The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

OK, I need to be honest: this isn't really five stars, more like three point nine, but it is five stars right now, in this shitty post-Roe moment. This was exactly what I needed to read: a handful of characters, each broken in their own way but each also compassionate, kind, thoughtful, Present, aware of and listening to every other character, doing their absolute best together under tough scary conditions.

Chambers is just so fucking wonderful. Yeah, treacly at times, but I need that right now and so, probably, do you. She packs so much in this obviously-post-pandemic book: good communication, emotional intelligence, gender identity, body autonomy, bioparents vs nurture parents, cooperation in the face of uncertainty; she slams “differing opinions” when it comes to killing sentient beings, magat cultures, and closeting.

Warning: a bit tough to get into: the characters are all alien (to us) races, and it takes some time (maybe 50 pages) to get them mentally sorted out. It's totally worth it. And: you do not need to read any of the prior books. Same universe, one shared character. Readers familiar with that character's backstory will nod in recognition, but the backstory is not necessary to understand this book.