The Galaxy, and the Ground Within: A Novel (Wayfarers Book 4) Kindle Edition

The final novel of Becky Chambers' beloved "Wayfarers" series is set on the planet Gora, an airless rock with no native life, no water, and minimal resources. But it's located near a gate hub allowing for fast wormhole travel between other worlds. Hence, many ships will make quick stopovers at Gora's many Space Truck Stops to fuel up, update their permits, pick up snacks and supplies, and rest up briefly from the stresses of interstellar travel.And one day, there's a technological disaster -- the cause of which is never explicitly explained -- that causes all travel to and from Gora to be canceled. If you were on the planet's surface, you can't return to space. If you were in orbit ready to land, you have to stay in orbit.Our story follows a group of aliens stranded at the Five-Hop One-Stop on the surface of Gora.Our characters include:* Ouloo, the proprietor of the Five-Hop, is a Laru, a fuzzy, long-necked, and largely boneless species. Laru rarely leave their homeworld, but Ouloo has chosen to come to this desperately useless world to run a convenience store for spacers -- and she's obsessed with making sure every customer feels right at home.* Tupo, Ouloo's child, a teenager who has not yet chosen xyr gender, and who fluctuates from being a stereotypically bored and lazy teenager and being an extremely eager-to-please teenager.* Speaker, an Akarak female. Her species lost their homeworld centuries ago. They are small, short-lived, bird-like. They are most comfortable in their zero-gravity ships and normally travel on the ground in robotic mech suits, due to their inability to breathe oxygen. Speaker is so named because her primary skill is communication, and she's deeply attached to her twin sister, Tracker, who often relies on her sister for treatment for a life-threatening condition.* Roveg, a male Quelin. His species has been previously described as a "lobster centaur," with many legs and hard, chitinous shells. On their homeworld, they are deeply xenophobic, with extremely strict rules about interacting with other races. Roveg is an exiled artist who hasn't been to his homeworld in decades. He's also trying to make an important appointment, and the longer he's stranded on Gora, the less likely he is to get to his destination on time, with potentially dire consequences.* Pei, an Aeluon cargo runner. Aeluons look similar to humans, but are covered in silvery scales which they can flash with colors to communicate with each other and display emotions. They cannot speak and have no sense of hearing, so they wear technological aids to allow them to hear and speak, since most species in the Galactic Commons communicate vocally. Pei is the lover of Ashby, the human captain of the Wayfarer from "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet," which she keeps secret from other Aeluons, since her species disapproves of sexual relationships with aliens.The plot develops from there. This isn't a highly action-oriented plot with lots of laser guns and exploding spaceships and suchlike, which is one of those things that Fake Geek Boys like to complain about when it comes to Wayfarers novels. The plot is: A group of people from very different backgrounds thrown together through circumstance must get through a crisis. And it is, in fact, a very good plot.They don't all get along together all the time. Speaker and Pei argue strongly because Speaker's people, being poverty-stricken wanderers with no representation in the Galactic Commons, often engage in piracy and theft to get what they need to survive, and Pei's people aren't at all shy about killing pirates or people they think might be pirates. Despite their disagreement, they still work together to solve problems and treat each other with respect, and they eventually part as friends.And as always with Becky Chambers' books, the characterization is truly supreme. All five of these characters have distinct personalities -- Ouloo's overriding concern for everyone around her, Tupo's high levels of teenage energy and angst, Speaker's awkwardness and forthrightness, Roveg's easy way with people coupled with the stress humming through everything he says and does, and Pei's near-military uprightness jangling against her own contrasting goals -- to keep serving the Aeluon government, or to chuck it all to live with her lover.Chambers writes with deep empathy for all her characters, giving them the voices they need and personalities that contain both human and alien elements. All of the Wayfarers books have focused on creating a vision for a diverse and compassionate science fiction universe -- very far away from the world we live in now, but still something with aspiring to and striving toward. If you love Becky Chambers' works -- and you should -- go pick this one up.

Thoughts: I loved this book just as much as the last one. Where the last book really focuses on the humans that live in the Fleet, this book is more focused on other alien races. The book is set on Gora, a dull planet that's on a major travel route. Gora is pretty much an intergalactic truck stop. In particular we are introduced Ouloo who is Laru, her and her teen child (Tupo) who run the Five-Hop One-Stop travelers rest. It's a place for travelers to park their ships, re-fuel, have a snack and stretch their legs. When disaster strikes above Gora, Ouloo's visitors are forced to interact a lot more and have a much longer stay than they were expecting.The premise is simple but this book was so rich in thoughtfulness and amazing characters. Ouloo and Tupo are fun characters all on their own. They are joined by Roveg a Quelin (who is a crustacean-like character), Speaker who is one of the Akarak (who as a species was denied entry into the GC because of their short lifespans), and Pei an Aeluon who is Ashby's (Ashby is human) love interest from the first book. Each character is dealing with their own trauma and has their very separate lifestyle but somehow they all ended up coming together and supporting each other.I absolutely love Chambers' creativity in developing these different alien species and love how she brought them together. This is such a feel good book. The different species all have their different perceptions of the other species as a whole, but of course your perception of a species is not the reality of the individuals of that species. In this book the characters are constantly surprising each other, both with their differences and similarities. They may live different lifespans and breath different types of air but they might love the same music or enjoy the same types of activities. In the end, when a child is injured it doesn't matter what species that child is, they all put aside their differences to help in the best way they each individually can.Chambers makes these species come alive and I loved all the individual characters as well. They felt so real and reading about them was completely engrossing and intriguing. I am still in awe at how Chambers can pull me completely into a story like this when there really isn't a strong plot driving anything forward. These are just aliens hanging out at a rest stop and the book was completely impossible to put down. I loved every minute of it. My only complaint is that this didn't feel like the end of the series and I feel like there must be a lot more stories that want to be told in the Wayfarers world.My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this book and really loved this series as a whole. The amazing alien races and the thoughtfulness with which they interact was fascinating. These characters are so easy to engage with and love and so fascinating to read about. If I have any complaints it is that I am super sad that this series is over and I would love to read more stories set in the Wayfarers universe. I would highly recommend this series if you are interested in the softer more introspective side of science fiction. All the Wayfarers books are thought-provoking, heart-warming and just flat out fascinating.

