The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

By. Becky Chambers

P. 368

Format: eArc

Rating: *****

**********************

I received an e-arc from @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

**********************

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is the fourth book in the Wayfarers series. Each book in the series is set in the same universe. While you do not follow the same characters, the books themselves have some connection linking them back to the first book. You do not have to read them in order, it is only my own sense of order that would recommend that you do so.

In this fourth book we are stuck at a fulling station on a lifeless planet Gora that exists under an environmental bubble. Three very different ships visit the station run by a Laru mother and her child who has yet to select a gender. When tragedy strikes the five individuals are stuck together unexpectedly. The next few days will change who they are as individuals and will cement a bond that will continue for the rest of their days.

The brilliance of Chamber’s writing is her ability to create characters. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is the first book in the Wayferer’s series that only has humans in the plot as an abstract concept. All the characters are nonhuman, yet we human readers can relate to them in a way that will leave us emotionally torn. Each species is different, and each person is different within their own species. All these aspects are shown through their every interaction. It leaves us, the reader, also changed on some fundamental level.

I have loved each book in the series, and I would say that this fourth book is not my favorite. The plot is almost nonexistent and it took me a bit to center myself on where I was and what was happening. However, I would also say that this is the most impactful book in the series, to date. It is the one that has stayed with me on an emotional level more then the others. So, perhaps it is my favorite after all.