Review: The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi

Published: Tor, 2018

Series: Book 2 of the Interdependency

The Book:

“The Interdependency, humanity's interstellar empire, is on the verge of collapse. The Flow, the extra-dimensional conduit that makes travel between the stars possible, is disappearing, leaving entire star systems stranded. When it goes, human civilization may go with it -- unless desperate measures can be taken.

Emperox Grayland II, the leader of the Interdependency, is ready to take those measures to help ensure the survival of billions. But nothing is ever that easy. Arrayed before her are those who believe the collapse of the Flow is a myth -- or at the very least, an opportunity that can allow them to ascend to power.

While Grayland prepares for disaster, others are preparing for a civil war, a war that will take place in the halls of power, the markets of business and the altars of worship as much as it will take place between spaceships and battlefields. The Emperox and her allies are smart and resourceful, but then so are her enemies. Nothing about this power struggle will be simple or easy... and all of humanity will be caught in its widening gyre.” ~WWEnd.com

It’s been a while since my last review. In January, I was under a lot of stress at work.  After that, well, you know. International health crises also don’t make for low stress environments.  Things are still getting worse, but I feel like I’m in a stable enough position to start this up again.  I hope these book reviews at least are fun to read for some people who are similarly holed up in their houses, waiting for safety to return.

Now, relevant to the actual topic for today’s post, I reviewed the first book of the Interdependency series here.  My general conclusion there was that it was entertaining enough, but I felt like not much happened. I continued on to the second book of the trilogy, and I can say that I do not have the same complaint this time around.

My Thoughts:

An interesting aspect of this series is it’s exploration of the inability of humanity to cope with gradual catastrophes.  Climate change is a good example: scientists agree on what is likely to happen, and that action is needed. However, many of those in power resist addressing the crisis until the impacts become blindingly obvious, at which point it’s too late.  The crisis here is the breakdown of the Flow, which will eventually isolate each of humanity’s non-self-sufficient star systems. It’s expected that the societies in these systems will collapse, and then the people will die. It was both very believable and very frustrating to see people spending precious time ignoring the crisis, opting to scheme about their profits and political ambitions instead. Perhaps ten years ago, I might have claimed they were cardboard villains.  Today, I lament that so many humans seem to be made of cardboard.

Among the viewpoint characters, I most liked Cardenia and Marce. Cardenia is pretty good at political maneuvering, which is something neither her antagonists nor I really expected. She might not have been trained to be an Emperox, but she’s risen to the occasion remarkably well. I also appreciated seeing her consideration of how a power imbalance affects the ethics of her relationships. Regarding Marce, I appreciated his non-biased approach to his work, and his ego-free willingness to change his conclusions in the face of conflicting evidence. I think this is really the ideal stance to take as a scientist--the truth is more important than any one person’s authorial pride. Nadashe and Kiva were frustrating viewpoint characters in different ways. Nadashe is a petty villain, so I think my reaction to her was as intended. Regarding Kiva, I liked her personality, but it bothered me that she didn’t seem very competent at her job.  She comes through when it matters, but her approach to her work just seems, well, sloppy.

Finally, to address my complaint from the first book, there’s a lot of plot progress in The Consuming Fire. For one thing, the collapse is really happening now.  For all that some people want to ignore it, the impacts are already beginning to be felt. The political situation is also very volatile, and it’s beginning to seem likely that there will never be a return to the status quo. Last of all, an unexpected but really fun curveball adds another dimension to the story, complete with interesting new characters and societal implications. This storyline was my favorite part of the book, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise for other readers.  I expect to talk about this more in my eventual review of The Last Emperox (coming in April)! 

My Rating: 4/5 

The Consuming Fire continues the story begun in The Collapsing Empire, and I feel like it noticeably picked up the pace.  The collapse is happening, people are fighting amongst themselves instead of addressing it, and some newly uncovered information sheds a whole new light on the entire situation.  I especially liked reading about Marce and Cardenia, a good scientist and a smart, well-intentioned leader, respectively. Marce is responsible for discovering the imminent collapse, Cardenia must somehow organize humanity to survive it.  The future is not entirely without hope, with them at the helm, and I am looking forward to seeing how the story will be resolved in The Last Emperox.

