#26 in Science fiction
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
- 400
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- Kurd Lasswitz Award for Best Foreign Work
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Our view
“The Galaxy, and the Ground Within” strands a handful of aliens together and lets conversation do the work a plot usually does. There is almost no conflict and not one human character, yet the strangers become distinct, complicated people; that is the book’s quiet achievement. Readers who want tension may find it aimless, and some struggle to picture such unfamiliar bodies. It suits those who read the series for warmth.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is a 2021 science fiction novel by Becky Chambers, published by Harper Voyager. It is a sequel to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit and Record of a Spaceborn Few.
Reading order · Wayfarers series
Full order & progress →- The Long Way to a Small, Angry PlanetStart here
8.28.2 / 10 - A Closed and Common Orbit
8.58.5 / 10 - Record of a Spaceborn Few
8.18.1 / 10 - The Galaxy, and the Ground WithinThis book
8.68.6 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.8 across 489 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 77% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Science fiction average of 7.8. That is how 8.6 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 17 | 4% |
| Hardcover | 8.8 | 472 | 97% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Galaxy, and the Ground Within?
It has 400 pages — shorter than 61% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Science fiction — with scores between 8.5 and 8.6, closest to this book.
