Hardcover, 160 pages
English language
Published Aug. 8, 2019 by Hodder & Stoughton.
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.
The prose in this book is so beautiful. I love this slice of life, no plot really, people being really nice to each other, exploring space with peace and environment in mind. :))
If you like Nghi Vo's novellas, it's highly likely you'd like this too!
I want so much more!
A strong novella
Becky Chambers' mom is an astrobiologist (yes, I'm jealous, too) and they worked together to imagine how spacefaring might work in this world. I love super-realistic space stories and there are so few of them, without ansibles and hyperspace drives. To Be Taught leans in to the boundaries of the speed of light. There is no going home, there is no instantaneous communication with earth, light years away. There is the claustrophobic feeling of being with the only humans who come from the same era as you, of being years away from hearing a response to your question. How do people cope with that? How does a society build up an astronaut plan and a culture to accept that? These are the fascinating questions of space travel and Chambers doesn't flinch from them.
A set of related vignettes, any one of which might have been interesting if explored further rather than dropped and completely forgotten by the next page
One of the best books I've read in a long time. I'll have to re-read this again soon. Not the ending I expected, and I loved it.
There were some interpretations of science that I thought were technically incorrect at the end, but perhaps it was written that way for dramatic effect. I'd quote here and explain, but it's my favorite part of the book, so I don't want to spoil it for anyone.
Short but sweet prequel novella set in the same universe as the Wayfarer series.
Beautiful exploratory romp, a science mission to explore extrasolar planets faces wonder and complications, a joyful pace.
I liked this well enough, but it felt a bit like I was waiting for a shoe to drop the entire time. And it did eventually drop. I don’t know if this was skillful foreshadowing, or if it was just too obvious a plot. Maybe I should mark this review as containing spoilers, even though I’m not getting into specifics.
Lovely book telling the story of 4 scientists who are missioned to catalogue life on different planets.
"At some point, you have to accept the fact that any movement creates waves, and the only other option is to lie still and learn nothing."
Contrasts interestingly with:
[b:Aurora|23197269|Aurora|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436300570l/23197269.SX50.jpg|42742263] by [a:Kim Stanley Robinson|1858|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1376955089p2/1858.jpg]
Good:
thoughtful characters with warm, caring relationships ([a:Becky Chambers|8389735|Becky Chambers|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562580587p2/8389735.jpg] writes those really well!)
creative exoplanets
creative astronaut adaptations
concise format
Bad:
I'm bored with "utopian space explorers juxtaposed with dystopian ecologically destroyed Earth" trope
* "scientific finding" at the end should have been foreshadowed
Yet another amazing work by Becky Chambers. In this she manages to get under the skin of the fascination and fear of traveling beyond the bounds of our world. And somewhere between the exhilaration of discovery and the depths of boredom, she manages to do what she does best: explore what it means to be human.
And once again so many <3
I think I'm going to re-read Wayfarers soon.
Purchasable
https://audiobookstore.com/audiobooks/to-be-taught-if-fortunate.aspx.