by Becky Chambers
Fans of the Wayfarers series will not be disappointed by the start of this new duology – this has Chambers’ characteristic style in buckets. It’s cosy, sparky, queer, and overflowing with energy and hope. As well as being comforting and easy to gobble up, it makes some rather interesting points about colonisation, human insatiability and finding meaning in bad worlds.
Our two main characters, Cora and Signy, are two very different people who complement each other beautifully. At the start of the book, they are both living on Fortune, an inhospitable and dangerous planet where volcanic eruptions and acid rain are an everyday occurrence. Cora is a loyal, feisty pilot whose life is shaped by the (literal) ups and downs of her all-consuming job going to space and back for supplies, and Signy is a deeply rational and grounded shopkeeper who grows and sells plants. Chambers tells the story in two different timelines, and these are playfully woven together to show us the trajectory Cora and Signy’s lives take as they become closer to one another, and to leaving Fortune behind.
Chambers’ writing is so earnest and raw that there were times when I had to take a minute to let it all sink in. She captures what it’s like to love and feel and be human so perfectly that it’s hard not to relate to Cora and Signy.
As You Wake, Break the Shell is a bursting and vibrant book and I will definitely be reading the second half of this duology when it arrives.
Review by Jamie