Chamber's second novel, A Closed and Common Orbit, in her Wayfarer series is so wonderful I cried several times.
A Closed and Common Orbit picks up immediately after Chambers' first story, Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet concludes but is barely an extension of that story, beyond further expanding on Chambers' wonderful universe. This novel follows a newly created, but ultimately undesired, shipboard AI that is forced to leave its ship and take up a fugitive residence in a human appearing shell.
Assisted by Pepper, a human who was genetically engineered to be a slave, the AI has to find everything from picking a name to determining a purpose for itself. Completely out of the element for which it was designed, the AI struggles with friendships and body integrity disorder.
I cried several times.
The story alternates between that of the AI and Pepper, her human guardian. Briefly introduced as a very interesting Maz Kanata type in the first book, I wanted to learn more about Pepper. I was not disappointed, her backstory is equally as touching, and tear-inducing. Genetically engineered to help sort and recycle junk, Pepper unwittingly escapes her keepers and spends years in a city-sized junkyard restoring a small spaceship.
This wonderful search of meaning and identity in a harsh, harsh world is a must-read.
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers via Amazon
