Life on Fortune is hard. The atmosphere is poisonous, the planet hardly fit for life. But for its inhabitants, it's home.
Pilot Cora suffers from a rare and dangerous condition, brought about by her bond with Colibri, the alien animal she pilots to quarry vital water for the colony. If Cora seeks treatment, she risks losing her license - and her connection to Colibri forever.
Then she meets Signy, a brilliant but reclusive botanist, whose bio-printed medicine is the only thing that can save her. But to do …
Life on Fortune is hard. The atmosphere is poisonous, the planet hardly fit for life. But for its inhabitants, it's home.
Pilot Cora suffers from a rare and dangerous condition, brought about by her bond with Colibri, the alien animal she pilots to quarry vital water for the colony. If Cora seeks treatment, she risks losing her license - and her connection to Colibri forever.
Then she meets Signy, a brilliant but reclusive botanist, whose bio-printed medicine is the only thing that can save her. But to do so, Signy must break the rules that govern their lives, risking her livelihood and the other colonists who rely on her for survival.
As Cora and Signy navigate their balance of risk and trust, they are forced to confront what they owe to each other and to their community - and begin to question whether survival is enough...
Hardcover, 480 pages
English language
Published by Hodder & Stoughton.
Cora, a pilot, needs help. Signy, an introverted plant shop owner, may be the only one who can.
Really enjoyed this. Very Becky Chambers. Lovely characters, interesting world-building, humanity and gentleness. Can’t wait to finish the story whenever the sequel comes out.
Dare I say, this is Chambers' finest? Flipping between Signey's and Cora's past and future gives you an assurance that this too will pass; yet she roots you so solidly in the present that no joy is any less visceral and no loss is any less devastating. If anything, it crystallises. As I often do with her work, I laughed and cried and ached on their journey. She adds to her low stakes cosy vibes some beautiful perspectives on life, plant nerdery, empathy, love and community.
