ound a very new, very slender (dammit) new book by a favorite author, Becky Chambers (famous for her series starting with A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. In this one (unconnected with her other works) we’re looking at a more scientific view of long-distance space travel, a view of how it could be done. In short, it’s like Project Hail Mary without the confusion. Here, a team of four astronauts have slept their way (not in the way you are thinking, you smuts) to a distant system, one with clearly evident life (not sentient) on four planets. Their job – to look yet not touch, to study yet don’t affect, these worlds.

Each of the planets is different and each of them have different evolutions.  Each of them are interesting, as are the casual relations between the crew, all of whom you get to know. Really, you WILL learn about how life might have been seeded, all the way down to the building-block molecules. It was fascinating from a scientific level, and a storytelling level.

I really don’t want to give too much away here – the book ends in curious fashion, which makes it all the more thoughtful. Again, worth a read.

My only niggling frustration was that the story is not longer (not that I could think of a way that it could be longer, not really). But I’d read until my eyes were drooping and since I still have about 1/5 of the book in my right hand, I set it down and went to sleep. The next morning, I woke up to read more, only to realize that a page later was the end. I don’t want to  call what remained “filler” but yeah, it kinda was.

Still, it was worth a read. Very solid storytelling. Makes me green with envy.

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