The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers (Harper Voyager)
Set on an uninhabitable planet whose only value is as a
stopover for other worlds, this story explores what happens when members of
very different species and histories are forced into community when they are
temporarily cut off from contact with the larger Galactic Commons. Three of
these strangers are guests at the overwhelmingly hospitable Five-Hop One-Stop
version of a spacer’s truck stop when a freak accident halts all traffic and
communications. At first glance, they have little in common: an exiled artist
with an urgent, perhaps redemptive appointment to keep, a cargo runner with a
military history at a personal crossroads, and a mysterious individual who
cannot leave her space suit but is doing her best to help those on the fringes.
Add to this odd grouping, their host and her teenager, furred quadrupeds that
reminded me repeatedly of space otters. Most of all, though, this book is about
how people who are initially not only diverse but at odds with one another can
bridge those differences through understanding and shared experiences to form
friendships and, ultimately, community.
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