As You Wake, Break the Shell: discover the unmissable and uplifting science fiction novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Long way to a Small Angry Planet

The stars are waiting for you. We hope you will come find us there.

Told in alternating timelines, As You Wake, Break the Shell is a heartfelt and hopeful story from the award-winning writer of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, exploring what it means to be human and what it means to come together.

Life on Fortune is hard. The atmosphere is poisonous, the planet hardly fit for life. But for its inhabitants, it's home.

Pilot Cora suffers from a rare and dangerous condition, brought about by her bond with Colibri, the alien animal she pilots to quarry vital water for the colony. If Cora seeks treatment, she risks losing her license - and her connection to Colibri forever.

Then she meets Signy, a brilliant but reclusive botanist, whose bio-printed medicine is the only thing that can save her. But to do so, Signy must break the rules that govern their lives, risking her livelihood and the other colonists who rely on her for survival.

As Cora and Signy navigate their balance of risk and trust, they are forced to confront what they owe to each other and to their community - and begin to question whether survival is enough . . .

'THIS is the book I've been waiting for' REBECCA THORNE
'A miracle' ANTONIA HODGSON
'Becky Chambers never misses' L.R. LAM

Readers love AS YOU WAKE, BREAK THE SHELL
'This book was pure poetry'
'Becky Chambers remains a wonder, and I can't wait to read whatever she writes next'
'Books that comfort the soul and expand the mind'
'I laughed, I cried, I sent far too many screenshots of highlighted sentences to my friends'
'I can't believe I ever lived in a world without this story. It was incredible, moving and cozy'
'Fresh, luminous, beautifully rendered'
'Read if: You are looking for fresh, inventive sci-fi. You will enjoy an uplifting story about love, friendship, and intimacy'

Hardback | 480 pages | Published October 2026