In the future, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the galaxy transform themselves.
At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming, astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic biological supplementations. They can produce antifreeze in sub-zero temperatures, absorb radiation and convert it for food, and conveniently adjust to the pull of different gravitational forces. With the fragility of the body no longer a limiting factor, human beings are at last able to explore neighbouring exoplanets long suspected to harbour life.
Ariadne is one such explorer. On a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds fifteen light-years from Earth, she and her fellow crewmates sleep while in transit, and wake each time with different features. But as they shift through both form and time, life back on Earth has also changed. …
In the future, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the galaxy transform themselves.
At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming, astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic biological supplementations. They can produce antifreeze in sub-zero temperatures, absorb radiation and convert it for food, and conveniently adjust to the pull of different gravitational forces. With the fragility of the body no longer a limiting factor, human beings are at last able to explore neighbouring exoplanets long suspected to harbour life.
Ariadne is one such explorer. On a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds fifteen light-years from Earth, she and her fellow crewmates sleep while in transit, and wake each time with different features. But as they shift through both form and time, life back on Earth has also changed. Faced with the possibility of returning to a planet that has forgotten those who have left, Ariadne begins to chronicle the wonders and dangers of her journey, in the hope that someone back home might still be listening.
An astronaut chronicles her mission to far-flung worlds, and desperately hopes that someone reads it.
I didn't enjoy this as much as I've relished previous chambers novels. Perhaps it was the novella format, or maybe the subject. It's still a very Chambers book, but somehow missing whatever gives me a frisson of delight every time I finish one.
Glad I read it, but unlike every other Chambers book I've read, I'll probably not reread it. 5 stars to the title however, love it and where it comes from, and that did elicit a shiver of pleasure!
Me ha gustado bastante, aunque me costó un poco entrar. Tiene ideas científicas muy chulas y originales de las que seguramente me robe algunas para mis partidas de rol, pero su punto fuerte (al igual que otras cosas que he leído de Becky Chambers) es cuando profundiza en las personas y sus relaciones. La razón por la que me costó entrar un poco es porque tarda un poco en centrarse más en la parte humana, pero por cómo está organizado el libro, tiene todo el sentido que sea así.
A short read about space exploration in search of other life forms. Some interesting thoughts about ethical science, and some imaginative world building. But overall it's a bit thin and ends in an unsatisfying way that feels a little forced.
Review of 'To Be Taught, If Fortunate' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Mmmm, I love it when you talk nerdy to me. Blend it with meaningful human connection and I’m all yours. This is the most scientifically literate work I’ve read by Chambers, and it’s exquisite. Four beautiful, complex characters (one trans, one ace!) in a loving polycule, all of them committed to an achingly lonely mission of searching for extrasolar life... and no human yet has experienced this level of commitment, in which the Earth you return to—if you return—will be unrecognizable. The emotions of leaving your home and loved ones behind could merit a book in themselves, and are not the main focus here, but Chambers does a respectable job with them.
There are big plot holes: crowdfunding six deep-space missions, uh, not likely. Onboard fuel and energy. And, four planets, with only one landing site each? That goes into “inconceivable”[1] territory. But the story wouldn’t work otherwise, and …
Mmmm, I love it when you talk nerdy to me. Blend it with meaningful human connection and I’m all yours. This is the most scientifically literate work I’ve read by Chambers, and it’s exquisite. Four beautiful, complex characters (one trans, one ace!) in a loving polycule, all of them committed to an achingly lonely mission of searching for extrasolar life... and no human yet has experienced this level of commitment, in which the Earth you return to—if you return—will be unrecognizable. The emotions of leaving your home and loved ones behind could merit a book in themselves, and are not the main focus here, but Chambers does a respectable job with them.
There are big plot holes: crowdfunding six deep-space missions, uh, not likely. Onboard fuel and energy. And, four planets, with only one landing site each? That goes into “inconceivable”[1] territory. But the story wouldn’t work otherwise, and oh, how the story works. The bioadaptation gimmick is fascinating; the exotic life forms tantalizing, the moral dilemmas heartbreaking. And, finally, this is Chambers, so her characters are on the too-good-to-be-true side (virtuous, decent, flawed but self-aware and self-correcting) and I just love that. It gives me hope for what we can be.
Review of 'To Be Taught, If Fortunate' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
TO BE TAUGHT, IF FORTUNATE presents a delightful and intimate portrait of long-term space travel with a small team of scientists who undertake this journey knowing that it means saying goodbye to everyone they knew and loved.
Ariadne has strong bonds with her other three crewmates, singly and collectively. Their personalities come through very well and her interactions with them are a delight. They're all affected differently by certain plot events, despite being generally in the same situation as each other, and by the time things get stressful I had a enough of a sense of them to resonate with their reactions. The science explanations are just a much a part of the narrative as Ariadne's conversations with her team. Everyone's enthusiasm for their work makes this a delight to read.
TO BE TAUGHT, IF FORTUNATE presents a delightful and intimate portrait of long-term space travel with a small team of scientists who undertake this journey knowing that it means saying goodbye to everyone they knew and loved.
