To Be Taught, If Fortunate

Becky Chambers

Sept 2019 · HarperAudio · Narrated by Brittany Pressley

About this audiobook

“Extraordinary . . . A future sci-fi masterwork in a new and welcome tradition.” -- Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

A stand-alone science fiction novella from the award-winning, bestselling, critically-acclaimed author of the Wayfarer series.

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 subzero 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 journey to neighboring exoplanets long known to harbor life.

A team of these explorers, Ariadne O’Neill and her three crewmates, are hard at work in a planetary system fifteen light-years from Sol, on a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds. But as Ariadne shifts through both form and time, the culture back on Earth has also been transformed. Faced with the possibility of returning to a planet that has forgotten those who have left, Ariadne begins to chronicle the story of the wonders and dangers of her mission, in the hope that someone back home might still be listening.

Ratings and reviews

So close to being a really enjoyable book. Good story and characters, but too often the author wanders away from the story to philosophize. Maybe others enjoy that type of thing, but I came to dread those parts of the book -- which occurred about every chapter. That being said, the rest of the story was compelling enough to get me to the end, but I'm not sure that I'll be soon looking for another book by this author / publisher.

a beautifully written sci-fi story about these astronaut's lives as they research. it's like a slice-of-life but through a scientist's perspective. I can't stress enough how good this book is and should be read.

beautiful and haunting. explores the ethics of space exploration and found family.

About the author

Becky Chambers is a science fiction author based in Northern California. She is best known for her Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series, which currently includes The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit, and Record of a Spaceborn Few. Her books have also been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Locus Award, and the Women's Prize for Fiction, among others. Her most recent work is To Be Taught, If Fortunate, a standalone novella.Becky has a background in performing arts, and grew up in a family heavily involved in space science. She spends her free time playing video and tabletop games, keeping bees, and looking through her telescope. Having hopped around the world a bit, she’s now back in her home state, where she lives with her wife. She hopes to see Earth from orbit one day.