher working class (wenn auch in einem Falle ziemlich wohlhabend) und haben ihre eigenen Struggels. Was (auch im Sci-Fi) echt eine Wohltat ist, mal so "ganz normale" Charaktere zu haben. Ebenso wohltuend ist es, dass wieder Mal Queer- und Trans*ness (sowie Spezien, bei denen Geschlecht beim Erwachsenwerden gewählt, nicht von Körpern abgeleitet wird) ganz normal sind und nicht thematisiert werden sondern einfach existieren.

Was /eigentlich/ schön ist, aber auf die Dauer wirklich anstrengt ist das Gefühl, belittled zu werden. Chambers führ so viele diverse Charaktere ein, thematisiert Asexualität, Behinderungen, verschiedene Bedürfnisse.... aber manchmal wirkt das Buch durch die Art wie es geschieht dann doch eher wie eine Predigt. Was nervig ist, weil sie trägt ja Eulen nach Athen. Vielleicht entwickelt Chambers dafür ja noch ein Händchen und schafft es, in den nächsten Büchern etwas subtiler vorzugehen.

Ich habe mich jedenfalls gefreut noch mehr über das von ihr aufgebaute Universum zu erfahren, tiefer eintauchen zu können und mich nun auf ihre nächsten Abenteuer zu freuen. (Manche Spezies werde ich aber wirklich vermissen, insbesondere die basically poly Hühner, die mit Kindern wenig anfangen können, aber vielleicht kommen die ja in den nächsten Werken nochmal vor.)

These may be my favourite batch of Wayfarers characters yet. No one tell me Laru are not floppy alpacas! So full of kindness and warmth. Squee!

Full review:
This was so lovely. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within introduces my favourite bunch of Becky’s characters yet. If you are new to the Wayfarers series, each story is sort of standalone but set in the same universe, with some overlap of characters or events. In this case, one character is in a relationship with someone from the first book, and does mention what happens, so ideally, they should be read in order unless you only want to read one. But why would you do that?!

The Laru are long-necked hairy creatures with floppy limbs and my brain went straight to alpacas when imagining them, especially with Topu’s shaggy hair falling in xyr eyes. Young Laru don’t decide on a gender until they’re ready and Topu is a sullen adolescent who starts to take interest in their guests. Ouloo is a mother hen figure, wanting everyone’s needs to be met, making sure everyone has snacks they like and facilities that suit their species.

Stuck at the Five-Hop are three species who would usually have very little reason to mingle. This book is all about being accommodating to cultural differences, mending bridges instead of conflict and many acts of kindness. It’s warm and cozy and exactly the Wayfarers book we need right now. I found myself welling up repeatedly at the kindness of it all.

The Akarak are considered a species best avoided, small and unable to breathe oxygen they are confined to their specialised suits when planetside. They keep their distance and so does everyone else, but when we learn the reasons for this, it’s heart-breaking. Speaker lives on board her ship with her twin, Tracker. Speaker’s limbs don’t work as they should and Tracker’s lungs are damaged from illness. Together they are one, they don’t spent time apart, except for short stays at stops like the Five-Hop.

The Quelin are generally xenophobic, keeping their people away from the influence of other species. Roveg is an exile, the jewels removed from his exoskeleton mark him out as such. He is used to being looked at with disgust or shame. He’s in a hurry to be somewhere, the delays causing him anxiety, yet he still has time to share culinary delights with his fellow travellers.

Pei is a captain in the military and the Aeluon have a law against interspecies relationships. The law makes sense to her, in a way. She has a secret but she is increasingly wanting to break free from it.

Yet over the space of a few days, these five people start to share their lives and aspects of their cultures with each other. They learn to see different sides of the stories they think they know, or maybe that they can just agree to disagree. At least the snacks are good.

The first edition end-papers will make sense when you get to the end. OMG what a beautiful ending, the little epilogues packing a punch. I’m sad that this is the end for this series, there’s not been a single book I haven’t adored. To think I nearly didn’t give it a chance at the start because I thought space operas weren’t my thing! At least we have her Tor novellas to look forward to…

First posted at Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.