I’ve started a new series: the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers.
This is her debut novel and I enjoyed it a good bit. A motley crew made up of several different species runs the warp hole tunneling ship Wayfarer. When they take on a new crew member, she learns the true meaning of family as they take on a dangerous new mission to a war-torn planet.
I liked her aliens. Each has its own history and culture and each seems logically designed for a different planet. There are deaf sentients who communicate via color and reptilians who think nothing of cuddling with someone they’ve just met. Especially interesting are the Navigators, beings who can see the subspace beneath the physical surface and determine where to create a safe worm hole.
The human crew member has a secret of her own, too, which we don’t find out until about halfway through the book. By that time, we’ve gotten to know the rest of the crew: the four varied humans (captain, fuel specialist, & techs), the reptilian pilot, “Dr. Chef,” the combination cook and medical officer, the sentient AI running things, and their Navigator, who is elderly and dying. There are interspecies romances (and even a human-AI combination), illegal shenanigans, and plenty of action. If you like space opera, pick up a copy of this. You’ll enjoy it and it’s the start of a series, which is always a good thing.