Review: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Published: Tor, 2018

Series: Book 1 of the Lady Astronaut series

Awards Nominated: Campbell Memorial Award

Awards Won: Hugo, Nebula and Locus SF Awards

The Book:

“A meteor decimates the U.S. government and paves the way for a climate cataclysm that will eventually render the earth inhospitable to humanity. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated timeline in the earth’s efforts to colonize space, as well as an unprecedented opportunity for a much larger share of humanity to take part.

One of these new entrants in the space race is Elma York, whose experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too—aside from some pesky barriers like thousands of years of history and a host of expectations about the proper place of the fairer sex. And yet, Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions may not stand a chance.” ~MaryRobinetteKowal.com

I decided to read this one because it won a Hugo Award (among other awards), but also because I’ve enjoyed Kowal’s work in the past.  Back when I was reviewing short fiction (which I will totally do again someday, just not for a while yet), I featured some of her work on this blog that was set in this universe.  In my opinion, she and Marie Brennan have a similar style, so I’d expect fans of one would like the other.

My Thoughts:

The Calculating Stars is an alternate history that imagines a very different Space Race in the 1950s.  Instead of competing for political capital, the countries of the world are pushed into space research by a climate disaster that may make the Earth uninhabitable.  The desire to colonize other planets or moons, rather than to simply plant flags, provides the motivation for men in power to seriously consider a women’s astronaut training program.  After all, a colony with no women can’t sustain itself independently of Earth. The story begins with an intense first-hand experience of the meteorite strike, and continues through the development and progress of the fledgling space program.  The latter part of the story involves much more political and social maneuvering than action. 

The person doing most of this maneuvering is the heroine, Elma York.  With the character of Elma, Kowal has embraced the familiar “you have to be twice as good to be thought half as able” adage, by which I mean to say that Elma is amazing.  She’s a brilliant mathematician, cool under pressure, and a highly skilled jet pilot. The difficulties she faces are primarily external, with the exception of a debilitating anxiety associated with public speaking.  Her anxiety makes the necessary public performances required for changing hearts and minds challenging for her, even though it doesn’t impact her capability as a scientist or astronaut. I appreciated how this part of the story showed the stigma associated with asking for help, as well as the fact that taking medication for a mental health condition does not make a person any less than they were.  Overall, I liked Elma, and I wanted for her to make her dreams come true.

In addition, I enjoyed seeing Elma’s relationships with others.  She’s a scientist and a pilot, but she is also happily married. She and her husband are a very affectionate couple, and this doesn’t impact either of them being taken seriously as a scientist. I liked seeing that their marriage is a source of strength for both of them, and not a source of stress.  Stable and supportive relationships don’t seem to be very common in fiction, so this was a nice change. Elma also counts many female pilots from diverse backgrounds among her friends, and we see through them the additional barriers that are often faced by women of color. I appreciated the way Elma’s solidarity with others demonstrated that she was part of a larger movement, and that her push to make “Lady Astronauts” a reality was not going to end with her.

My Rating: 4.5/5

The Calculating Stars is an interesting alternate history that imagines a different Space Race spurred into action by a meteorite-related climate disaster.  Within the frame of this story, we follow the exceptionally skilled and intelligent Elma York, who is determined to become an astronaut.  Elma has to fight against the conventions of the day, but her intense anxiety associated with public speaking makes this a challenge. I appreciated that Elma was able to be a scientist, a pilot, and a loving wife, and that she cultivated many friendships with other highly skilled women.  With the conclusion of this book, I feel confident that she is blazing a trail for many and not just for herself. The second half of this duology, The Fated Sky, is already out, and it is definitely on my list of books to read.

