As You Wake, Break the Shell
Synopsis
Explore a universe of stubborn survival and found family, of persistent danger and quiet wonder in the first installment of a heartfelt new duology from Hugo Awardโwinning author Becky Chambers. Life on the resource-poor planet of Fortune is challenging, but for its inhabitants, itโs home. For two of them, Signy and Cora, this home might no longer โฆ Explore a universe of stubborn survival and found family, of persistent danger and quiet wonder in the first installment of a heartfelt new duology from Hugo Awardโwinning author Becky Chambers. Life on the resource-poor planet of Fortune is challenging, but for its inhabitants, itโs home. For two of them, Signy and Cora, this home might no longer be enough. Signy is a brilliant but reclusive botanist who bio-prints medicine from her small plant shop, often bending the rules to help those the system leaves behind. Her life is filled with the green of her store, the warmth of her one elderly friend, and the quiet determination to help others without putting herself in danger. Cora is a rorqual pilot, one of the few with the unique ability to navigate the massive, living ships that connect the scattered settlements of their solar system. Her bond with her rorqual, Colibri, is profoundโa connection that is both her greatest gift and a threat to her career. It is that threatโthe โmindbleed,โ a dangerous side effect of her pilotingโthat brings her to Signyโs shop, and her appearance puts Signy in the danger she so fears. But itโs soon apparent itโs not just about losing her licenseโthis delicate balance between risk and trust has the potential to change everything for them. Told in an alternating timeline of their initial coming together and a not-so-distant future where they have found domestic bliss, this is a story harrowing and haunting, heartfelt and hopeful. Through a love story centered around survival, we are given a glimpse into the very best of what Becky Chambers does in her writing: explore what it means to be human, and what it means to come together.
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