I picked up this one based on the description and the absolutely adorable cover, and thankfully I wasn’t disappointed!
Thanks to the author as well as Hanover Square Press for the review copy!
A dying universe. A search for answers. An adventure at the end of a trillion lifetimes.
When the Home worlds finally achieved the technology to venture out into the stars, they found a graveyard of dead civilisations. What befell them is unknown. All Home knows is that they are the last ones left – and whatever came for the others will one day come for them.
Scout is an Archivist who scours the dead worlds of the cosmos for their last gifts: interesting technology, cultural rituals – anything left behind that might be useful to Home and their survival. During an excavation on a lifeless planet, Scout unearths something unbelievable: a surviving message from an alien who witnessed the world-ending entity thousands of years ago.
Now Scout, their brother and their sometimes-fearless, space-faring cat, Pumpkin, must race to save what matters most.
This is the story of Scout, their brother, and their adorable space-faring cat named Pumpkin. They are Archivists, hired by their Home world to excavate lifeless planets. One day they happen upon a planet who left a message indicating that they know what ended their world thousands of years ago. Scout and company must then race against rivals to find the rest of the messages.
I really enjoyed this one from start to finish. Imagining a cat in a tiny spacesuit was just the start. I liked how the messages from the people of the lifeless worlds told their story. This was a beautifully written book, and it was very hard to put down.
I wasn’t aware until I was halfway through the book that it had been an indie title, the winner of the SPSFC2, which is the Science Fiction ‘version’ if you will, of the SPFBO fantasy book contest. That didn’t change anything about the book for me, but it was really great knowing that writers from that contest are also being recognized by traditional publishers as well.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes the type of science fiction that Becky Chambers writes. This was a great one and I look forward to reading more from this author! 4.5/5 stars!~
superstardrifter 
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