eBook, 518 pages
English language
Published Aug. 6, 2015 by Hodder & Stoughton.
Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.
Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the …
Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.
Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.
I'm in love with the wayfarer series from Becky Chambers. Diversity of characters and stories. Cozy sci-fi. LGBTQIA+++.
I'm in love with the wayfarer series from Becky Chambers. Diversity of characters and stories. Cozy sci-fi. LGBTQIA+++.
Cozy sci-fi with a whole lotta heart.
I want to just start that I genuinely enjoyed this book more than I was expecting. I've found myself quite disappointed by sci-fi as of late because so much of it feels... the same, even when it's recommended for being 'more queer' or 'more feminist' or something. It still follows the same patterns, same narrative beats, same... failure to even imagine something different or new.
It's also been quite tiring reading a lot of sci-fi that focuses on perpetual conflicts. And while this book includes a conflict of sorts, it does not focus purely on the conflict itself. Instead, it focuses on the relationships between all of the characters. It looks at how things impact them, how they feel about each other, how they get to know each other... It actually gives a very necessary look at people within sci-fi, which I think more stories are in need of.
…I want to just start that I genuinely enjoyed this book more than I was expecting. I've found myself quite disappointed by sci-fi as of late because so much of it feels... the same, even when it's recommended for being 'more queer' or 'more feminist' or something. It still follows the same patterns, same narrative beats, same... failure to even imagine something different or new.
It's also been quite tiring reading a lot of sci-fi that focuses on perpetual conflicts. And while this book includes a conflict of sorts, it does not focus purely on the conflict itself. Instead, it focuses on the relationships between all of the characters. It looks at how things impact them, how they feel about each other, how they get to know each other... It actually gives a very necessary look at people within sci-fi, which I think more stories are in need of.
There are areas that I feel disappointed with, and it's largely because they felt glossed over. There's a whole thing between Ohan and Corbin, and their later interactions or the development of their relationship is never explored in the resolution. It's annoying because everything else is so beautifully done, but I feel like this one should've been handled much better considering the whole story around at least one of them. (And also, it leaves Corbin feeling really on the outskirts of the whole ship's crew.)
A lovable and diverse spaceship crew on an adventure. What's not to like. The main plot almost fades into the background because there's a lot of focus on the different characters of the crew, their lives, emotions and character development throughout the book.
I'm looking forward to reading the other books from this series.
A lovable and diverse spaceship crew on an adventure. What's not to like. The main plot almost fades into the background because there's a lot of focus on the different characters of the crew, their lives, emotions and character development throughout the book.
I'm looking forward to reading the other books from this series.
Man ļoti patika. Sci fi, bet ar domu un saturu. Tēli ar savam problēmām un tā.
This book isn't about any grand adventure in space, instead it's more about a slice of life for one small ship, it's crew and their personal struggles. The aliens are of the plain space opera kind, they walk upright in some way or another like any regular biped (with an extra tentacle or three) and they behave like anyone else would.
But what really shines here are the characters and how they struggle with, almost, normal problems and how it affects them and the rest of the crew in the long run. Less opera and more drama I guess? But in a good way. I was a bit suprised how much I liked this book.
There's also some small hints and inspirations from a certain space shenaningans... medium, I think, which I've enjoyed before :)
This book isn't about any grand adventure in space, instead it's more about a slice of life for one small ship, it's crew and their personal struggles. The aliens are of the plain space opera kind, they walk upright in some way or another like any regular biped (with an extra tentacle or three) and they behave like anyone else would.
But what really shines here are the characters and how they struggle with, almost, normal problems and how it affects them and the rest of the crew in the long run. Less opera and more drama I guess? But in a good way. I was a bit suprised how much I liked this book.
There's also some small hints and inspirations from a certain space shenaningans... medium, I think, which I've enjoyed before :)
Sometimes you read something that asks the very questions that are your own burning questions, your own personal project. It was so cool to have that experience reading this.
This book is about a crew of diverse backgrounds romps through space. It's all about forging friendships with the other--people of other cultures, religions, species, and even alternate life-forms. There is tension, but it is more often in the form of interpersonal drama rather than thrilling life-threatening conditions, although there are a few of those. If you're looking for combat in your sci-fi, you will find none of that here. This is not your action-packed shoot-em-up in space. Rather, this is something rarely seen in science fiction: a really close look at relational dynamics.
But most importantly to me, this book asks questions like: could an AI become a human? Become loved? What if people figured out a way to transfer …
Sometimes you read something that asks the very questions that are your own burning questions, your own personal project. It was so cool to have that experience reading this.
This book is about a crew of diverse backgrounds romps through space. It's all about forging friendships with the other--people of other cultures, religions, species, and even alternate life-forms. There is tension, but it is more often in the form of interpersonal drama rather than thrilling life-threatening conditions, although there are a few of those. If you're looking for combat in your sci-fi, you will find none of that here. This is not your action-packed shoot-em-up in space. Rather, this is something rarely seen in science fiction: a really close look at relational dynamics.
But most importantly to me, this book asks questions like: could an AI become a human? Become loved? What if people figured out a way to transfer AIs that were previously body-less to physical bodies? Should they get rights? It also asks a lot of questions about what social norms are "normal," and imagines a variety of other species in the galaxy that are reptilian, amphibian, chittinous, or even something without any analog on earth at all, and imagines how they might see the world through different eyes. These are all really great ways of challenging current societal norms around personal space, sex, relationships, how we do community, boundaries, and so much more.
I'm so thankful that Becky Chambers wrote this book, and look forward to reading more.
