To Be Taught, If Fortunate

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What to expect

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

*FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR*

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.

(P) 2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Critics Review

  • 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

  • Outstanding . . . Chambers packs an immense amount of story into a novella worthy of full-length praise

    Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

  • 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

  • Some of the most forward-thinking, inspiring science fiction out there . . . a joyful antidote to crushed spirits and a celebration of the power of curiosity, love, adventure and discovery

    Claire North, author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

  • [A] compelling exploration of home, family, and what makes us human in the midst of all that isn’t, but could be. An extraordinary picture of humanity among the stars.

    Kirkus Reviews

  • 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

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