To be taught, if fortunate

Becky Chambers

Book - 2019

"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 su...rvey 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."--

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Subjects
Genres
Science fiction
Published
New York, NY : Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers [2019]
Language
English
Main Author
Becky Chambers (author)
Edition
First U.S. edition
Item Description
"A novella"--Cover.
Originally published in Great Britain in 2019 by Hodder & Stoughton, a Hachette UK company.
Includes a short extract from author's debut novel, 'The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.'
Physical Description
153, 11 pages ; 21 cm
ISBN
9780062936011
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

With technical prowess and outstanding visceral imagery, Chambers (the Wayfarer Series) packs an immense amount of story into a novella worthy of full-length praise. Humans have begun to perfect the process of space exploration at the turn of the 22nd century with the use of somaforming, a technology allowing astronauts to survive under any conditions in the galaxy. With human fragility no longer a concern, astronaut Ariadne O'Neill and her explorer companions are sent to four distant planets. As the voyagers traverse time and change physical forms, the Earth undergoes its own transformation, and Ariadne and her colleagues are forced to confront the possibility of returning to a planet that has forgotten them. As Ariadne chronicles her missions, her stories raise questions about the ethics of research and beg the reader to empathize with being alone. Using precise language to paint awe-inspiring pictures of the unknown, Chambers offers a troubling, beckoning glimpse into the future of humankind. Agent: Seth Fishman, Gernert Company. (Sept.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Ariadne O'Neill is a flight engineer aboard the spacecraft Meridian, part of the Lawki program, exploring four planets that are light years outside the sun's orbit. Using a long-period suspension system called topor, and a body-enhancing process called somaforming, the crew will be able make an 80-year journey and return to Earth while only aging a few years. As the group begins their exploration of the planets, alien life and fauna are discovered, documented, and sometimes destroyed. But as time-delayed reports come from Earth, the changes that Ari and the team can only bear witness to soon trigger psychological repercussions, leaving them to wonder if they will have a home, however changed, to go back to, and if anyone will remember them. VERDICT Grasping current and potential future trends and winding them into her accessible hard science plot, Hugo Award winner Chambers creates an energy of hope and determination with every word, bringing life to space travel and the wonders--and traumas--of Earth's possible future. [See Prepub Alert, 3/17/19.]--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

In this novella set in the not-too-distant future, four astronauts look for life in a galaxy that's light-years from Earth.Through somaforming, the four can alter their own biology to fit each new world so as not to alter or interfere with the world itselfa key tenet of their voyage. Their blood can produce antifreeze, their bodies absorb radiation and convert it to nutrition, and their bones can stand up to increases in gravity. The story of their visits to four unique worlds, some filled with the wonder of alien life and others filled with the horror of it, is told by engineer Ariadne O'Neill, who wrestles with the changes to her body and to her knowledge of the universe. When she and her crewmatesElena Queseda-Cruz, Jack Vo, and Chikondi Dakalose contact with Earth, they must ultimately decide whether to return home to an uncertain fate or honor their mission and continue to explore new worlds, even if nobody back home is listeningor alive. Chambers (Record of a Spaceborn Few, 2018, etc.) writes with the curiosity of a scientist laced with the wonder of a child in this compelling exploration of home, family, and what makes us human in the midst of all that isn't, but could be.An extraordinary picture of humanity among the stars. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.