A stand-alone SF book that is also the fourth and final book in the Wayfarers series.
Publication year: 2021
Publisher: Tor
Format: ebook
Page count from Goodreads: 336
This book, like the previous one, "Record of a Spaceborn Few", isn't adventure SF, but rather a slice-of-life story without an actual plot. The central theme is understanding other cultures because all four main characters come from different species.
Gora is a lifeless planet but it's near heavily-traveled planets, so it has a couple of stop-over places for refueling and relaxing for travelers from multiple species. Five-Hop One-Stop is run by Ouloo and her adolescent child, Tupo. They're getting ready to serve three ship captains for a few hours. But an unexpected mechanical failure strands them to the One-Stop without communications. All three have important meetings waiting for them but they can't leave and don't know when they can leave. Ouluu does her best to entertain the visitors.
Ouluu and Tupo are Laru, a furry mammalian species that can walk on four or two legs. They have paws instead of hands or feet. Roveg is a Quelin, an insect-like species with many legs and a chitinous blue exoskeleton. He's a sim maker. Speaker is an Akarak, a tiny species that don't breathe oxygen, so they must stay in environmental suits when outside their ship. Speaker travels with her twin sister Tracker who has damaged lungs. Tracker isn't in the landing shuttle with Speaker and Speaker is afraid that Tracker's lungs will give out. Pei is an Aeluon, a bipedal humanoid species. She's the captain of a cargo runner but is now traveling in a shuttle.
Despite their differences, they all have much in common, too. They all care for others, even though their family structures vary. Indeed, they all have a family. They all have their own problems which are relatable to us, the readers. Tupo is also very much like a human teen: stubborn, taciturn, and more interested in action sims and vids than xy work. Xy is too young to have chosen xyr sex yet.
This was a charming, leisurely read.
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