Review: The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan

The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan

Published: Tor, 2013

Series: Book 2 of the Memoirs of Lady Trent

Awards Nominated: Hugo Award for Best Series

The Book:

“Attentive readers of Lady Trent's earlier memoir, A Natural History of Dragons, are already familiar with how a bookish and determined young woman named Isabella first set out on the historic course that would one day lead her to becoming the world's premier dragon naturalist. Now, in this remarkably candid second volume, Lady Trent looks back at the next stage of her illustrious (and occasionally scandalous) career.

Three years after her fateful journeys through the forbidding mountains of Vystrana, Mrs. Camherst defies family and convention to embark on an expedition to the war-torn continent of Eriga, home of such exotic draconian species as the grass-dwelling snakes of the savannah, arboreal tree snakes, and, most elusive of all, the legendary swamp-wyrms of the tropics.

The expedition is not an easy one. Accompanied by both an old associate and a runaway heiress, Isabella must brave oppressive heat, merciless fevers, palace intrigues, gossip, and other hazards in order to satisfy her boundless fascination with all things draconian, even if it means venturing deep into the forbidden jungle known as the Green Hell... where her courage, resourcefulness, and scientific curiosity will be tested as never before.” ~WWend.com

Here continues my review of the Memoirs of Lady Trent!  I haven’t read the third book yet, but I definitely intend to finish out the series. My reading time is limited lately, so I can’t promise a when, but it will happen. Beware of allusions to a *major spoiler* from Book 1 below!

My Thoughts:

Each book in Isabella’s memoirs tells a complete story, but I would strongly advise against reading them out of order.  They occur chronologically, and I think you really need to know what the returning characters have been through. In Isabella’s case, she has now established herself in her field, and her new position affords her more social flexibility to pursue her interests than she had as a young woman or a wife.  It also gives her the freedom to take a like-minded young woman under her wing, and to give her the opportunities that Isabella didn’t have in her youth. All in all, then, while Isabella’s homeland is not less sexist in this book, the sexism is less relevant to her life. Outside of Scirland, when she is on expedition, sexism that she encounters is treated more as an annoyance than as a serious threat to her career.

The one complication of her new role in society is that she is also a mother of a very young son.  I feel like the way she engages with this responsibility is somewhat similar to what you would expect from a Victorian man whose wife died in childbirth.  She doesn’t not love her son, but she also finds his similarity to his father a source of pain rather than comfort.  There’s a lack of maternal instinct and a distance that I have rarely seen in the depiction of mother characters.  I don’t think motherhood comes naturally to everyone, so it was nice to see this in Isabella. I would say that she is not a bad mother, but the way she balances her career goals with providing for his care is definitely not the norm for women in her culture.  (As a side note, the toddler in question is in no physical danger during this part of the memoir.)

I’ve talked a lot about societal issues, so let’s get to the dragons! I don’t want to say too much, because dragon biology is one of the major sources of mystery in these books. I can say that Isabella has not learned all there is to know about all dragons from her time in Vystrana, and there are some interesting biological quirks to discover about the dragon species in Eriga.  The political machinations are a sideshow to her expedition, but they serve as one major source of tension. To get permission to enter the Green Hell, she has to make a deal that she soon realizes might not be looked kindly upon by the jungle’s inhabitants (on whom she depends for survival). Within the jungle, I enjoyed seeing Isabella’s curiosity, intelligence, and practical (but reckless) problem-solving skills come to the foreground.  I am eager to see where she will go next and what she will discover!  

My Rating: 4 /5

I liked the first book of this series, and in my opinion The Tropic of Serpents is even better. There’s still a fair amount of sexism for Isabella to deal with, but it feels like less of a major obstacle to her goals than it did in the first book.  Isabella’s difficulty with performing motherhood is another arc in the book, and I found it refreshing to read about someone to whom the role did not come naturally. On the supernatural side, the dragons remain as interesting as ever, and the Green Hell is an exciting and dangerous setting for her journey. Isabella’s curiosity and resourcefulness make her a very compelling heroine, and I’m looking forward to seeing what adventures the rest of her life will hold!

