The Galaxy, and the Ground Within: A Novel

by Becky Chambers

Overview

National Bestseller!

Return to the sprawling, Hugo Award-winning universe of the Galactic Commons to explore another corner of the cosmos—one often mentioned, but not yet explored—in this absorbing entry in the Wayfarers series, which blends heart-warming characters and imaginative adventure.

With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop.

At the Five-Hop One-Stop, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit permits, and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through.

When a freak technological failure halts all traffic to and from Gora, three strangers—all different species with different aims—are thrown together at the Five-Hop. Grounded, with nothing to do but wait, the trio—an exiled artist with an appointment to keep, a cargo runner at a personal crossroads, and a mysterious individual doing her best to help those on the fringes—are compelled to confront where they’ve been, where they might go, and what they are, or could be, to each other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062936059
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/20/2021
Series:	Wayfarers Series , #4
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	14,739
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

★ 02/01/2021

Chambers concludes her Wayfarers series (after Record of a Spaceborn Few) with this delightful, cozy novel of cross-species alien interaction. Ouloo, a furry Laru, conscientiously serves all her customers at the Five-Hop One Stop on the lifeless galactic way station of Gora while raising her moody adolescent child, Tupo. A satellite crash knocks out communication and delays departures just after three separate aliens arrive on Gora. Pei Tem, a scaled, cargo-running Aeluon, grows frustrated that she won’t make her rendezvous with her secret human lover. Roveg, an exiled arthropodlike Quelin, frets about missing a mysterious but vital appointment. And Speaker, a methane-breathing Akarak, worries about her weak-lunged twin sister, Tracker, who is still on their ship in orbit. As official statements continually push off the all-clear, the stranded group gets to know each other in fascinating, mostly congenial conversations. But things take a turn for the worse when Pei enters her once-in-a-lifetime “shimmering” stage of fertility and picks a drunken fight with Speaker—and their argument distracts everybody from noticing a crisis. There are some real moments of anxiety to keep the pages turning, but the highlights are the characters’ meaty debates and Chambers’s delightful exploration of cultural difference. Devoted fans and newcomers alike will thrill to this imaginative sci-fi confection. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

“[A] delightful, cozy novel. Devoted fans and newcomers alike will thrill with this imaginative sci-fi confection.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A story filled with heart-warming characters and intriguing connections. Chambers once again creates an epic space setting with a detailed, personal view of some of its inhabitants. Humor and heartache weave through her insightful prose and diverse characters.” — Library Journal (starred review)

"For fans of character-driven science fiction who are interested in how differences can be a source of strength, not weakness." — Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

"For fans of character-driven science fiction who are interested in how differences can be a source of strength, not weakness."

Booklist (starred review)

★ 03/01/2021

The planet Gora has no water, no breathable atmosphere, and no natural life, but its location at the hub of five other systems is ideal as a pit stop for space tourists. Many have taken advantage of this, including Ouloo, a Laru who sets up the Five-Hop One-Stop, a multispecies establishment to cater to the needs of weary travelers. When a technological error shuts down all travel in and out of Gora, Ouloo and her child end up with three strangers, all waiting for their chance to leave. As time passes and the group begins to interact, the trio have time to ponder who they are. Roveg, an exiled artist; Pei, a cargo hauler; and Speaker, a person of relatively unknown past, will find that previous decisions and future possibilities collide in conversation and reflection, revealing ignorance, anxiety, and hope. Throw in a determined hostess with a pubescent child, and you have a story filled with heart-warming characters and intriguing connections. VERDICT Chambers (To Be Taught if Fortunate) once again creates an epic space setting with a detailed, personal view of some of its inhabitants. Humor and heartache weave through her insightful prose and diverse characters.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Library Journal

The fourth installment in the Wayfarers series brings listeners on a quiet space adventure. Narrator Rachel Dulude voices the mismatched entirely nonhuman crews of several spaceships who are stranded by a telecommunications accident on a remote planet. These widely varying species of sapients learn to relate to each other in bold new ways through their shared needs. Dulude moves between the robotic tones of a mechanical talk box, the bubbly excitement of a fluffy preteen quadruped, the clipped speech of an insectoid, and more. The emphasis placed on neopronouns by the narrator feels strained at first but becomes less so in dialogue. This cast of characters will fascinate listeners as Dulude shows her sci-fi expertise. H.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2021 - AudioFile