
To Be Taught, If Fortunate
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Narrated by:
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Brittany Pressley
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By:
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Becky Chambers
About this listen
"Extraordinary...A future sci-fi masterwork in a new and welcome tradition." (Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat)
A stand-alone science fiction novella from the award-winning, best-selling, critically acclaimed author of the Wayfarer series.
At the turn of the 22nd century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming, astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic biological supplementations. They can produce antifreeze in subzero temperatures, absorb radiation and convert it for food, and conveniently adjust to the pull of different gravitational forces. With the fragility of the body no longer a limiting factor, human beings are at last able to journey to neighboring exoplanets long known to harbor life.
A team of these explorers, Ariadne O’Neill and her three crewmates, are hard at work in a planetary system 15 light-years from Sol, on a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds. But as Ariadne shifts through both form and time, the culture back on Earth has also been transformed. Faced with the possibility of returning to a planet that has forgotten those who have left, Ariadne begins to chronicle the story of the wonders and dangers of her mission, in the hope that someone back home might still be listening.
©2019 Becky Chambers (P)2019 HarperAudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial. This can't happen here. Not in America. Not to her. This is just the beginning. Soon women are not permitted to hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke 16,000 words a day, but now women only have 100 to make themselves heard. But this is not the end. For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice.
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Please ignore the negative reviews.
- By Amanda W. on 09-05-18
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Dreadful
- By: Caitlin Rozakis
- Narrated by: Keval Shah
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Gav isn't really sure how he ended up with a castle full of goblins, or why he has a princess locked in a cell. All he can do is play along with his own evil plan in hopes of getting his memories back before he gets himself killed. But as he realizes that nothing—from the incredibly tasteless cloak adorned with flames to the aforementioned princess—is quite what it seems, Gav must face up to all the things the Dread Lord Gavrax has done. And he'll have to answer the hardest question of all—who does he want to be?
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The goblins!
- By Cady Wieck on 06-25-24
By: Caitlin Rozakis
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Before We Disappear
- By: Shaun David Hutchinson
- Narrated by: André Santana, Mark Sanderlin
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Jack Nevin’s clever trickery and moral flexibility make him the perfect assistant to the Enchantress, one of the most well-known stage magicians in turn-of-the-19th-century Europe. Without Jack’s steady supply of stolen tricks, the Enchantress’ fame would have burned out long ago. But when Jack’s thievery catches up to them, they’re forced to flee to America to find their fortune. Luckily, the Enchantress is able to arrange a set of sold-out shows at Seattle’s Alaska - Yukon - Pacific World’s Fair Exposition.
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Boring and racial weirdness
- By Jackson on 11-20-21
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The Wizard's Butler
- The Wizard's Butler, Book 1
- By: Nathan Lowell
- Narrated by: Tom Taylorson
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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For five grand a month and a million-dollar chaser, Roger Mulligan didn't care how crazy the old geezer was. All he had to do was keep Joseph Perry Shackleford alive and keep him from squandering the estate for a year. But they didn't tell him about the pixies.
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I LOVED this book!
- By Kristin Butner on 04-24-21
By: Nathan Lowell
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Honored Enemy
- Legends of the Riftwar, Book 1
- By: Raymond E. Feist, William R. Forstchen
- Narrated by: Matt Bates
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In the frozen Northlands of Midkemia, Captain Dennis Hartraft’s Marauders have just had a disastrous encounter with their sworn enemy, the Tsurani. Wounded and disheartened, the Mauraders set out for the shelter of a frontier garrison. They don’t know that a Tsurani patrol is sent to support an assault on that same garrison.
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Easily summed up...
- By MizLady on 02-22-21
By: Raymond E. Feist, and others
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The Crypt: Shakedown
- The Crypt, Book 1
- By: Scott Sigler
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Few know the warship’s actual name. But everyone has heard the rumors. The PUV James Keeling can do something no other vessel in existence can do—slip into another dimension, travel undetected, then re-emerge onto our plane and surprise enemy targets. But the thing that makes the Crypt unique also makes it a nightmare for those onboard; interdimensional travel causes hallucinations, violent behavior, and psychotic breakdowns. Keeling could be the Union’s greatest weapon, a game-changing asset that can defeat the bloodthirsty zealots of the Purist Nation, the Union’s mortal enemy.
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classic sigler
- By martin on 10-05-23
By: Scott Sigler
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The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
- A Novel
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Rachel Dulude
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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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 traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through.
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The narrator completely ruined it.
- By rosenh on 09-13-21
By: Becky Chambers
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Stinger
- By: Robert R. McCammon
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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The West Texas desert towns of Inferno and Bordertown have been slowly dying. The Snake River isn’t the only thing that divides them. Racism and gang wars have turned the sun-scorched flatlands into a powder keg. If anything can unite them now, it’s the UFO that comes crashing through the clouds. It brings with it a young alien named Daufin, a fugitive who has taken human form. She knows the terror that awaits this planet—because it’s looking for her.
