Becky Chamber
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+
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Synopsis:
Somewhere within our crowded sky, a crew of wormhole builders hops from planet to planet, on their way to the job of a lifetime. To the galaxy at large, humanity is a minor species, and one patched-up construction vessel is a mere speck on the starchart. This is an everyday sort of ship, just trying to get from here to there.
But all voyages leave their mark, and even the most ordinary of people have stories worth telling. A young Martian woman, hoping the vastness of space will put some distance between herself and the life she‘s left behind. An alien pilot, navigating life without her own kind. A pacifist captain, awaiting the return of a loved one at war.
Set against a backdrop of curious cultures and distant worlds, this episodic tale weaves together the adventures of nine eclectic characters, each on a journey of their own.
Review:
The Cover:
I love this cover. I love it. I love it. I love it.
Purple-space-themed-gradient. Silhouette. And centred. Just speaks to my overall aesthetic. The lone girl says a lot in terms of being the one piece of a puzzle that we start on to start building a larger picture. The insignificance that we hold ourselves to but, within the much grander expanse of the universe we still have some importance.
I'm sorry if I just triggered an existential crisis. I almost went there.
The Content:
This book. This freaking book.
I have been holding off this review for about a month in order to gather actual thoughts and not focus on gushing like a maniac for the approximate of 500 words. Alas, it appears that it didn't work, and only made it worse. The more I sit on it, the more I love it. The more I think back on it, the more I feel fondness with the great desire and want to caress its cover.
If you don't like character driven Sci-fi, this really might not be the one for you. Or, it could be the book to turn you. You'll only find out if you read it. *hint hint*
I find sci-fi really hard to read. Never quite engaging with scientific and technical language.Yet, this is the book that has made me consider more about what the genre could offer, to me, as a reader. If I only took to finding more books that a just as driven by character.
It begins when Rosemary Harper arrives upon the Wayfarer to begin her new job- to work as the captain's clerk. At first, it is through the eyes of Rose that we learn how things are run and who her new co-workers are, we begin to follow this group as they live and work on the ship together.
And let me tell you.
EVERY single one of these character that Chambers has woven into her novel are just simply marvelous. Devine. Enchanting. DIVERSE!
I'm not a reader who will go out of their way to pick books that fit in support of diversity. But, when I do find a novel that incorporates this diversity, treats it with sensitivity and explores it. I will do everything in my power to scream about it from the rooftops.
THIS IS THAT BOOK.
For a book so diverse in species, ethnicity and sexuality, it's the richest story that best exhibits in full the best of humanity.
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