Hardcover, 359 pages
Published July 24, 2018 by Hodder & Stoughton.
Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but while this has opened doors for many, those who have not yet left for alien cities fear that their carefully cultivated way of life is under threat.
Nice to be reminded that Chambers can weave her deeply attentive human and social reflections into compelling longer form, and live up to high expectations for unconventionally but quite comfortably answering what matters in a story or a culture.
My favorite of this series
I absolutely loved the development of Exodan culture and I want to be best friends with all of the characters. A plot twist around the middle of the book shook me up a little bit in a way that other books in this series mostly haven't done, but it was so important for the rest of the storyline and the development of the other characters. Becky Chambers is one of the best authors out there, no doubt about it.
so many thought about societies, community, socialism, what is necessary for survival and how that might (or not) translate to happiness... Not the best starting point into the wayfarer's universe, though, but such a good read!
I liked it! After finishing the trilogy-so-far, I think the first book is my favorite (the second was my favorite for a lil bit, but the first one has been growing on me over time). That's not to say this one wasn't great! It's a real cool look at communities trying to preserve their identity and struggling with the loss of identity as they join a larger community. I'm actually real inspired to try and explore this kind of thing in a game project. I love a cozy lil community and the cozy lil community sized problems that come with it. Nothing is overwhelmingly a threat to their survival, but all the problems are about communication, selfhood, individuality, and meaning.
The Wayfarers series has so far been a series of home runs for me and this one is no different. A Closed and Common Orbit remains my favorite of the bunch so far, but it would be unfair to compare that novel directly to this one due to the different approach this book has regarding the multiple points of view it presents, as well as its intent. The multiple PoVs I enjoyed despite thinking some were stronger than others; but as a whole they came together nicely. The style is very slice of life, with some thematic undercurrents that are very optimistic and warm-feels-ish about the future of the human race and the search for purpose which are appreciated right now. Overall enjoyed it and can't wait for what's next in the series.
Very much not my usual speed, or what I was expecting, but the writing was good throughout. Felt more like slice-of-life bits, and a lot of interwoven elements that I'd probably have tracked better if it hadn't ended up being a migraine read. As it was, only really connected with a couple of characters.
This book is quite different from the previous two in the series. It has more emotion but less tension. It’s more like literary fiction that just happens to take place in space than science fiction. The characters are vivid and the world-building is excellent. It’s just a bit slow.
This one was much different than the first two, but also the only one that gave me actual chills -- like hairs standing up on my arms. (The Harmagian's "who should count as worthy to be part of the GC" scene.)
I love how Becky explores social topics in a sci-fi setting.
Record of a Spaceborn Few describes the lives of humans who now lived for generations as space nomads in a fleet of space ships launched after Earth stopped being liveable.
Topics that are described are:
- what is home? (Everything can be home)
- human culture as seen from an alien species
- Space nomads versus settlers
- the influence of (new) technology on culture
- technology vs. nature
This is the 3rd book from the Wayfarers series, but is the least well written. There are just too many different characters and storylines that it's hard to keep track of them and this slows the book down considerably.
First of all: Becky Chambers is evil. Don't read her books. She will craft a corner of the galaxy, fill it with complex and believable characters, pull you completely in and leave you sad and bereft once the story is over. Then the next book appears and you eagerly want to continue exploring the world you left behind, but now it's a different corner of the galaxy, and different characters. At first you trudge on, disappointed, but then you start to fall for those people and their stories, too. And then the book ends and-
"Record of a Spaceborn Few" is the third "Wayfarers" book only by name. Like "A Close and Common Orbit" it only has a very loose tie to the predecessor and the "Wayfarer" crew only appears in mentions. But that quickly becomes unimportant, as the new setting - here the human Exodus Fleet - and the …
First of all: Becky Chambers is evil. Don't read her books. She will craft a corner of the galaxy, fill it with complex and believable characters, pull you completely in and leave you sad and bereft once the story is over. Then the next book appears and you eagerly want to continue exploring the world you left behind, but now it's a different corner of the galaxy, and different characters. At first you trudge on, disappointed, but then you start to fall for those people and their stories, too. And then the book ends and-
"Record of a Spaceborn Few" is the third "Wayfarers" book only by name. Like "A Close and Common Orbit" it only has a very loose tie to the predecessor and the "Wayfarer" crew only appears in mentions. But that quickly becomes unimportant, as the new setting - here the human Exodus Fleet - and the five people showing it to us from their unique perspective build up. Other than the first two books there is no real big plot happening. There is one event that happens in the course of the first few pages that spins off the stories of the five characters who all have a different relationship to the massive Fleet, in which humanity once left Earth to find a better place to live. So if you look for a book with a thrilling story to follow or mystery to solve, this is probably not for you. It's more about how five very different persons deal with change, personal challenges and the search for a purpose. The fast pace and suspense is generated, like in the previous books, through the switching perspectives of the characters. Also it is refreshing to read a sci-fi book where humans are not the center of the universe but the strange oddballs having to fight for acceptance.
What I like about Becky Chambers books is that there is hardly any "good" and "evil" and no easy, one-fits-all solutions, but that things like friendship and respect pay off in the end. She writes books that make you feel better and at the same time sad that they end. And desperately long for more. As I said: She is evil, do not read her book.
4.0
I've enjoyed all three of Becky Chambers' books so far, though I don't love them as much as a lot of people do. Something about the way her characters talk to each other feels...didactic. Like, "Here's how people in a functional relationship talk to each other. Here's how mature human beings should communicate with each other." It's definitely not enough to keep me from enjoying the books, but it does keep me from loving them wholeheartedly as I otherwise might.
Anyway, what I appreciated most about this book was that it's an everyday life kind of book--only in space. Most scifi is all about plot; this book doesn't even have a plot. It's just snippets in the lives of various people about the Exodus Fleet that generations before left Earth. There's lots and lots of fun worldbuilding, explorations of how humans could live in space and what kind of …
4.0
I've enjoyed all three of Becky Chambers' books so far, though I don't love them as much as a lot of people do. Something about the way her characters talk to each other feels...didactic. Like, "Here's how people in a functional relationship talk to each other. Here's how mature human beings should communicate with each other." It's definitely not enough to keep me from enjoying the books, but it does keep me from loving them wholeheartedly as I otherwise might.
Anyway, what I appreciated most about this book was that it's an everyday life kind of book--only in space. Most scifi is all about plot; this book doesn't even have a plot. It's just snippets in the lives of various people about the Exodus Fleet that generations before left Earth. There's lots and lots of fun worldbuilding, explorations of how humans could live in space and what kind of systems we'd design. It's fun to just live in this world, see how it works, imagine how we might be better in the future having learned from our past.
You know when you finish a book with multiple narratives, and the last bits are all the narratives winding up in that beautiful satisfying way? The conclusion to this filled me with so much joy and tears! It's a wonderful piece of like, slice of life sci fi with beautiful cute healthy relationships, new and old, and it took a part of this universe I personally wasn't super interested in (the Exodan fleet) and made me so incredibly invested in not only the characters in the story but their whole way of life. Huge recommend.
