Book 15 is "A Close and Common Orbit" by Becky Chambers, the second Wayfarers book.
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Book 70 of 2025 is "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" by Becky Chambers, first in the Wayfarers series.
Edit: finished 16th December.
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Finished my #MurderBot read through yesterday…
Next is #Wayfarers by #BeckyChambers
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So, the second book in Becky Chambers' "Wayfarers" series, "A Closed and Common Orbit". Where the first book was a cozy space opera following a four family spaceship crew of wormhole borers, this one feels almost like a spin-off rather than a sequel. It's almost entirely set on planets, and centers on Pepper and the Lovelace reboot. The rebooted ship's AI is now embodied in a humanoid body.
(1/n)
This is illegal, and against its wishes. How Lovelace copes with this situation, how Pepper tries and fails to help, is the main story here. It's intertwined with Pepper's own, rather horrible, backstory.
to help, is the main story here. It's intertwined with Pepper's own, rather horrible, backstory.
This was very different from what I expected. And even though there are things that bug me, it was also far *better* than what I expected.
(2/n)
Lovelace's struggles with embodiment (which are very similar to Breq's in Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series) can be read as an exploration of trans experiences*: an "illegal" experience, pressure to conform to stereotypes, a profound difference between "oneself" and "one's body". I'm still not sure I like this metaphor, but it's well-excecuted, and the parallels to Pepper's own story are interesting too.
*https://rheinhessen.social/@quidcumque/115642918202467751
(3/n)
Hm. Still thinking about "A Closed and Common Orbit" and the embodiment of AI there. I *think* it's a trans metaphor of sorts, but something about it bugs me. I am not sure *what* it is that bugs me, it feels accurate enough: - a person is in a body they didn't choose. They don't like it and don't feel it's "them" in a meaningful way. - their friends tell them they just need time and will adjust eventually (1/n) #Wayfarers #Books2025
Pepper's story was the one that broke my heart (big warning if you're sensitive to violence against children here) and gripped me. What happened to her horrible; how she got out is brilliant. For me, these parts were the strongest parts of the book, both from a storytelling point of view and an atmospheric one.
So - I did like it! And it's still making me think.
(But I missed the wormholes! I like wormhole boring!)
(4/n n=4)
- there's intense pressure to conform to stereotypes, lest they are found out. If found out, they face dire consequences.
- friendships without outing themself feel dishonest, but outing themself might end the friendship
- the "parent" figures are certain they did them a favor, they did it in loving memory of someone who died
What's eventually done is something kind of resonant to the *nonbinary* trans experience, I think:
(2/n)
Hm. Still thinking about "A Closed and Common Orbit" and the embodiment of AI there. I *think* it's a trans metaphor of sorts, but something about it bugs me.
I am not sure *what* it is that bugs me, it feels accurate enough:
- a person is in a body they didn't choose. They don't like it and don't feel it's "them" in a meaningful way.
- their friends tell them they just need time and will adjust eventually
(1/n)
A third solution, something different from both the way the AI was programmed to live and the embodied way the others imagined.
Everything sounds right, doesn't it? And yet I don't like something there and can't put my finger on what it is.
(3/n, n=3)
Dr Richard Hussey
Zee
Jules