Record of a Spaceborn Few
2 journalers for this copy...
I got this hardcover at Toadstool Books in Nashua. It's from the author's "Wayfarer" series that began with The Long Way to A Small, Angry Planet. (I haven't read that one, but found that this book stands on its own quite well; there are some characters whose stories may have begun in previous books, but I never felt that I was missing any info in this one.)
Later: The reason I picked this up was that it focused on what happens *after* the generation ships reach their destination, rather than - as most tales seem to - focusing on the journey and its perils. Here, the surviving fleet of generation ships is safely in orbit in a new system, where the galaxy's ruling alien species have welcomed humanity - more or less. There are colonies on various planets now, with some of the humans preferring to move there and others wanting to remain in their long-established societies on the ships. The story gives us several viewpoint characters, human and alien, young and old, whose experiences and dreams eventually lead to some poignant and hopeful conclusions. In the meantime there's the restless youngster whose attempts to get some quick bucks by illegally raiding wrecked ships leads to the death of a newly-arrived lad who wanted to make a place for himself. There's a carer for the dead whose job includes preparing the dead to be recycled/composted for use in growing crops - something that unnerves newcomers but is handled as a very touching (and practical) way of dealing with death when resources are limited. Oh, and there's the professional sex worker who hits it off with one of his clients; not that unusual, but the "sex work is yet another valued job" presentation was rather refreshing.
And there are more, with an intricate balance between the different cultures and their ways - and the interesting plot-point that in this 'verse the humans are very much the newly-arrived refugees, whether they still live on the generation ships or not. It seems humanity will simply never catch up to the advanced species that populated the galaxy ahead of them, and while those species are (mostly) benign it's a bitter pill for some...
Overall I really loved this way of looking at possible space-colonization, with elements of hard SF mixed with very human slice-of-life episodes. (And now I want to read the other books as well, even if their focus isn't the same...)
[There's a TV Tropes page on the series, with some entertaining tidbits.]
Later: The reason I picked this up was that it focused on what happens *after* the generation ships reach their destination, rather than - as most tales seem to - focusing on the journey and its perils. Here, the surviving fleet of generation ships is safely in orbit in a new system, where the galaxy's ruling alien species have welcomed humanity - more or less. There are colonies on various planets now, with some of the humans preferring to move there and others wanting to remain in their long-established societies on the ships. The story gives us several viewpoint characters, human and alien, young and old, whose experiences and dreams eventually lead to some poignant and hopeful conclusions. In the meantime there's the restless youngster whose attempts to get some quick bucks by illegally raiding wrecked ships leads to the death of a newly-arrived lad who wanted to make a place for himself. There's a carer for the dead whose job includes preparing the dead to be recycled/composted for use in growing crops - something that unnerves newcomers but is handled as a very touching (and practical) way of dealing with death when resources are limited. Oh, and there's the professional sex worker who hits it off with one of his clients; not that unusual, but the "sex work is yet another valued job" presentation was rather refreshing.
And there are more, with an intricate balance between the different cultures and their ways - and the interesting plot-point that in this 'verse the humans are very much the newly-arrived refugees, whether they still live on the generation ships or not. It seems humanity will simply never catch up to the advanced species that populated the galaxy ahead of them, and while those species are (mostly) benign it's a bitter pill for some...
Overall I really loved this way of looking at possible space-colonization, with elements of hard SF mixed with very human slice-of-life episodes. (And now I want to read the other books as well, even if their focus isn't the same...)
[There's a TV Tropes page on the series, with some entertaining tidbits.]
I'm adding this to the Science Fiction bookbox (bookbox journal here), which will be on its way to its next stop soon. Enjoy!
*** Released for the 2021 Science Fiction challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2021 Science Fiction challenge. ***