Review: A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

Published: Tor, 2013

Series: Book 1 of the Memoirs of Lady Trent

Awards Nominated: World Fantasy Award, Hugo Award for Best Series

The Book:

“You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart - no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon's presence, even for the briefest of moments - even at the risk of one's life - is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . .

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world's preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.” ~WWEnd.com

This series had been on my radar for years, and I finally decided to give it a shot after it became a Hugo finalist for best series.  This is the first (but not the last) book I’ve read by Marie Brennan.

My Thoughts:

A Natural History of Dragons is set in a fantasy world, but within a nation that is a clear analogue of Victorian England, complete with severe restrictions on the lives and interests of women.  I’m not a big fan of Victorian stories, and I often find fictional sexism exhausting to read--particularly the kind of sexism that bars women from success in a male-dominated fields (physicist here, this is not new to me).  However, this is ameliorated by the fact that the story is told by the future, highly successful naturalist Lady Trent. Thus, we know from the beginning that she eventually wins, and society does change. When we see the barriers that are placed in front of her solely because of her gender, we can at least know for sure that she is going to overcome them.

Though the setting may not have won me over, the emphasis on science certainly did.  If you’ve read some of my other reviews, you may have noticed that I love stories about fictional scientific research.  In this novel, I somewhat predictably loved Isabella’s constant drive to learn about and study dragons. The study of live dragons only got underway fairly late in the novel, but her early life also involves the investigation of small dragon-like creatures called “sparklings”, among other things.  The status of the dragon subfield felt well thought-out, with some known facts, some misconceptions, and a wide area of unknowns. This novel covers only Isabella’s first expedition, so I’m sure there’s still plenty to learn about these creatures in the rest of the series.

Since this is a fictional memoir, it also has a strong focus on the personal details of Isabella’s life.  The story begins with her childhood, and we follow her as she grows into a young woman, struggling to find a way to follow her passion for science. I thought she was an excellent heroine. I enjoyed her intelligence and curiosity, and could empathize with her (sometimes reckless) enthusiasm for her field of study.  Her narration was smooth to read, and I liked her sense of humor. In general, I would have said that the tone of the book was light, and that there was a sense that everything would come out okay in the end. However, there is at least one serious sad twist, which caught me off guard. In any case, I have enjoyed this introduction to the life of Isabella, dragon naturalist.  

  

My Rating: 3.5/5

A Natural History of Dragons kicks off a five-book fictional memoir series about the life of Isabella, who will become the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist.  This book includes her childhood through her first dragon expedition, and describes the difficulties she has in following her interest in science in a restrictive Victorian-like society.  I am not a big fan of Victorian-style fiction and the frustrating sexism that entails, but I liked Isabella and I strongly identified with her curiosity and drive. I’ve already read the second book in the series (review coming soon), and I am definitely planning to read the rest!

Review: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

Published: Hodder & Stoughton (2018)

Series: Book 3 of the Wayfarers

Awards Nominated: Nominated for the Hugo, Locus SF and Red Tentacle Awards

The Book:

“Hundreds of years ago, the last humans on Earth boarded the Exodus Fleet in search of a new home among the stars. After centuries spent wandering empty space, their descendants were eventually accepted by the well-established species that govern the Milky Way.

But that was long ago. Today, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, the birthplace of many, yet a place few outsiders have ever visited. While the Exodans take great pride in their original community and traditions, their culture has been influenced by others beyond their bulkheads. As many Exodans leave for alien cities or terrestrial colonies, those who remain are left to ponder their own lives and futures: What is the purpose of a ship that has reached its destination? Why remain in space when there are habitable worlds available to live? What is the price of sustaining their carefully balanced way of life—and is it worth saving at all?