I hardly leave reviews for books but after finishing the series felt compelled to do it. The stories are so rich with ideas and heartfelt characters. I loved how each book was different yet had this thread binding them together in this universe.Thank you for the effort and thought into these stories, was so refreshing in this sci fi genre to really dive into the diversity and complexity of interspecies philosophy, anatomy, etc

After I read the first book in this four-volume series and started the second, I was at first disappointed that book 2 didn't involve all the same characters and setting as book 1. Well, I got over that pretty quickly because the characters and events of the second book sucked me in and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ditto for books 3 and 4. I highly recommend this series.

This whole series is amazing. I love the way this addresses relationships and the conflicts within them without a lot of drama. The deep work on understanding others and what it means to be yourself and to firm real relationships despite big differences is just fascinating. All of the characters are wonderful and this book was just so touching. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I found all the Wayfarers novels to be entertaining and interesting. Recommended.

Have you heard the words of a song or a poem and tears come to your eyes because they inspire a kindness that seems unlikely but exposes your vulnerability?I am writing this review here and they are still coming to my eyes.It's not the first book in this series that touches me like this, but after 100 pages of this fourth, I understood that it would be a masterpiece in this genre, and I started to read much more slowly, re-reading each passage twice or three times, scared to finish it.You won't find a great plot there, if that's what you're looking for. Rather an intimate description of the inner life of 4 characters, each representing one of the species of the author's universe, each deciding to open up to others.And boldly enough, no humans except a minor but helping character near the end.I came out of this book wanting to be better and more open to others.

This book was my favourite of the series. I loved the ending as much as I loved the beginnings of the series.

The entire series was a delight in the multi-sapient species sci-fi world of each species finding their common ground and celebrating their differences. The series started from a mostly human POV in the first book, and concluded with a story with almost no humans (except for an emergency visit by a human medical doctor). There were brief explorations of what would alien sapient species think of humans the same way humans would think of them. But mostly, it was about physical and cultural differences of different alien species, how to peacefully coexist and cooperate given the differences, and more importantly, how to celebrate the differences.It is heartwarming to indulge in such fantasies at current times when (real-life) humans can't accommodate other cultures of our same species.

I can't really express how beautiful I find Becky Chambers writing. It is truly a balm for the soul.Whilst an avid fantasy reader I rarely delve into scifi. Space operas, weird technology & strangealiens don't really connect with me.However the underlying essence of these books is one of both connectivity and inclusivity.Chambers has the incredible ability to explore the human condition and extrapolate this to encompass an entire universe.Her detailed observation of the personal & insular issues of a small community that are simultaneously intimate yet somehow universal are honestly astonishing.Since lockdown + covid I have found it very difficult to read. My source of joy and escapism became somehow blocked. This is the first book I have been able to read in it's entirety for a very long time. It is also probably the closest I have felt to a sense of belonging to a wider humanity in a long while.Her characters and environs are pop out of the page real. A recognition of meticulous research that clearly contributes without being obvious.Her writing somehow manages to ease my heart and I think adds beauty to the world. I am sorry this is the last in this series. I will both miss them and treasure them all the more.Summary: Worth the read.

I stayed up until 0130 reading this, because as usual with Becky Chambers the characters drew me in and got me invested in them. The characters in this bubble episode are all alien, but of course, like all fictional aliens, portray various aspects of the human experience. We haven't actually met any real aliens yet :) So the three characters stranded for a few days on a lifeless truck-stop world (and their hosts) interact in very human ways, despite the ingenious social and biological differences Chambers has invented for them. It is not a book with a lot of action; if you want bang kerpow space opera, seek elsewhere. There are no villains. It is mainly internal monologue and dialogue, and the reader wil gradually discover more about each characters' thoughts, hopes, dreams and trials. They meet, they discover something about themselves and each other, they part, each on a note of hope. Each is well-drawn and believable, the 'verse they inhabit is solidly built and the writing is sharp and intelligent. And human readers may perhaps find parallels with their own experiences ...