Record of a Spaceborn few by Becky Chambers

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A book filled with such warmth and hope. If only humans in this day and age were as enlightened. Maybe one day.

We’re definitely not there yet.

An examination of a colony ship that originally escaped Earth when it was time for the human race to abandon their home planet. The community that evolved over the thousands of years that it had been in space before arriving at the destination solar system, have become so used to their surroundings that the thought of living on a planet is no longer desirable. The population has great reverence for the passing and recycling of life within the ship. The soil that is used to grow their food and plants is literally created from the waste of the entire community – including the people. Those that tend the gardens are held in the highest regard. It’s a true understanding of the cycle of life and the complete dependency of all living and dying creatures upon each other. Each person on the ship knows their roles and knows that their contribution allows the entire system to run.

Some individuals plan to move planetside, to learn what it’s like to live with a sky above your head. Others from the planet feel the need to join the ship colony, if they feel that they don’t fit elsewhere. Following the lives of these individuals highlights the pros and cons for each lifestyle choice, and ultimately how either method can be the right way forwards. It only depends on the commitment of each person – or alien (and in a new solar system, it’s the humans that are the aliens of course).

“From the ground, we stand. From our ship, we live. By the stars, we hope.”


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