A young apprentice, a lifelong spacer with young children, a planet-raised traveler, an alien academic, a caretaker for the dead, and an Archivist whose mission is to ensure no one’s story is forgotten, wrestle with these profound universal questions. The answers may seem small on the galactic scale, but to these individuals, it could mean everything.” ~WWEnd.com

I read this one as a part of a community read-along, for which you can see my spoiler-filled answers to the discussion questions here, here, and here.  Since I’ve posted a lot about it lately, I pushed this review to the top of my review queue.

My Thoughts:

The novels in the Wayfarers series all take place in the same universe, but the stories are only very tangentially related.  To learn about the universe, I would still recommend reading them in publication order, but it doesn’t matter as much for the plot or characters.  With regards to the plot, Chambers does not follow a traditional narrative structure in Record of a Spaceborn Few.  Instead, she tends towards a “slice-of-life” structure, which is more focused on character study through the events of daily life than in conflict or adventures.  We are following a handful of people who live in the Exodus Fleet, the group of habitable spaceships that (along with Mars) has become the homeland of humans after the death of Earth.  The story explores each of their relationship to their home, their thoughts on the meaning of their lives, and how they see a future in the Fleet or out of it.

At first, I felt like there were too many switching perspectives, and the general peacefulness of the characters’ lives made it a little difficult to keep them straight.  After getting at least a few chapters from each viewpoint, though, the different voices and themes began to take shape in my mind. It was also interesting to learn more about Fleet society, and how the necessity of harmony and balance continues to shape their culture.  Though it is an unusual science-fictional setting, the Fleet also has a lot of problems in common with small US towns. The Fleet is seen as a backwater, and there’s a drain of the younger generation to far-off universities and career opportunities. The Fleet is also seen as not having all that much to offer the wider galactic society, so there is generally not a lot of interest from outsiders.  Concerns about the long-term future and safety of the Fleet, it’s place in wider society, and the value of its culture influence the character arcs of each of the viewpoint characters.

Just as the wider societal problems have an analogue in reality, the personal troubles of each character are relatable to the lives of modern readers.  I suspect that readers will identify more strongly with different characters, depending on where they currently are in their lives. I was especially drawn to the story of Eyas, a woman with a culturally valued career in post-life care. She loved her career and her community, but also found that it was demanding and restricted how much of herself she was able to express.  Other characters included Kip (a teen who longs to run off to a university), Isabelle (an elderly woman forging ties with alien researchers), Sawyer (a planet-born young man longing for a simpler life), and Tessa (a mother who is uncertain about her family’s future in the Fleet). I enjoyed following them as they each looked for their own answers, and determined the path that their lives should take. 

My Rating: 3.5/5

Record of a Spaceborn Few is the third novel in the Wayfarers universe, though the story itself is standalone. That story takes even more of a “slice-of-life” approach than the previous books in the series, as we follow the perspectives of a handful of humans in the Exodus Fleet going about their daily lives. It’s a peaceful novel, focused on character study rather than a traditional plot.  I enjoyed learning about the culture of the Fleet, and seeing the challenges it faced as an enduring community. Despite the science-fictional setting, I feel like each of the characters represented relatable anxieties from different stages of human life. It’s an unusual novel, but one that I’m glad to have read. I’ll keep an eye out for the next Wayfarers book!

Review: Summer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher

Summer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher

Published: Sofawolf Press (2017), Red Wombat (2016)

Awards Nominated: Lodestar Award for Best YA Novel

The Book:

“When the witch Baba Yaga walks her house into the backyard, eleven-year-old Summer enters into a bargain for her heart's desire. Her search will take her to the strange, surreal world of Orcus, where birds talk, women change their shape, and frogs sometimes grow on trees. But underneath the whimsy of Orcus lies a persistent darkness, and Summer finds herself hunted by the monstrous Houndbreaker, who serves the distant, mysterious Queen-in-Chains…” ~Red Wombat

This one was free (link above) and up for the Lodestar Award, so I thought I’d give it a try.  I didn’t realize T. Kingfisher was an alternate name for Ursula Vernon until after I’d read it.  I’ve enjoyed some of her short fiction, too.