I really needed a fun little sci-fi road trip story, and this delivered quite well! The characters are all quite likable, and the world building with such a diverse array of alien species made for a lot of fun scenarios.
There is a romance later on that comes seemingly out of nowhere, and I wasn’t a big fan of how Ohan’s they/them pronouns are treated as a symptom of a disease. It kind of nearly crosses the border into demonizing plurality, but I know for sure that wasn’t the author’s intention.
La fresque en 4 tomes des Voyageurs explore les liens que les personnages issus de diverses planètes tissent entre eux. Au-delà des disparités physiques, ce sont de nouvelles façons de se définir et de relationner qu'il va falloir apprivoiser. L'espace d'un an est le premier tome de la série. Passée la phase d'appropriation de l'univers, il manque parfois un peu de rythme mais accrochez-vous car le deuxième est vraiment génial.
La fresque en 4 tomes des Voyageurs explore les liens que les personnages issus de diverses planètes tissent entre eux. Au-delà des disparités physiques, ce sont de nouvelles façons de se définir et de relationner qu'il va falloir apprivoiser. L'espace d'un an est le premier tome de la série. Passée la phase d'appropriation de l'univers, il manque parfois un peu de rythme mais accrochez-vous car le deuxième est vraiment génial.
Bien heureuse de ne pas avoir lu la 4ème de couverture avant de terminer, elle raconte presque toute l’histoire !!
C’est assez rare les livres de SF et les spaces opera où l’on est agréablement confuse presque tout le long de l’histoire sur l’apparence, origine, us et coutumes des différentes espèces (au point que je me disais qu’il y avait un tome à lire avant celui-ci).
The plot wasn’t the most engaging, but I love how this is written. Very excited to get into sci-fi more!
Esta novela es un ejemplo canónico de cuál es la verdadera función de la ciencia ficción, que no es otra que analizar los problemas de nuestro tiempo a base de plantear futuros más o menos factibles. En el mejor estilo de la CiFi optimista de #StarTrek la novela es una historia coral en la que la ambientación es poco más que un McGuffin para centrarse en su motor principal que es reflejar la convivencia entre individuos con grandes diferencias socioculturales. Imposible no sacar paralelismos con la época que nos ha tocado vivir. Una gran lectura que he disfrutado muchísimo.
Science fiction i toppklass. Spännande, rolig (inklusive några skratt när jag läste), najs fantasi, karaktärer som är komplexa och intressanta. Redan 125 sidor in i uppföljaren.
J’ai entendu parler de ce livre grâce au podcast Les couilles sur la table où il a été recommandé comme alternatif à la science-fiction classique masculine avec beaucoup d’armes et de guerres dans l’espace. À la place, cette histoire se concentre beaucoup plus sur les personnages et leurs interactions entre eux. Je suis complètement d’accord avec cette analyse, et j’ai adoré tous les personnages. J’ai eu l’impression de passer un bon moment avec des potes en lisant le livre. Tout le monde a une histoire et une personnalité bien distinctes. J’ai aussi apprécié que l’autrice a réussi à créer des personnalités pour les personnages non-humains et elle a pu éviter le raccourci qui se trouve dans beaucoup de science-fiction que tous les êtres d’une même espèce non-humaine aient les mêmes caractéristiques et ne soient pas vus comme des individus. Le livre parle avec douceur des sujets comme la diversité et …
J’ai entendu parler de ce livre grâce au podcast Les couilles sur la table où il a été recommandé comme alternatif à la science-fiction classique masculine avec beaucoup d’armes et de guerres dans l’espace. À la place, cette histoire se concentre beaucoup plus sur les personnages et leurs interactions entre eux. Je suis complètement d’accord avec cette analyse, et j’ai adoré tous les personnages. J’ai eu l’impression de passer un bon moment avec des potes en lisant le livre. Tout le monde a une histoire et une personnalité bien distinctes. J’ai aussi apprécié que l’autrice a réussi à créer des personnalités pour les personnages non-humains et elle a pu éviter le raccourci qui se trouve dans beaucoup de science-fiction que tous les êtres d’une même espèce non-humaine aient les mêmes caractéristiques et ne soient pas vus comme des individus. Le livre parle avec douceur des sujets comme la diversité et la compréhension entre les gens. Mais il s’agit non seulement des différences entre les espèces fictives mais aussi des différences causées par de vrais handicaps. Il peut même y avoir de la neurodiversité entres les individus d’une espèce non-humaine par exemple.
J’ai l’impression que le livre a été écrit comme une série de télévision. Les chapitres sont comme des épisodes de la série avec des histoires séparées qui n’ont pas toujours un grand rapport avec l’histoire centrale du roman.
La description sur le dos du livre fait croire que Rosemary est la protagoniste et que l’histoire va se dérouler autour d’elle. Mais finalement elle n’est pas plus importante que les autres membres de l’équipage et la narration change souvent de point de vue pour se concentrer sur un autre personnage, ce qui donne encore plus l’impression de regarder un soap.
Bien que la description du livre dise que l’histoire évite les guerres de la science-fiction classique, il y en a quand même dans l’univers du livre ainsi que des politiques intergalactiques. On pourrait bien se croire dans l’univers de Star Wars. La différence principale est juste que tout ça est à l’arrière-plan de l’histoire et on le voit du point de vue des gens ordinaires qui ne sont pas des héros et qui ne peuvent pas beaucoup l’influencer.
Du coup, je recommande fortement le livre.
This is a lovely book. Well written and lovely characters. I want this future to happen. So real and optimistic!
