Review – Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers, Book 3) by Becky Chambers (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: July 24, 2018
ASIN: B072BFJCB9
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Wayfarers series
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Return to the sprawling universe of the Galactic Commons, as humans, artificial intelligence, aliens, and some beings yet undiscovered explore what it means to be a community in this exciting third adventure in the acclaimed and multi-award-nominated science fiction Wayfarers series, brimming with heartwarming characters and dazzling space adventure.
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.”
Series Info/Source: This is the third book in the Wayfarers series. I bought a copy of this as an ebook for my Kindle.
Thoughts: This book was fairly wandering plot-wise compared to the previous two books. However, I ended up completely drawn into this world and loved learning about these characters.
This book alternates between a number of different POVs. All of the characters we read about are somehow tied into the Exodus Fleet, the original human fleet that left Earth. Humans still live in the spacefaring Exodus Fleet and there has been a horrible tragedy that is affecting them all. We join the story after the tragedy and get to see how it affects these different characters and their lives.
This is a very character driven book. The plot here is thin; there is a slight mystery about the death of one character but aside from that this is a more day to day life type of story. This book looks at these individual characters’ lives and we get to watch as they weave in and out of each other. This is a fascinating world and a fascinating way of life. All of the characters we spend time with are completely engaging and utterly intriguing.
As you can tell this is more of a space opera than some action-packed sci-fi thriller. There are heavy themes around the importance of tradition but also around the acceptance of growth and change. Throughout we see the very traditional Exodans being forced to (and willing to) accept alien technology and changes in life. There are ebbs and flows in people’s lives that people need to learn to accept and move forward with. We watch young people embrace both new ways of life and learn the importance of history. We watch older Exodans decide it’s time to embrace a new way of life and leave the fleet. It is all very thought-provoking and at times emotional, but still contains a lot of humor and wit and stays intriguing.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this. It was completely not what I was expecting it to be but I was completely drawn into this world and loved being a part of these characters’ lives. Chambers continues to surprise me with her creativity, thoughtfulness, and great insight into what it means to be sentient and human (or not human). I am eager to read the final book in this series and incredibly eager to see what Chambers comes up with next.