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Alien Invasion F-U-N!
- By Char on 03-16-18
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Blackwing
- Raven's Mark, Book 1
- By: Ed McDonald
- Narrated by: Colin Mace
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Bounty hunter Ryhalt Galharrow has breathed Misery dust for 20 bitter years. When he's ordered to locate a masked noblewoman at a frontier outpost, he finds himself caught in the middle of an attack by the Deep Kings, one that signifies they may no longer fear the Engine. Only a formidable show of power from the very woman he is seeking, Lady Ezabeth Tanza, repels the assault.
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A very strong start to a promising series
- By Twain on 10-22-17
By: Ed McDonald
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Elevator Pitch
- By: Linwood Barclay
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets. Right to the bottom of the shaft. It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world - and the nation’s capital of media, finance, and entertainment - is plunged into chaos.
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Very good Who done it...
- By shelley on 09-20-19
By: Linwood Barclay
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The Collapsing Empire
- The Interdependency, Book 1
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
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THE STUPIDITIES OF COURT
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-01-17
By: John Scalzi
What listeners say about To Be Taught, If Fortunate
Highly rated for:
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- Brooke
- 09-18-19
A Contemplative Story, Worth the Listen
This novella is full of poignant moments on what it means to be an explorer and a scientist. It gets into the gritty details of the work while still fleshing out and maintaining the humanity of a small, diverse group of characters – all framed with an insightful inquiry to the imagined reader.
This was a reflective, hopeful read that is probably – if I'm being honest – not for everyone. Much of the narrative is philosophic in nature, and while there is action, it is often punctuated with long stretches of curious narrative and interpersonal development. The fact that there doesn't seem to be an unnecessary component in the entire narrative, which does offset the contemplative components. The plot is tight and well developed and the whole thing is self-contained, making this a brilliant but quick read.
Fans of Becky Chambers' Wayfarer novels will enjoy this, generally, but it is not related to that work. I also think 'To be Taught, If Fortunate' is on the whole a demonstration of the author's amazing progression since the first entry of that series, which set a high bar to start. the narrator did justice to the story as well, setting the tone the whole way through.
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- Jasmine D Dancer
- 10-10-23
Space Exploration and Humanity
I enjoyed this story, both the pacing and the science of it. It made me feel lonely and slightly sad at moments, the thought of space and only having a handful of humans to talk to while watching history happen from a distance.
But it was a good story, I liked the writing and the exploration aspect.
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- Lisa MS
- 06-07-22
My favorite yet
I have listened to the Wayfarer series, but this is my favorite Becky Chambers book yet. I like their love of scientific inquiry, the imagined worlds, and even the uncertain ending.
The narrator is MUCH better than the narrator for the Wayfarer series.
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- Joseph Valentine
- 10-09-19
pure "science" fiction
the author packs a lot of science into this riveting journey to new worlds and leaves you with the big questions about the fundamental mysteries about who we are and this strange stage of the universe that we play out our lives on
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- Keith Jones
- 03-10-21
stellar story, written and narrated masterfully
I cannot express what a joy it has been listening to Chambers' books. They have been original and precious and a wonderful, educational, and philosophical experience.
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- Aviel Dahaman
- 12-06-24
Great listen but a disappointing ending
I love Becky Chamber’s books and her writing style but this time I just couldn’t agree with the ending. I felt like it was too indecisive and out of character. Maybe if there was more dialogue leading up to that moment it would have made more sense to me. Still like the book though, definitely worth listening to. The narrator is great as always.
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- Montzalee Wittmann
- 01-30-22
Heartwarming and heartbreaking!
To Be Taught, If Fortunate
by Becky Chambers
I love all the other books she has written and enjoyed this one too but I was disappointed with the ending. Of all the choices that was possible, the least rational one was chosen and didn't fit with the book.
The characters and plot were good. The book was short so the character's development wasn't the usual Chambers exquisite but still I felt I knew them enough to know they would not have chosen the ending! Ugh!
I gave the book a 3 1/2 rounding to a 4!
Terrific narration. I got this from Audible.
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- EasterLemming
- 07-19-24
Early interstellar flight
This is not part of her other series but deals with a 4-person crew exploring science and ecologies. Fascinating characters and premises. As with her other stories a minimum of violence and concentration on characters. What type of people would agree to isolate themselves and leave all they know for decades on a long mission? What type of organization would be set up to support scientific space exploration while the world also fights a severe climate crisis? Overall excellent.
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- Cristina
- 04-01-23
Exceptional
Beautiful, poignant, the best kind of sci-fi in my opinion. I'll read anything Becky Chambers writes.
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- Michael S. Henderson
- 12-12-23
Outstanding.
Typically when you try to read an authors work in reverse publication order things get rougher as you go. Not so the case with Becky Chambers. Psalm for the Wild Built and its sequel may be my favorite but To Be Taught if Fortunate really is outstanding,
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