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The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

by Becky Chambers

A stopover becomes a place to reckon with change

Regular price $18.12 USD
Regular price $30.21 USD Sale price $18.12 USD
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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A stopover becomes a place to reckon with change

On Gora, the Five-Hop One-Stop serves as a waystation for travelers moving through the Galactic Commons. When a technological failure cuts off traffic, the station’s visitors are left to wait together: an exiled artist, a cargo runner at a crossroads, and a mysterious helper. The confined stopover brings the book’s attention to questions of belonging, identity, and possible connection among people from different species and with different aims. Part of the Wayfarers series, this science-fiction story makes an ordinary transit hub the setting for a pause in which its travelers must consider their pasts and what might come next.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in character-centered science fiction set within a shared interstellar universe.
  • Readers drawn to stories about travelers, unexpected delays, and questions of belonging.
  • Readers who enjoy ensemble stories involving characters from different species and backgrounds.

Themes

Belonging and exileIdentity and changeCross-species connectionTravel and interruption

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

National Bestseller!

Return to the sprawling, Hugo Award-winning universe of the Galactic Commons to explore another corner of the cosmos--one often mentioned, but not yet explored--in this absorbing entry in the Wayfarers series, a work of character-driven science fiction that blends heart-warming characters and imaginative adventure.

With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop.

At the Five-Hop One-Stop, a bastion of cozy sci-fi comfort, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit permits, and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through.

When a freak technological failure halts all traffic to and from Gora, three strangers--all different species with different aims--are thrown together at the Five-Hop. Grounded, with nothing to do but wait, the trio--an exiled artist with an appointment to keep, a cargo runner at a personal crossroads, and a mysterious individual doing her best to help those on the fringes--are compelled to confront where they've been, where they might go, and what they are, or could be, to each other.

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