To Be Taught, If Fortunate: A Novella

(Paperback)

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Description

In the future, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the galaxy transform themselves.

*FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR*

'Extraordinary . . . A future masterwork' Joanne Harris

At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming, astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic biological supplementations. They can produce antifreeze in sub-zero temperatures, absorb radiation and convert it for food, and conveniently adjust to the pull of different gravitational forces. With the fragility of the body no longer a limiting factor, human beings are at last able to explore neighbouring exoplanets long suspected to harbour life.

Ariadne is one such explorer. On a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds fifteen light-years from Earth, she and her fellow crewmates sleep while in transit, and wake each time with different features. But as they shift through both form and time, life back on Earth has also changed. Faced with the possibility of returning to a planet that has forgotten those who have left, Ariadne begins to chronicle the wonders and dangers of her journey, in the hope that someone back home might still be listening.

PRAISE FOR THE WAYFARERS

'Becky Chambers is a wonder, and I feel better for having her books in my life' JOHN CONNOLLY

'In a word, brilliant' ANDREW CALDECOTT

'A short but fierce ode to humanity and all our reaches and flaws. Unputdownable' NATASHA NGAN

'Outstanding . . . Chambers packs an immense amount of story into a novella worthy of full-length praise' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review

'Becky Chambers takes space opera in a whole new and unexpected direction' BEN AARONOVITCH

Reviews

Becky Chambers takes space opera in a whole new and unexpected direction, her books bring me so much joy - Ben Aaronovitch, author of Rivers of London

Epic in the scale of discoveries but with a miniaturist's eye for detail, and as revealing of the observers as the observed. In a word, brilliant - Andrew Caldecott, author of Rotherweird

Rendered with startling clarity, Chambers' latest offering is a short but fierce ode to humanity and all our reaches and flaws. Unputdownable - Natasha Ngan, author of Girls of Paper and Fire

Extraordinary . . . A future sci-fi masterwork in a new and welcome tradition - Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

Outstanding . . . Chambers packs an immense amount of story into a novella worthy of full-length praise - Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Author Bio

Becky Chambers is a science fiction author based in Northern California. She is best known for her Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series, which currently includes The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit, and Record of a Spaceborn Few. Her books have also been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Locus Award, and the Women's Prize for Fiction, among others. Her most recent work is To Be Taught, If Fortunate, a standalone novella.

Becky has a background in performing arts, and grew up in a family heavily involved in space science. She spends her free time playing video and tabletop games, keeping bees and looking through her telescope. Having hopped around the world a bit, she's now back in her home state, where she lives with her wife. She hopes to see Earth from orbit one day.