Book Review: ‘Record of a Spaceborn Few’ by Becky Chambers

Record of a Spaceborn Few is the third book in Becky Chambers’ futuristic The Wayfarer Series.

In my previous review for A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarer Book 2) I mentioned that I was nervous about how successful the sequels would be as each book features a different set of characters. Whereas the first two books in the series act as a duology, Spaceborn Few feels more akin to a stand-alone novel set within the same universe.

Unlike previous novels which featured a mix of alien characters, Spaceborn Few focuses almost exclusively on the human race. The novel is set on the ‘Asteria’ one of the giant homesteader ships that make up the last of the fleet which left Earth centuries prior.

As the book’s tagline says: What is the purpose of a ship that has reached its destination? This question of purpose is the key theme of the novel.

Spaceborn Few features five protagonists. We are first introduced to Tessa (the sister of Captain Ashby Santoso from Small Angry Planet) who is learning to raise a young family at the same time her job is under threat from new AI technology. Next we meet archivist Isabel. Now in her seventies, Isabel is a reflective character who wonders if old traditions will be lost due to the changing world the younger generations are growing up in. The younger Eyas loves her job as a caretaker for the dead. Her healthy view of life and death allow her to see both sides of the tradition versus change argument.

Although they face their own personal challenges, all three female protagonists spend much of the novel content at their place within the ship’s society. They are heavily contrasted by the book’s two male protagonists – Kip and Sawyer.

Of all the characters in this book, Kip felt like the most realistic and most relatable. Teenager Kip undertakes a series of job trials to find out which profession he wants to commit to as an adult. Despite pressure from his parents to make a decision, nothing appeals to him. Kip is restless and a dreamer and continually yearns for adventure and a life outside of the ship but equally he is scared to leave him family and let them down. Chambers perfectly captures the frustration and conflicting emotions that most teens ago through when they are about to set out into the adult world for the first time but are unsure about how to forge their own path – especially when they are surrounded by people who appear to have everything figured out.

Finally there is Sawyer. While the others were all born in space, Sawyer was born on a planet run by aliens and chose to emigrate to the fleet in his twenties in the hopes of finding a better quality of life on ‘Asteria’. Sawyer is quickly portrayed as a sympathetic character. He is seen as too human amongst the mixed cultures on the planet and too alien amongst the humans of the fleet. A constant outsider, all Sawyer wants is a place to belong and call home but doesn’t always know how to achieve this.

All of the characters share a desire of wanting to belong somewhere that matters to them – whether that be the ship, a family, or something they are still striving to find.

Spaceborn Few is one of the more unusual science fiction books I’ve read because its plot doesn’t rely on action and dramatic incidents to push the story forward. While there are a couple of moments of high drama, Spaceborn Few focuses on the ordinary daily lives of its characters. What could have been an uninteresting novel is brought alive by Chambers’ thought provoking and in-depth analysis of humanity and what it means to be human.

I know Record of a Spaceborn Few’s slower pace won’t appeal to everyone but for me this was the surprise of the series so far. I wasn’t expecting to love the story and the characters as much as I did. Another great book from Becky Chambers.

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