As You Wake, Break the Shell (pre-order)

Becky Chambers

Release date: October 13th 2026

Lose yourself in time and space (and great writing) as Becky Chambers tackles dangerous planets and different timelines in her latest sci-fi smash. 

To collect your copy from the shop on release day, select ‘click and collect’ at the checkout. Otherwise we post anywhere in the UK, or you can contact us for an international shipping quote.

£22.00

Description

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’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Additional information

Weight 0.7 kg
Dimensions 23.8 × 16 × 4.2 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

480

Language

English

Edition

Hardback original

Dewey

813.6 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K