Record of a Spaceborn Few Readalong

[Rachel (Kalanadi)]

Here's the thread for our May readalong of Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, one of our Science Fiction nominees this year.

I'm very excited to get to this one! And FYI, as far as I know, you really only need to have read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet before Spaceborn Few. Each book is relatively standalone, but reading Small Angry Planet first gives you more information on the worldbuilding.

Let's discuss! And don't forget to use spoiler tags.

[Shannon (That's So Poe)]

Oh, good to know! I just picked up the series to read for the awards, but I might read it out of order to make sure I get to Record of a Spaceborn Few in time.

[Agnes]

Thanks for the info. I guessed that might be the case, but I decided I wanted to read them in order anyway :D So I'm halfway through A Closed and Common Orbit, and loving it so far. Really looking forward to Record of a Spaceborn Few

[Jess]

I really enjoyed this one! I knew I would, though, because I adore Chambers' sci-fi - I love how quiet and thoughtful and, often, very emotional it is. I have a feeling this one's going to get my vote this year unless the other two wow me!

[Stephanie]

DNF at 100 pages. This felt like a slice of life contemporary to me with sci-fi elements thrown in. None of the various plotlines held my interest, and the perpetual viewpoint shifts felt disjointed. This is not for me.

[Lisa]

Really excited to read this, I loved the first two books. Lately I’ve read several books I had high expectations for but didn’t enjoy much, so I hope that will change now.

[Literary Multitudes]

I think I'll be reading this as an audio book next week. :)
Looking forward to the discussion!

[Kesara]

I have to say the first two books in this series weren’t really for me, but I enjoyed Record of a Spaceborn Few a lot better than I’d have expected. I really liked the world building in this one. I found the historical aspect to it fascinating. I also found myself likening these characters better than in the first two books. It was a solid four star read for me.

[Lisa]

I liked this less than the other two books in the series though I still really enjoyed it. It’s rare to see science fiction with so little ”plot” as this but it works really well. I love the world building in this series, the universe feels so real. Because there were so many characters with mostly separate stories, the story felt shorter than the others (it is, but not that much) and I might have preferred one less character to be able to spend more time with the others.

[Shelby M.]

I'm unfortunately just now getting to this one, though I anticipate that I'll love it. I've only read a few pages and I'm already reimmersed in this universe.