Here at the Tor Blog, we’re pretty good at lists. It’s kind of our bread and butter, and since (as stated) we’re decent listicle chefs, we add all the culinary accoutrements when we cook a bread’n’butter listicle. That’s very convoluted, but suffice to say: we are impressed with the listicle of spacefaring found families put together by L. M. Sagas, author of Cascade Failure, a science fiction adventure novel that is out today! So check out this list, and then check out L. M. Sagas’ book. Then read more listicles and more books. Reading is good!
by L. M. Sagas
Fantasy, mystery, horror—for my money, found family’s a top-tier trope in any genre. But as you might’ve guessed from the title, there’s one take on this classic trope that’s especially near and dear to my heart: found families in space.
I’m not quite sure if it’s the sheer variety of folks (and folk-like humanoids, organisms, and assorted extraterrestrials) you see coming together from the far reaches of the universe, or the delightful volatility of cramming them all in a high-tech soda can for long periods of time and shaking them up ’til it pops. Maybe it’s C, all of the above, and a secret third thing besides. Whatever it is, something about a spacefam just hits different—especially when it’s full of mismatched pieces that shouldn’t work but do.
My upcoming novel, Cascade Failure, follows the adventures (and misadventures) of just such a spacefam. But the crew of the Ambit isn’t the first ragtag bunch of misfits to cobble together a home among the stars. Here’s a list of some (but by no means all!) of my favorite spacefaring found families across different books and television.
The Wayfarer Crew from Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers Series
If you’re on the hunt for a heartfelt, hopeful, and occasionally hilarious example of a space-based found family with members from all walks of interstellar life, look no further than Rosemary Harper and the motley crew of the Wayfarer. They’ve got humans and Aandrisks and Harmagians (oh my!), and a few more species and subspecies besides, and each one brings their own needs, their own perspectives, and their own culture to life aboard that charming little vessel. And as awesome as each character is on their own, what I really love about this story is the way they interact with each other—the bits and pieces of themselves they share, the accommodations they make for one another, the respect that they have (even if there are a few hiccups along the way). It takes this great, sprawling universe and makes it feel small in the best possible way. And did I mention it’s cozy? Because it’s super cozy.
The Sentinels from J.S. Dewes’ The Divide Series
There are few things I enjoy more than a bunch of stubborn, self-reliant smartasses who absolutely do not need to rely on other people, being forced into a situation where—you guessed it—they really need to rely on other people. That’s exactly what you get with The Divide series, with some wicked-fun flourishes along the way. You start off with the Sentinels, a crew of outcasts from wildly varied backgrounds who are stuck together playing Night Watch (for you Game of Thrones fans out there) at the end of the universe, and they all seem pretty happy to keep themselves to themselves—at least, as much as they can, living together on a ship in the outer reaches of space.
But when the rubber meets the road—or, in this case, when the semi-retired warship meets the ever-compressing boundaries of the universe—they all have to scrunch their eyes, pinch their noses, and take that Big Scary Leap into trusting each other, and the relationships that bloom from that choice turn that outcast, misfit crew into a bona fide found family you can’t help cheering for. Warning: it may also leave you craving veggie pie.
Nia and Ahro from Simon Jimenez’s The Vanished Birds
Everyone loves a good “unlikely adoptive parent” story (that’s right, we’re looking at you, Pedro Pascal’s Collecting Magical Orphans Cinematic Universe), and the duo I lovingly call the “Flute Fam” hits all my favorite notes (pun intended). Nia definitely isn’t the first person anyone would pick to take in a lost kid, much less a mysterious, musical lost kid with bucketsful of trauma and a future that could fundamentally change the way humanity experiences the universe. But slowly, through trial and error and the judicious use of food-bribes and humor, she and little (and then eventually not-so-little) Ahro fumble and feel their way to a profound bond that reshapes both of their lives, and the lives of those around them.
The Crew of the Rocinante from The Expanse Series by duo James S.A. Corey
Families can be messy, and I think that’s true of found families, too. To me, that’s one of the most appealing things about the crew of the Rocinante (both in the book series and the television show): the messiness. From Holden’s occasionally ill-fated idealism to Amos’s, erm, nonchalant approach to violence, each of the characters comes with their own rough edges, and they don’t always fit so smoothly together. But those moments of tension are just as compelling as the moments when everything gels, and when you put them all together, it paints such a visceral, relatable picture of life and love in the crucible of space that it’s got a permanent spot on my list of favs.
Team Awesome Force from Killjoys
Confession time: if you’re familiar with the show, you’ll know that part of this found fam is also technically fam fam, since the brothers Jaqobis are actually brothers. But nevertheless, I stand by this pick, because it’s a witty, gritty, bombastically optimistic example of one of my favorite aspects of the trope: putting your ass on the line for the family you choose. Across flashbacks and character arcs and an array of major and minor cataclysms, you get to see so many moments where each of these characters—Dutch, Johnny, D’avin, even Lucy-the-ship-AI—look at each other and roll their eyes and go, yeah, sure, I’d die for that idiot, because no matter how much they screw with each other, nobody had better screw with them. And I just think that’s beautiful.
That’s it for the list! There’s definitely plenty more out there to choose from, and if you’ve got some to add, please drop a comment and share. And for more spacefam fun (and feels!), don’t forget to check out my book, Cascade Failure, on sale now!
Order Cascade Failure Here!
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