The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

A Novel

Audiobook, 336 pages

Published April 19, 2021 by HarperCollins B and Blackstone Publishing.

ISBN:
978-1-7999-5720-1
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5 stars (43 reviews)

With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop.

At the Five-Hop One-Stop, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit permits, and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through.

When a freak technological failure halts all traffic to and from Gora, three strangers—all different species with different aims—are thrown together at the Five-Hop. Grounded, with nothing to do but wait, the trio—an exiled artist with an appointment to …

5 editions

Review of 'Galaxy, and the Ground Within' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

OK, I need to be honest: this isn't really five stars, more like three point nine, but it is five stars right now, in this shitty post-Roe moment. This was exactly what I needed to read: a handful of characters, each broken in their own way but each also compassionate, kind, thoughtful, Present, aware of and listening to every other character, doing their absolute best together under tough scary conditions.

Chambers is just so fucking wonderful. Yeah, treacly at times, but I need that right now and so, probably, do you. She packs so much in this obviously-post-pandemic book: good communication, emotional intelligence, gender identity, body autonomy, bioparents vs nurture parents, cooperation in the face of uncertainty; she slams “differing opinions” when it comes to killing sentient beings, magat cultures, and closeting.

Warning: a bit tough to get into: the characters are all alien (to us) races, and it …

The last wayfarers book!

5 stars

Content warning minor ref to stuff that happens near end

Review of 'The Galaxy, and the Ground Within' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

When it came to the Wayfarers series, I used to believe A Closed and Common Orbit would never be topped for me. I'm happy to report I was very wrong. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is an absolute triumph, the ultimate torchbearer for the particular brand of optimistic, heartwarming, humanist sci-fi that Chambers has championed throughout the whole series, and a new personal favorite, without a doubt. I got more than teary eyed at multiple times throughout this book, as it weaves a tale of personal drama, all-too relatable themes of normalized oppression, cultural identity, found family... it's a doozy. It's outstanding science fiction, it's everything I could've wanted from its premise and more. I couldn't have clicked that 5 star rating any faster.

Review of 'The Galaxy, and the Ground Within' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A beautiful ending to a series I've loved


Alysa Winans’s Instagram post of her endpaper design

This is a beautiful ending to a series I’ve loved, being the 4th and final book in her Wayfarers series‚ which won Chambers the Best Series Hugo in 2019.

A handful of sapients, from a handful of species, are forced together for longer than expected. And, as a result, Becky Chambers has made me weep again with joy, several times.

This one only just fits into my self-imposed category of queer lit — while Chambers is herself queer, the characters of this novella aren’t really, beyond an adolescent of a species who don’t decide on their gender until adulthood. That said, there is discussion of gender, including non-binary and trans identities — and with a beautifully dismissive line where 2 characters (neither of which is human) are discussing the post-adolescent gender-reveal customs of a …

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