Review – To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: September 3, 2019
ISBN-13 : 978-0062936011
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
“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 subzero 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 journey to neighboring exoplanets long known to harbor life.
A team of these explorers, Ariadne O’Neill and her three crewmates, are hard at work in a planetary system fifteen light-years from Sol, on a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds. But as Ariadne shifts through both form and time, the culture back on Earth has also been transformed. Faced with the possibility of returning to a planet that has forgotten those who have left, Ariadne begins to chronicle the story of the wonders and dangers of her mission, in the hope that someone back home might still be listening.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone novel that I borrowed from the library. I have not read any other books by this author.
Story (5/5): I absolutely loved this story. Ariadne and her three crewmates have left on a mission to survey four potentially habitable worlds. The mission is crowd-funded and Ariadne will be put in a sort of cryo sleep where they will age slower than they normally would (2yrs of aging for 20 years of travel). As Ariadne and her crewmates journey through amazing landscapes they are intermittently updated on what is happening on Earth…until they aren’t.
Characters (5/5): I loved all of the characters in here. They all have their own strengths, weaknesses, and quirks. They were incredibly stable and supportive of each other through some amazingly trying situations. They were so well done and so relatable. Ariadne herself is very intriguing, she is the pilot but also kind of acts as the emotional glue that holds the crew together.
Setting (5/5): I loved the amazing worlds that Ariadne and her crewmates journey to. The worlds are fascinating, contrasting, and just a wonder to read about. The description is well done and I wanted to continue journeying to new worlds, I was sad when it was over.
Writing Style (5/5): This packs a huge amount of story in such a slim novella. This is set up as a sort of journal written by Ariadne. Just the descriptions and adventures on these amazing worlds would have been enough of a story for me. However, the intermittent news reports from Earth add a whole new dimension to the story. The ending of this was tough for me, I both absolutely adored it and kind of hated it. This was super easy to read and hard to put down and made me want to go check out Chambers full length novels.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this. If you enjoy space travel, visiting amazing new worlds, and watching humans try to survive in demanding conditions I would recommend. This is a wonderful story full of adventure, exploration, and some discussion of the human condition as it is. I loved it and will be checking out other novels by Chambers.
