Record of a Spaceborn Few

by Becky Chambers

Overview

National Bestseller!

Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Series!

Brimming with Chambers' signature blend of heart-warming character relationships and dazzling adventure, Record of a Spaceborn few is the third standalone installment of the Wayfarers series, set in the sprawling universe of the Galactic Commons, and following a new motley crew on a journey to another corner corner of the cosmos—one often mentioned, but not yet explored.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062699237
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	07/24/2018
Series:	Wayfarers , #3
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	46,045
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Becky Chambers is a science fiction author based in Northern California. She is best known for her Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series, which currently includes The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit, and Record of a Spaceborn Few. Her books have also been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Locus Award, and the Women's Prize for Fiction, among others. Her most recent work is To Be Taught, If Fortunate, a standalone novella.

Becky has a background in performing arts, and grew up in a family heavily involved in space science. She spends her free time playing video and tabletop games, keeping bees, and looking through her telescope. Having hopped around the world a bit, she’s now back in her home state, where she lives with her wife. She hopes to see Earth from orbit one day.

 

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2018
Astrobiology educator Chambers continues her multi-award-nominated sf "Wayfarers" series, set in the brimming Galactic Commons, with humans wondering about their past after having found a place among the stars. With a 30,000-copy hardcover and 20,000-copy paperback first printing.

Library Journal

★ 06/18/2018
The delightful third book set in Chambers’s Galactic Commons universe (after A Close and Common Orbit) takes place in and around the Exodan Fleet, the set of generation ships in which humankind left an ecologically destroyed Earth. Following humans’ entry into the Galactic Commons, the Exodan ships were granted a star to orbit and given a lot of new alien technology. The effects of these things on the Exodan culture, which prioritizes resource conservation and does not use money, are far-reaching. A mother tries to deal with her daughter’s new fears after a horrific disaster; a young man from a planetary colony tries to emigrate to the Fleet; an alien ethnologist comes to study the Exodan ways of life. The multiple narrators and seemingly unrelated plot lines converge thematically into an intensely powerful and multifaceted meditation on time, history, change, and memory, leavened with a welcome touch of humor. The characters are distinct and lovable, each shedding light on a different facet of the Fleet. Chambers uses the interconnections inevitable in such a small society to provide moments of both horrific pain and soaring grace, and to make it clear that those things are inextricably intermingled. This is a superb work from one of the genre’s rising stars. (July)

Publishers Weekly

This is a superb work from one of the genre’s rising stars.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“I deeply appreciate Chambers’ science fiction, and I really enjoyed this novel. Quiet, kind, character-driven books are wonderfully restful. Delightfully soothing.” — Tor.com

“This series is a rare gem within the sci-fi genre [...] Chambers’ writing pulls you in, making it impossible not to imagine living in her brilliantly crafted universe.” — POMEmag

“Chambers’ books are celebrated for their warmth, compassion, and diverse characters, but it’s also worth noting that her worldbuilding is top-notch; it’s a delight to spend more time in this universe.” — B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

From the Publisher

This series is a rare gem within the sci-fi genre [...] Chambers’ writing pulls you in, making it impossible not to imagine living in her brilliantly crafted universe.

POMEmag

Chambers’ books are celebrated for their warmth, compassion, and diverse characters, but it’s also worth noting that her worldbuilding is top-notch; it’s a delight to spend more time in this universe.

B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

I deeply appreciate Chambers’ science fiction, and I really enjoyed this novel. Quiet, kind, character-driven books are wonderfully restful. Delightfully soothing.

Tor.com

Chambers’ books are celebrated for their warmth, compassion, and diverse characters, but it’s also worth noting that her worldbuilding is top-notch; it’s a delight to spend more time in this universe.

B&N Sci-Fi &Fantasy Blog