Novella Review: To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Harper Voyager (September 3, 2019)
Length: 144 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
First, let me preface this by saying I am a huge Becky Chambers fan and I loved all three books in her Wayfarer series. However, To Be Taught, If Fortunate is unrelated to that universe and the style of writing didn’t have really have the same charm or engaging feeling as her other books. Of course, it’s possible that it’s because we’re dealing with a novella this time, but overall, I also feel that this book lacks the character-driven magic that I’ve come to associate with Chambers’ writing.
The premise behind this story isn’t a new one: Earth is deteriorating, and humankind needs new places to live. But instead of terraforming planets to suit us, advanced technology has enabled us to transform ourselves to suit alien environments. The book opens on a space exploration vessel Merian, introducing protagonist Ariadne and her fellow astronauts as they awaken from the torpor chambers which have kept them in a semi state of suspended animation by slowing down their aging and metabolism. The small crew of four is on a mission to study a handful of new planets that are lightyears away from Earth, meaning that even though the original plan was to return home after their work is done, everyone they left behind would be dead and gone.
Together with Ariadne on the Merian are also Elena, Jack, and Chikondi. As the ship’s flight engineer, Ariadne’s duties include detailing their mission as well as logging and trasmitting their findings. This book, in a way, is her message sent back to Earth, explaining what they’ve experienced and discovered on the four different planets they visit.
I suppose it’s the way this book is written, where much of it takes the form of a communications report, which made me struggle with connecting to the characters—way more than it should have. That Ariadne is a scientist and an engineer is also blatantly obvious, as our narrator loves to expound on theory and technical details. On every planet we visit, we get in-depth descriptions of the flora and fauna they encounter, the ways they differ from earth lifeforms. Because of this, the biology enthusiastic in me was fangirling with glee, but admittedly the hard science also took a lot away from the character development and dynamics, the elements which made Chambers’ Wayfarers such a joy to read.
The book is also divided into four short linked tales, which goes on to further fracture an already limited narrative, this being a 144-page novella and all. While I was fascinated by the sights and sounds the crew documents on the different planets, as well as the multiple adaptations their bodies had to go though, I wish the characters themselves had gotten the same level of attention. Clearly I’ve been spoiled by the author’s previous books, which were packed with poignant and emotional themes and very human stories.
For fans of stories about space exploration and colonization though, this book will be a treat. Obviously, each planet the Merian crew visits offers its own problems, some more challenging than others. Everything from geography, climate, and the local wildlife needs to be considered. Ariadne is a very sharp and introspective narrator, and through her eyes we see how she works through possible solutions to obstacles, using knowledge she knows from everything from chemistry to astrophysics, and we even get plenty of her philosophical musings besides.
As I said, To Be Taught, If Fortunate wasn’t a bad book. However, had this novella been a full-length novel with a bit more in the storytelling and characters department, I might have enjoyed this one a lot more. It feels quite different—and it is quite different—from what I expected from Becky Chambers, and I was a little disappointed we didn’t get to see as much of her excellent characterization this time around. That said, I do love that she is flexing her writing muscles and trying something a bit more complex and cerebral. I’ll still look forward to everything else she writes in the future.
The BiblioSanctum 
I recently read an ARC of this one as well, and I also had a hard time connecting to the characters!
Great review!
(www.evelynreads.com)
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I know, it was just disappointing for Chambers, who I know is capable of so much more!
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This is good to know, I’ll go into this one with my expectations in place regarding the character development. I agree we’ve been spoiled by the fabulous Wayfarer books! It does sound like an interesting read although I’ll probably miss those wonderful character/ emotional beats a little bit too. 🙂
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Yup, it was good, but just don’t expect the same caliber as Wayfarers! 🙂
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no disrespect to the Wayfarer series, but i think it is cool that Chambers is branching out and experimenting with different styles and worlds. This one might not have worked as planned, but who knows, maybe she’ll eventually expand it into a novel (or series), and we can get all the deep characterization dives that she is so wonderful at!
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I agree, even though this didn’t really blow me away, I liked that she is trying something different, trying her hand at a high concept sci-fi. I would love it if she expanded this!
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It’s always hard when a well loved author decides to try something different. Sorry this didn’t quite work for you. Character development is pretty important!
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It is, and Chambers’ characterization is awesome at its best! At least this was a short and entertaining read 🙂
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I like the idea of changing ourselves to suit alien environments, and this still sounds pretty intriguing even if it doesn’t deliver the warm characterisation we all associate Chambers with right now.
Great review – it’s good to know what I’m going to get when I get round to this. Thank you! 🙂
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I loved the premise and ideas in this too, but yeah, too bad about the characters, especially since I usually associate Chambers with amazing characterization!
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Telling a story through unusual means (letter exchange, or messages, or whatever we encountered so far) can offer and interesting new way of looking at things, but – as you pointed out – we also need to *see* the characters and learn what makes them tick, and it would seem that ship logs are not the correct medium to achieve this goal.
Pity, because long voyages of exploration are so full of opportunities…
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I just wish this had been longer, I think she could have done better with the characters with more time. But ah, I guess this goes back to the reason why I’m not typically big on novellas/short fiction 🙂
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3 wayfarer books? I have to check now!
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Yup, there’s been three so far, all standalones!
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I definitely need to check the Wayfarer books then! 😊
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Oh, those are great! I can’t recommend them enough. The three books so far are all standalones, but they’re linked. My favorite is the latest one, Record of a Spaceborn Few 🙂
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Duly noted on my TBR, though I’ll probably start with the first one, The Long Way… 😉
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Yeah, I had a similar reaction to this — it’s nice, but it’s not what I know Chambers can do!
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Exactly! 😀
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Wow, dividing a novella in four. That’s ambitious! I only know this author for her Wayfarer series but I’m glad to hear this one wasn’t a complete flop though. Great review! 😀
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Right, it wasn’t bad at all, but compared to her Wayfarers books, it was no contest 🙂
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Ah, sorry to see that this one lacked a bit of her usual style for you. Could definitely be the novella thing, sometimes the shorter format just doesn’t work.
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ahhh, I hadn’t realised this was a novella – I’ll probably wait for her next book instead. Novella’s rarely work for me.
Lynn 😀
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