A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarer Series #2)

Curator’s note

The Wayfarer series is utterly fascinating and breathtaking. Becky Chambers builds a convincing, detailed, and consistent sci-fi world that is filled with colourfully varied sapient species, each with its own customs, cultures, and ways of communication. Queer relationships and gender-diverse species are common in this series. As we observe the “alien” cultures and civilisations in the series, we open ourselves up to the question buried deep within the captivating stories: what does it really mean to be human?

Synopsis

This novel is part of the 4-part Wayfarer series: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit, Record of a Spaceborn Few, and The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (to be published in 2021). While the novels are set in the same universe, they are only loosely related and so can be enjoyed in any sequence.

Lovelace was once merely a ship's artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in a new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who's determined to help her learn and grow.

Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together.

About the author

Becky Chambers is a sci-fi author based in North California, USA. She has a background in performing arts, and grew up in a family heavily involved in space science. She lives with her wife in California, and hopes to see Earth from orbit one day.