Ariadne has strong bonds with her other three crewmates, singly and collectively. Their personalities come through very well and her interactions with them are a delight. They're all affected differently by certain plot events, despite being generally in the same situation as each other, and by the time things get stressful I had a enough of a sense of them to resonate with their reactions. The science explanations are just a much a part of the narrative as Ariadne's conversations with her team. Everyone's enthusiasm for their work makes this a delight to read.
Spannendes Worldbuilding, nicht viel Charakterentwicklung und deutlich negativer als Chamber's übliche Feel-Good-Bücher
3 stars
Ich bin wieder #AmLesen, diesmal: "To be taught if fortunate" von #BeckyChambers.
Es ist das erste Buch außerhalb der #Wayfarers-Reihe, das ich von ihr lese und ach, ich bin wieder hin und weg.
Becky Chambers' Bücher sind einfach alle queere sci-fi Feelgod-Literatur.
Die Astronaut:innen sind von quasi einer international gecrowdsourcten NASA in den Weltraum gesandt worden, damit sie Informationen sammeln können um deren selbst willen und nicht für nationalistische oder kapitalistische Konkurrenzkämpfe. Allein dise Idee und wie Chambers sie ausführt hat mich heftig gerührt. :blobmeltsoblove:
Unter den Kosmonaut:innen gibt es einen #trans* Mann und eine #ace Person. Die Hälfte der Protagonist:innen sind Frauen, so auch die Ich-Erzählerin. #Poly und #Bisexualität sind bei Chambers auch wieder und ohne irgendein Trara ganz normal.
AmLesen Update:
Hmm, hmmmm!
Definitiv ein gutes Buch, habe es gerne gelesen.
Was meine Aussage zur Sci-Fi-Feelgood-Lektüre angeht, muss ich sie für dieses Werk einschränken. Das ist mE #BeckyChambers‘ …
Ich bin wieder #AmLesen, diesmal: "To be taught if fortunate" von #BeckyChambers.
Es ist das erste Buch außerhalb der #Wayfarers-Reihe, das ich von ihr lese und ach, ich bin wieder hin und weg.
Becky Chambers' Bücher sind einfach alle queere sci-fi Feelgod-Literatur.
Die Astronaut:innen sind von quasi einer international gecrowdsourcten NASA in den Weltraum gesandt worden, damit sie Informationen sammeln können um deren selbst willen und nicht für nationalistische oder kapitalistische Konkurrenzkämpfe. Allein dise Idee und wie Chambers sie ausführt hat mich heftig gerührt. :blobmeltsoblove:
Unter den Kosmonaut:innen gibt es einen #trans* Mann und eine #ace Person. Die Hälfte der Protagonist:innen sind Frauen, so auch die Ich-Erzählerin. #Poly und #Bisexualität sind bei Chambers auch wieder und ohne irgendein Trara ganz normal.
AmLesen Update:
Hmm, hmmmm!
Definitiv ein gutes Buch, habe es gerne gelesen.
Was meine Aussage zur Sci-Fi-Feelgood-Lektüre angeht, muss ich sie für dieses Werk einschränken. Das ist mE #BeckyChambers‘ ernstestes Werk bisher und es fühlt sich in der zweiten Hälfte echt beklemmend an. Das passt zu einem „realistischer“ anmutenden Sci-Fi-Plot und es ist trotzdem schön gelöst und inspirierend... aber zu Covid-Zeiten hätte ich lieber ein bisschen mehr Fluff und Weltraumabenteuer gehabt.
Wer neu mit Chambers anfängt und lieber positive, queerpositive, working class Weltraum Abenteuer möchte, der:m würde ich definitiv empfehlen zuerst die Wayfarer-Bücher zu lesen. Also mit dem „The long way to a small, angry planet“ anzufangen.
Review of 'To Be Taught, If Fortunate' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Not a bad read. The writing was often too nebulous for me to have any concrete immersion, but I did enjoy the character moments. The notes and tone of isolation and coping with that is resonate during this pandemic we're going through.
Review of 'To Be Taught, If Fortunate' on 'GoodReads'
2 stars
There is barely a story here. The astronauts go into space and visit planet A. There they observe the planet. The narrator explains a few scientific concepts. Next they go to planet B. The same thing happens. Then they go to planet C. The same thing happens. Etc.
There is a sliver of a story between planets. It's mildly interesting, but it is really thin.
Becky Chambers does have a wonderful way with the English language, so everything flows smoothly enough, but that isn't enough to carry an entire novella.
The good news is that the gee whiz aren't we a great bunch of friends in space presentation of characters found in some of Chambers' other books isn't excessively prominent here. But... isn't that presentation why she's so popular?
Review of 'To Be Taught, If Fortunate' on 'GoodReads'
5 stars
Basically I didn't love this as much as wayfarer but it was a great speculative title and still had the warmth of Becky's other titles. I hope there are some other books released in this timeline to explore the impacts of human manipulation.
