Share your thoughts in a quick Shelf Talk!
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
After tragedy scatters a proud people across the stars, a keen-eyed civil servant is paired with a reserved alien diplomat to map new settlements—and a path to healing. Their journey becomes a tapestry of cultures, quiet humor, and unexpected connection. The Best of All Possible Worlds blends sociological science fiction with a gentle, hopeful romance to explore how communities—and hearts—are rebuilt.
Have you read this book? Share what you liked (or didn’t), and we’ll use your answers to recommend your next favorite read!
Love The Best of All Possible Worlds but not sure what to read next?
These picks are popular with readers who enjoyed this book. Complete a quick Shelf Talk to get recommendations made just for you! Warning: possible spoilers for The Best of All Possible Worlds below.
In The Best of All Possible Worlds, did you enjoy ...
... the warm, sociological road trip through diverse communities and customs?
The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
If you loved how Grace Delarua and Councillor Dllenahkh’s survey team wanders Cygnus Beta—meeting distinct communities, puzzling through etiquette, and quietly reshaping lives—then you’ll savor the crew of the Wayfarer in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Like the Sadiri resettlement expedition, this journey is less about tech and more about cultures, language, and belonging, with affectionate, low-key encounters that echo Grace’s fieldwork stops and her compassionate curiosity.
... a slow-building cross-cultural bond that deepens from professional respect into intimate trust?
The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Grace and Dllenahkh’s relationship grows from colleagues on a mission into something tender and enduring, built step by step during their travels. In The Left Hand of Darkness, Genly Ai and Estraven’s partnership evolves the same way—tested by politics and weather, then forged in a stark, intimate journey across the ice. If that quiet strengthening of a bond was your favorite part of The Best of All Possible Worlds, this will resonate deeply.
... a measured, character-first mystery that unfolds at an unhurried pace amid nuanced cultural norms?
Provenance by Ann Leckie
Karen Lord’s book takes its time—each stop on Grace and Dllenahkh’s itinerary reveals new customs and small, personal stakes that add up. Provenance offers that same gentle tempo: Ingray navigates intricate traditions, contested artifacts, and family expectations with the kind of patient, humane attention that mirrors the Sadiri team’s thoughtful, stepwise approach to each community they assess.
... rich, linguistically textured worldbuilding that immerses you in etiquette, poetry, and imperial politics?
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
If the detailed cultural “case studies” Grace compiles—rituals, forms of address, social taboos—hooked you, A Memory Called Empire will delight you. Mahit Dzmare’s immersion in Teixcalaanli language, ceremony, and verse offers the same pleasure you got from parsing Cygnus Beta’s varied societies alongside Grace and Dllenahkh, with the added charge of diplomatic stakes and identity negotiation.
... nuanced exploration of cultural suppression and the tensions between empire and local tradition?
The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Sadiri diaspora navigating assimilation and respect for difference—threaded through Grace’s field visits—echoes in The Telling. An observer from the Ekumen investigates a planet where an imposed ideology has smothered native traditions. If you were moved by how Grace mediates between Sadiri needs and local customs, this gentle, probing novel’s look at cultural loss, preservation, and empathy will hit the same sweet spot.
Unlock your personalized book recommendations! Just take a quick Shelf Talk for The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord. It’s only a few questions and takes less than a minute.