My Thoughts:

Summer in Orcus is a traditional portal fantasy with some unusual elements, targeting a middle grade to young adult audience.  I’d recommend it for people who like Catherynne Valente’s Fairyland series (and vice versa), since I feel like they both have the same kind of whimsical fantasy with more serious themes running throughout.  In this case, the real-world themes involve Summer’s relationship with her mother, who struggles with allowing her anxiety to limit her young daughter’s life.  Summer loves her mother, but also feels like maybe it would be alright if she had some adventures. Her mother’s anxiety shapes the way Summer views herself and the world around her, conflicting with her desire to explore and experience.

Summer’s ambitions in her secondary world are more modest than I expected.  She doesn’t think of herself as a girl who could save the world, but she does hope that she might save something-- in this case, a magical tree that sprouts frogs. In pursuit of this and her heart’s desire, she ends up gathering a small party of allied fantastical creatures. She wanders from odd situation to situation, and her only assurance that she’s on the right track is the occasional presence of a particular color (which reminds me of hiking trails).  Her path is not without resistance, though, and when she does meet with violence, it is abrupt and terrifying. In general, bad things in Orcus have a particular kind of weary, despairing, cynical darkness that I have not often seen in works targeting younger readers. Anyway, Summer’s journey does have an eventual destination, and I thought it wrapped up her personal arc well.

My Rating: 3.5 /5 

Summer in Orcus is a young adult/middle grade portal fantasy that I would recommend to fans of Catherynne Valente’s Fairyland series.  The fantasy land, Orcus, is full of interesting and quirky supernatural creatures and lands, and the heroine, Summer, feels authentic to me as a child protagonist. She enters Orcus with fairly modest goals, carrying with her the influences of her mother’s struggle with anxiety.  She may not be a warrior or a hero, but she has her own journey to travel, and her own heart’s desire to find. Summer’s story feels very episodic at times, but I thought it came to a good resolution in the end.

Read-Along: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, Part 3 [END]

I’ve been a little delayed, but today I have the final post for the Read-Along of Becky Chambers’s Record of a Spaceborn Few. The discussion here may include spoilers from the entire book, so be warned.  Sometime in the near future, I plan to post my usual review of the book. Overall, I felt like this was a very peaceful book, largely about good people figuring out their own lives.

Ghuh'loloan's offer of help to reach out to the galactic community in a different way speaks volumes about her thoughtfulness, and how well she's truly learned during her time on the Asteria. What do you think of her suggestions for how to help the Fleet thrive, going forward?

I’m glad that this part of the story, at least, has a relatively happy ending.  I hope that her efforts do help the fleet for the future, and that it remains viable and even grows to be able to contribute to the galactic community.  

Tessa makes her decision, after receiving an unexpected gift of her own ... What are your thoughts on her choice, and on her relationship with George now that we've seen more of him?

I think her choice makes sense, given how traumatized her daughter was by the fleet ship’s destruction.  She lives in a place where Aya can feel safe now. I was a little surprised that George decided to come with them on a permanent basis.  Before, their relationship really felt more like a friendship to me than a couple. That was both because of the distance between them, but also just because of how they interacted with one another.  It looks like that might be shifting towards a more traditional kind of couple relationship. And you never know, maybe George will be a great baker one day. In an odd coincidence, my husband is also baking a new type of bread while I’m typing this. Maybe he and George have some things in common.

Eyas and Sunny build a relationship of a different sort, first when she visits him at home and then when they come up with the outreach programme. How do you feel about this budding new relationship (yes this is a shipping question and no I'm not sorry), and would you visit somewhere like the Asteria if you knew that this help would be offered?

