Record of a Spaceborn Few

I appreciated how much this book fills out the world and culture of its setting through individual characters' stories, without having to do a lot of Worldbuilding per se. I found each main character in some way relatable, and particularly enjoyed the way their initially disparate stories gradually get connected to each other. In the end I didn't find it quite as satisfying as the more tightly focussed stories of the first two books, but it's very nicely done and has a lot of very timely stuff to say about ways people care for each other or fail to, and about both emigration and immigration.

As with every book by Becky Chambers that I have read, I struggled in the beginning. The pacing is different in each of her books, the characters have loose links to past storylines at best, and I always need time to ease myself into the new perspectives that slowly develop.

But this book! Yes, it starts slow. But when the story finally takes off, when things start to converge, the payoff is well worth it.

I was smitten with the worldbuilding that was even more intricate and well thought-out than in previous books of the series. I loved the characters, the way they explore facets of the society they inhabit. And in the end, I enjoyed the way the story develops.

I also needed tissues, but that's me.