Rating: ★★★★★
For this review I just couldn't help myself and I had to fangirl over it, so there will be SPOILERS, highlighted in yellow if you'd like to skip over them.
Did I ever think I could ship a human and a reptilian? Did I ever believe I would mourn the death of someone who is not even technically alive because they're an AI? Did I ever think I would care so much about a bunch of space hippies waddling around in space? The answer is no, I did not previously believe I would feel these things but I DO I SO DO.
I am not usually into character-driven novels, especially of the science fiction variety. I like strong characters, but I prefer a fast-paced plot to match. This book essentially has zero plot. Okay, yes, things happen, things get dramatic, there's definitely a climactic moment, but there's not really a plot direction, we just get to read about a bunch of things these wayfarers go through. And it's awesome. I love all these characters so much.
Rosemary
Enter Rosemary Harper, the Wayfarer's newest addition to the crew: the human clerk. One thing I love about this book is how fantastically it does 3rd person omniscient POV. I've read a lot of bad science fiction/fantasy in that category, and this one gives just the perfect amount of information from each character. That being said, I suppose you could say Rosemary is the "protagonist" since the story starts with her being hired onto the ship, but the POV is really shared among the crew. Rosemary is the least interesting character in my opinion. The skeletons in her closet that we find out later in the book are rather cliche in my opinion, but I do think we see a lot of development in her from being the scared new girl on the ship to becoming a BA girl who takes on the ship's captain.
Ashby
I feel like human (Exodan) Captain Ashby is like a turtle - he has a hard shell but is all squishy on the inside. Is that weird? Ashby really comes off as distant in the beginning of the novel, but I love seeing him open up, whether it comes to his relationship with Pei (side note: Pei's species - Aeluon - is really interesting and I hope we get more of them in the next book), his respect for Ohan, or treating and referring to Lovey as a human just like the rest of the crew. I strive to have his style of leadership - a perfect mix between practical intelligence and compassion. Love his pacifism as a captain. Also, shoutout for him being so aware of respecting his diverse crew and chastising people (ahem, Corbin) when they don't do the same.
Sissix
I liked Sissix from the moment she ran into Rosemary and Corbin, and extended a kind hand to Rosemary. Sissix is the Aandrisk (a sapient species of bipedal reptilian people) pilot of the Wayfarer. This might be due to the fact that I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator does an excellent job of having different voices for all the characters, and I especially liked Sissix's voice. But still, I love how kind Sissix is at the same time that she struggles to completely understand humans and their traditions. Also, I just need to say that Becky Chambers's world building is fantastic. I am so drawn into all the different species and planets, and I think that learning about Sissix's Aandrisk life and family really highlight this strength in the novel. I was honestly so surprised by the Sissix-Rosemary relationship but also I am SO HERE FOR IT and I ship it so hard.
Kizzy
Kizzy is possibly my favorite character. It's so hard to choose! Kizzy is an extremely exuberant human mechanical tech, and her love of both science and snacks are very relatable to me. She just has so much personality, and she's so enthused, and for a second you're tempted to believe that's all there is to her character. But then! She opens up and breaks down and comes out of crises with so much energy. And she's so selfless! I honestly think she would just throw herself off the Wayfarer and into space for any one of her crewmates, especially Jenks. I love the Kizzy-Jenks friendship, and the "you're my brother" bit killed my already dying heart. All in all, I think Kizzy might be the most layered character, and she's also the most fun to read. Also shoutout to Kizzy for having cool gay parents, I love it.
Jenks
HE'S JUST A SWEET LITTLE BABY WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO HIM BECKY WHYYYYYY. Jenks, the ship's human computer tech, comes off as very simple, but I understand why he's so easy to get along with and why he and Kizzy are best friends. Yes, he cares about his crew and all that jazz, but LOVEY OH GOD. Even more than Rosemary/Sissix (Rossix? Sismary?), I shipped Jenks and Lovey so hard. And like, how? I would never thought myself capable of getting that into a human/AI love story, but the author made it happen. And it was so good. Disclaimer: I'm a big sucker for star-crossed lovers, and this was just so tragically beautiful. I also just really love the bits about Jenks's mom and how her choices, which are relatively normal in our society, were seen as super radical. And the bits about Jenks's height insecurities, I can relate.
Lovey
I knew she was special from the first time she and Rosemary met. She was clearly more capable of sapient emotion that we would assume from an AI. And there's not much I can say without spoilers, but I think it's amazing how Lovey went through so much character development when she's not even technically a person, yet it was still done in a believable way.
Corbin
(I have so many good things to say about this book clearly) Another thing I really loved is that even when you start out disliking a character to the point where you think they cannot be redeemed, they switch it up on you in a way that's still plausible. The Wayfarer's algaeist, Corbin, is mean and nasty and prejudiced and rude and antisocial and just not a fun person. He discriminates against Sissix to her face because of her background multiple times, and it actually creates a major conflict. But Corbin's character development is so good. From the way he is forced to reconcile with Sissix, to the speech he gives before he saves Ohan (against his wishes), you can tell that even though he has a mean-spirited personality, he still does care for the crew.
Ohan
This was one character I did not expect to see so much development from. Ohan, the Wayfarer's sianat pair navigator/s, are reclusive and completely indispensable. They are introduced as a species that doesn't really understand or spend time with the other crewmates, but have processing centers in their brain that allow them to do calculations necessary for navigating that human brains can't even comprehend. Essentially, Ohan's job could never be turned over to AI's because the humans who make the AI's can't even comprehend what Ohan does. Anyway, it turns out that being part of a sianat pair is the result of a disease that is killing Ohan. Ohan's outburst about Ashby talking to the independent sianats really surprised me because I saw them as so stoic. The crew debate fiercely about whether to force the treatment on Ohan so that they can live - as two separate beings, both different from the original Ohan - or to respect his wishes to not go through the treatment. The crew mostly agreed that they should force the treatment on Ohan, and I totally disagree. I've never been in this kind of situation, but considering the treatment would literally split Ohan into two and get rid of the Ohan that they all knew, I don't think his refusal is that radical. I was especially surprised to find Sissix on the other side of the argument, and I was a little put off by how she was like "yeah I know they prefer to go by gender neutral pronouns but I'm going to call them a him instead because I'm angry that he's dying and doesn't want to be saved and I believe he's a he so I no longer respect his pronoun choices or his right to refuse a treatment that would literally wipe his consciousness". If it had to end the way it did, I was glad that it was Corbin who redeemed himself with administering the treatment. Even though I personally thought that they should've left Ohan to his wishes, I liked what they did with Corbin and him. Also, after all of that I still thought Ohan was kind of distant, and then he asks to stay on the ship... MY HEART.
Dr. Chef
He's just a big teddy bear! Dr. Chef, the Grum doctor and chef of the ship, is basically everyone's mom. He makes the meals and gives wise advice to all the Wayfarers. He's not super involved in the plot, like he doesn't get his own spotlight moment like most of the other characters do, but he's still so memorable. The Grum is another species I'm interested in learning more about, especially after Dr. Chef confides in Rosemary about how violence tore his species apart so there's only ~200 left in the universe. There's some aspect of Dr. Chef's personality that brings a different tone to the team as a whole. He just makes me happy. I also liked the narrator's voice for this one.
So, in conclusion. I love this. I'll be recovering forever and picking up the sequel ASAP. That is all, props to you if you made it all the way through this review. P.S. If you didn't read all the way through, I do recommend the audiobook.
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