Although I have always been into science, Becky Chambers is the first author who has proven the potential of science fiction for me. What makes her so brilliant is the witty and concise prose combined with fascinating depictions of other life forms. In the Wayfarers trilogy the focus is on alien sapient species and their relationship to humans, and the series shows the most believable vision of a connected, intelligent universe I’ve come across. To Be Taught, If Fortunate is Chambers’ latest and shortest novel, set in a time when humankind has more recently started extrasolar explorations and hasn’t discovered sentient alien species (yet).

Essentially, it’s a file, which is sent to earth by an astronaut called Ariadne. She’s on an expedition to explore extraterrestrial life and is urging the receiver to read this recollection of the journey in the hope that her crew will not be the last of its kind. Their space travel is unique in the way they approach new planets: “I’m an observer, not a conqueror. I have no interest in changing other worlds to suit me. I choose the lighter touch: changing myself to suit them.”

I find it incredible that in just 130 pages we get an exciting plot, four surprisingly fleshed out characters as well as three planets and a moon with their unique ecosystems, evolved through different evolutionary routes than on earth. Yet there’s room left for ponderings on science, the ethics of space travel and a bit on climate change too.

Many aspects of To Be Taught, If Fortunate remind me of Interstellar, one of my favorite movies, but the main difference is that here the aim of visiting new planets is to observe and learn, not to form human colonies. As a to be biologist, I found this approach and the biological possibilities particularly fascinating.