As You Wake, Break the Shell (Pre-Order October 13, 2026)

As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers (Pre-Order October 13, 2026) 

From Hugo Award–winning author Becky Chambers comes the first book in a heartfelt new duology—an emotional science fiction romance about survival, connection, and the quiet wonder of found family.

Perfect for readers searching for cozy science fiction, hopeful sci-fi, and character-driven space opera, this novel explores life on a struggling planet where survival depends on fragile systems—and even more fragile relationships.

On the resource-poor planet of Fortune, life is difficult but deeply rooted. For botanist Signy, home is her small plant shop, where she bio-prints medicine for those the system overlooks. Quiet and reclusive, she has built a life defined by care, caution, and the steady green world she can control.

Cora is a rorqual pilot, one of the few humans capable of bonding with the immense living ships that travel between scattered settlements across the solar system. Her connection to her ship, Colibri, is extraordinary—but dangerous. A condition known as “mindbleed” threatens both her career and her sense of self.

When Cora’s condition forces her into Signy’s orbit, their carefully structured lives begin to unravel. What starts as necessity becomes connection, and what begins as risk becomes something neither of them can easily name. But in a world where survival is never guaranteed, trust may be the most dangerous choice of all.

Told in alternating timelines—between their first meeting and a near future where they’ve built a fragile domestic happiness—this is a story of intimacy, resilience, and what it means to build a life with another person when the universe is indifferent to your survival.

Perfect for readers who love:

• Hopeful science fiction (“hopepunk”)
• Character-driven space opera
• Found family
• Slow-burn relationships
• Queer-leaning or emotionally intimate sci-fi
• Spacefaring ecosystems and living ships
• Soft sci-fi with philosophical themes
• Becky Chambers–style storytelling