Even Kip, whose teenage rebellion is endearing, if a little prosaic, ends up having a satisfying ending to his through line.ĭetails about the inner workings of the fleet will be interesting for those who have read Chambers’ first two novels.
It’s a fun story line and allows Chambers to slip in a lot of details about the fleet that might otherwise have been too much of an info-dump. I also enjoyed Isabel’s interactions with a visiting alien who has come to complete an ethnology of the fleet. Eyas’ work as an undertaker (or sorts) ties her to the fleet, but she wonders how she can reach out to the living as well. Tessa is trying to decide how best to protect her family, especially since her daughter appears to still be suffering from the trauma of the Oxomoco’s destruction. Although they are dealing with different problems, their struggles felt real. I particularly enjoyed Tessa and Eyas’ perspectives. The characters are are largely relatable and sympathetic. RECORD relies on thematic cohesion between story lines, not POV character interaction. The narrative feels looser, even as the intersections in character and theme that Chambers achieves suggest careful structural planning. The characters’ lives intersect somewhat, but this is certainly not an ensemble cast (as opposed to THE LONG WAY ROUND).
The destruction of the Oxomoco forces a reckoning for the entire fleet and especially for each of Chambers’ five POV characters–Isabel, Eyas, Sawyer, Kip, Tessa–who must reexamine their relationships to the fleet.Ĭhambers structures the narrative so that each individual’s story line spins out from the inciting incident of the Oxomoco’s destruction. When disaster strikes and one of the Exodan settler ships is destroyed, tens of thousands of people die in an instant. Now the fleet circles endlessly around a small star, preserving their unique way of life. Humanity’s last hope for survival, the fleet traveled for generations before making contact with the Aeluons, an alien species that introduced them to the Galactic Commons. The Exodan Fleet is literally a relic, welded from the ruins of Earth’s cities. Like the rest of Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers Series ( Amazon), this quiet story explores what it means to be a part of a family, a crew, a community, a species–this time through the fate of the Exodan fleet. RECORD OF A SPACEBORN FEW eschews explosions in favor of internal drama. Science fiction is not known for being gentle.
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