I think they make good friends, and they could certainly try out being something more!  I think their class will be very helpful, not just for potential immigrants but also for tourists and business travelers.  There are so many things about a community that you can’t know from the outside, and that no one would think to tell you. I think that having this kind of a program available, and advertising it, makes the Fleet look much more welcoming to everyone. I typically only travel to places where I think I will feel safe, and a program like this would certainly help to give that impression. 

Time moves on, and Kip grows up, and my heart swells. What are your final thoughts about the changes in him, both before and after returning home to the Fleet?

I knew he was a good kid!  It was nice to see how living outside the Fleet changed his perspective of it, and to see how it began to be a unique heritage that he actually wanted to share with his alien friends.  I was kind of skeptical when Isabelle said she thought Kip should be an archivist, but I think he did really grow into it.

Read-Along: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, Part 2

It’s time for the second post in the read-along of Becky Chambers’s Record of a Spaceborn Few.  This post will cover parts 2-4, so beware of spoilers up to there!  A lot happened this time, and I am now no longer expecting any kind of traditional overarching plot. This is entirely a slice-of-life story about living in the Exodan Fleet.  Now, on to the questions:

Sawyer's story comes to a rather abrupt end in these chapters... Were you surprised by his fate? And do you sympathise with his situation, or did he bring that on himself?

I did not see it coming in the slightest.  Even after the narrative said he had died, I thought maybe he was just unconscious, until Kip and his friend overheard about the disposal of his body.  He was a perspective character! They’re supposed to be safe! I feel bad for Sawyer, so yes I did sympathize with him. 

As for how he died, Oats should really have considered that Sawyer was from a planet.  He didn’t have the same kinds of instincts drilled into him as people who grew up in spaceships.  He was upset, and stressed, and I think it was reasonable that he didn’t consider the danger posed by a sealed door in vacuum.  His crew should have taken care of him, and they didn’t.

In general, though, I did see that he was headed for trouble.  The “salvage crew” he joined was really obviously shady, and he just blew past every warning.  “We like to keep our postings off the lists”, the pinhole drive, how the parameters of the job started changing once he could no longer back out.  I expected him to end up arrested, and Eyas would have to speak for him. At the very least, I’m glad she was there to identify him, and to grieve for him.    

It seems as though Tessa is considering leaving the Fleet with her family. Do you think she will? If so, do you think it's the right call for her to make?

Is she? I didn’t pick up that she was making concrete plans, but I could have missed it. I can see how the destruction of the other ship might make one reconsider life in the fleet. Other than that, the fleet seems like a good place, but I also get the sense that it won’t be around forever. 

Kip takes a big step forward in his personal growth after the smash incident, by taking to heart the feelings and the dignity of others instead of only thinking of himself. How much of this change in him do you think will stick, and what are your feelings about Ras after their 'conversation' about what to do?

I don’t think Kip is a bad kid at all, just easily swayed by people who make poor decisions. Ras is not a good friend, but it’s going to be up to Kip to realize that.  It must be frustrating for his parents to be able to see that, and also know that they can’t make Kip realize he has a bad friend. It might help that Kip is going to get Ras into major trouble about this, if he comes fully clean about the smash.  Their friendship may not survive. Regardless, I think these two incidents together might be enough to help him learn how to stand firm against peer pressure.

Isabel and Eyas have also been presented with the possibility of significant change, in their respective stories within this story. Isabel has an opportunity to open doors for the Fleet within the larger galactic community, while Eyas finds herself opening up emotionally in ways she perhaps had never done before (with Sunny, and later when she grieves for Sawyer). What further changes do you see all of this bringing for their own community on the Asteria, and for the Fleet in general?

I feel like what Eyas needs is a private life.  Part of her loneliness, and her feeling of incompleteness in her career, is simply that there is a large part of herself that has no place in her life.  If she had people to go home to, who expected “Eyas the person” and not “Eyas the caretaker”, I think that would relieve some of her dissatisfaction. I feel like that’s what she’s doing, in her kind-of-relationship with Sunny.  He is helping her by creating a place in her life where she can be herself. Maybe she’ll find a way to build that outside of a tryst club.

