In the future,instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life,explorers of the galaxy transform themselves.
At the turn of the twenty-second century,scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming,astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic biological supplementations.
They can produce antifreeze in sub-zero temperatures,absorb radiation and convert it for food,and conveniently adjust to the pull of different gravitational forces. With the fragility of the body no longer a limiting factor,human beings are at last able to explore neighbouring exoplanets long suspected to harbour life.
Ariadne is one such explorer. On a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds fifteen light-years from Earth,she and her fellow crewmates sleep while in transit,and wake each time with different features. But as they shift through both form and time,life back on Earth has also changed. Faced with the possibility of returning to a planet that has forgotten those who have left,Ariadne begins to chronicle the wonders and dangers of her journey,in the hope that someone back home might still be listening.
Publisher: Hodder & StoughtonISBN: 9781473697188Number of pages: 176Weight: 128 gDimensions: 196 x 126 x 18 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Becky Chambers takes space opera in a whole new and unexpected direction,her books bring me so much joy'- Ben Aaronovitch
'Some of the most forward-thinking,inspiring science fiction out there... a joyful antidote to crushed spirits and a celebration of the power of curiosity,love,adventure and discovery'- Claire North
'Epic in the scale of discoveries but with a miniaturist's eye for detail,and as revealing of the observers as the observed. In a word,brilliant'- Andrew Caldecott,author of Rotherweird'Extraordinary... A future sci-fi masterwork in a new and welcome tradition'- Joanne Harris
Becky Chambers
One of her generation's most innovative and original science fiction writers,American author Becky Chambers is best-known for her Wayfarer series,featuring the novels A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet,A Closed and Common Orbit,and Record of a Spaceborn Few. Published on 8 August 2019,To Be Taught,if Fortunate is Chambers first published novella outside of the Wayfarer universe.
Visit the Becky Chambers author page
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