The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is a great way to close out this part of Chambers’s writing life. It all builds up to one moment that happens organically, but still made me gasp and read even faster so that I could know the outcome – which was surprising to me because of how comforting I find this series because those moments were the opposite of comfortable. Short, non-spoiler version: the story is both very tense at times and also very chill. These five beings (Tupo, Ouloo’s child, also turns up) are forced to interact while they wait and, well, spoilers. All goes as anticipated until a cascading technological failure takes out the satellite grid that transport and communications rely on. Three of the GC’s non-human residents are passing the time between wormholes at Ouloo the Laru’s Five-Hop One-Stop, where they’ll do what one does on a long trip: use the restroom, have some snacks, and stretch whatever appendages they have.

I’m certain there are similar crossroads-based towns wherever you may be. For those who grew up in the Mid-Atlantic US, think of it as the Breezewood PA of the Galactic Commons. Because of that, it has become full of places for a weary traveler to rest and refuel before taking on the next leg of their journey. Welcome to Gora, which is an unspectacular planet that sits at the intersection of five wormholes. All of her characters in The Galaxy, and the Ground Within are very much not human.

It would be tempting to also claim that Chambers’s books are always interwoven with a fundamental belief in the goodness of humanity, which is true but only in the abstract. Sure there are conflicts and sadness but all of that unpleasantness is always outweighed by decency and honesty. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, Becky Chambers ( Harper Voyager 978-0-06-293694-2, $27.99, 336pp, hc) April 2021.īecky Chambers’s Wayfarers series, which is concluding with The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, is a nice warm cup of tea when the weather outside is terrible.

The galaxy and the ground within review