Isabel’s story might involve a much more dramatic change for the fleet.  I think that the interest that Ghuh’loloan’s bringing to the fleet will ultimately be a good thing.  There are issues with the fleet that need to be addressed, and it’s good that the benefactors want to meet with fleet members to find out what and how.  I hope the end result is positive!

Read-Along: Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, Part 1

It’s been a while since I’ve participated in a read-along, but now it’s time to get back into the habit!  I’ve joined a read-along of Becky Chambers’s Record of a Spaceborn Few for this November, together with Lisa of Dear Geek Place and a few others.  The schedule is as follows, in case you’d like to join in discussion in future weeks:

Week 1: Friday 8th November, discussing Prologue & Part 1

Week 2: Friday 15th November, discussing Parts 2, 3 & 4

Week 3: Friday 22nd November, discussing Parts 5, 6 & 7

I’ve read and reviewed both The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and A Closed and Common Orbit, and have been looking forward to learning about the Exodus Fleet in Record of a Spaceborn Few. Today, I’m going to answer the Week 1 discussion questions, so beware of spoilers from here on out through Part 1!  To be honest, it took me longer to get into this one, because the point-of-view kept bouncing around between unrelated (or only slightly related) characters.  I’m still enjoying it, though!

1. As with the previous Wayfarer books, this one is driven more by characters and ideas than by high-energy/high-action plot, despite that prologue. If you're new to the series, is this approach one that surprised you, and what do you think of it so far? If you have read the books before, is it something you appreciate?

It didn’t surprise me, since I’m not new to the series.  It did seem a little more meandering than I remember from previous books, though.  In the first, we had the challenging wormhole-making job, and the second had a clear character arc driving the action.  So far, in this one, we’re just following the daily life of a handful of people in the Fleet, and any kind of overarching plot has yet to emerge.  Their daily lives are interesting, I am just hoping for a little bit more to the plot.

2. Sticking with first impressions a bit longer - what do you think of Exodan life (and all that history), and of the way Becky Chambers presents it to the reader, ie. specifically through the lenses of these characters?

I like the idea of the Fleet as a kind of human homeworld. I didn’t feel like I was being info-dumped on as we learned through the eyes of various characters.  It’s a little sad that the young people see it as a dead-end place, I think, because that implies that the Fleet is in decline from which it may not ultimately recover.

3. In addition to the personal perspective on Exodan life, we do get some perspective from 'outside' sources, namely Sawyer and, to a lesser extent, Ghuh'loloan. How do you feel about their particular perspectives on the Exodan Fleet, and do you think these views in particular are important ones to share? If so, why? (Or why not?)

I think it was important to show at least one outsider view, simply so that we as the readers could get a better description of the society through their experiences. Ghuh’loloan shows that some people do care about learning about humanity, which is nice.  Sawyer… I felt kind of bad for him about that fishy pickle sandwich. He has this idealized picture of what the Fleet is, and maybe he needs to calm down for a while. I think it was nice to show the true outsider view (the alien) and the outsider-with-a-connection view (a human who has never been there before).  It’s kind of like showing, for instance, the culture of a Chinese town simultaneously through the eyes of a white American vs. an American of Chinese descent.

4. Politics, technology, gender identity... As before, this is a book that's all about relationships. How they begin, how they stand now, and how they might progress. There's a lot of today's unfurling potential in how Chambers writes her stories and builds her world(s), but notably without a lot of our conflict. Do you think this is a world we can build, or does it feel too good to be true?  

I don’t know if “too good to be true” is exactly how I’d put it.  I mean, the Earth was destroyed and our species is a minor addition to the wider galactic society.  However, I like that the people in her books, generally, are kind. I sometimes feel like there is a lack of kindness in the world today, but I don’t need that lack to be reflected in the stories I read. I hope we can build a world someday where people care about others, where “no one goes hungry, and everyone has a home”.