The Galaxy, and the Ground Within: Wayfarers, Book 4

Sunday Times best-selling author Becky Chambers returns to the Galactic Commons in the final instalment in her award-winning and critically acclaimed Wayfarers series.

With no water, no air and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships travelling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop.

One of the many establishments present is the Five-Hop One-Stop, a place where long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is) and pick up fuel, transit permits and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her occasionally helpful child, who both work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through.

When a freak technological failure halts traffic to and from Gora, three strangers are thrown together at the Five-Hop. Grounded and with nothing to do but wait, the trio – an exiled artist with an appointment to keep, a cargo runner at a personal crossroads and a mysterious individual doing her best to help those on the fringes – are compelled to confront where they’ve been, where they might go and what they might be to each other.