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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Book 1 in the series:Wayfarers

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'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' by Becky Chambers follows the journey of the crew aboard the Wayfarer, a mixed species group traveling through space to a distant planet. The novel is a character-driven science fiction tale that delves into themes of relationships, personal growth, and diverse cultures. With a focus on the crew's interactions and daily lives, the story unfolds as a cozy and intimate exploration of the universe where humans are a minor part of the Galactic Commons. The narrative combines elements of space opera with episodic adventures, providing insightful glimpses into human and sapient nature.

The writing style of the book is described as light and engaging, with a strong emphasis on character development and world-building. The author intricately introduces multiple alien species, each with distinct characteristics and cultural backgrounds, creating a rich tapestry of diverse perspectives and experiences. Despite the lack of traditional dramatic tension, the novel offers a heartfelt and enjoyable read that resonates with fans of character-driven narratives and space exploration.

Characters:

The characters are richly developed, diverse, and operate as a family unit, each contributing unique perspectives and experiences.

Writing/Prose:

The prose is warm and engaging, fostering a cozy atmosphere while emphasizing character interaction and development.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot revolves around a diverse crew on a tunneling ship tasked with creating wormholes, emphasizing character relationships and personal growth over high-stakes drama.

Setting:

The setting includes a tunneling ship in a diverse galaxy, filled with rich world-building and cooperative alien cultures.

Pacing:

The pacing is leisurely and episodic, prioritizing character development over rapid plot advancement.
Living in space was anything but quiet. Grounders never expected that. For anyone who had grown up planetside, it took some time to get used to the clicks and hums of a ship, the ever-present ambiance...

Notes:

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a debut novel by Becky Chambers.
The novel follows the crew of the Wayfarer, a spaceship that tunnels through space to create wormholes.
The story focuses more on character development and relationships than on high-stakes action.
Rosemary Harper, the protagonist, escapes her past and joins the diverse multi-species crew.
The book is known for its cozy vibes and positive, inclusive themes.
Chambers explores ideas of identity, acceptance, and what it means to be human through alien cultures.
The narrative is episodic, featuring different planets and scenarios throughout the journey.
It has received comparisons to the TV show Firefly due to its ensemble cast and light-hearted tone.
The book touches on LGBTQ+ themes, including a prominent female-female relationship.
The Wayfarers series includes multiple standalone books, with different main characters in each, but set in the same universe.

From The Publisher:

National Bestseller!

The acclaimed modern science fiction masterpiece, Hugo Award winner for Best Series!

Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn't expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she's never met anyone remotely like the ship's diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy-exactly what Rosemary wants. It's also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn't part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary's got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs-an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn't necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

Ratings (271)

Incredible (74)
Loved It (87)
Liked It (56)
It Was OK (28)
Did Not Like (23)
Hated It (3)

Reader Stats (657):

Read It (269)
Currently Reading (9)
Want To Read (287)
Did Not Finish (19)
Not Interested (73)

7 comment(s)

Loved It
4 weeks

This is an odd book to review. I enjoyed it, but ... not a lot happened. There wasn't really any grand conflict to get through, or any thing like that. It was an in-depth exploration of these characters as they go about their job in the universe.

And it was lovely, in a lot of ways. Thematically, I think it's about love - taboo love (which there are several examples of), cross-species love, and the love of friends that have formed their own little family, a hub of safety and care set against the vastness of space.

Things that we think are going to be potentially huge moments -

the reveal of Rosemary's identity, and/or it blowing up in her face at some point; the interaction with the war-obsessed Toremi Ka; even this major situation with their is-she-or-isn't-she-a-valuable-sentient-life AI, Lovey

- all really play as minor blips in the story of this crew. Heck, we don't even see most of the crew find out about Rosemary. This book is about the life they are making together, and all the events are just window dressing. The interaction between the characters is all.

Which meant that the actual plot had a bit of 2-dimensional feel to it. But it didn't hurt my enjoyment in the way I would have expected, because I very much liked these characters.

That said, given that they're not really in the remainder of the series, I don't think I'll read onward. But I'm glad to have read this book.

 
Incredible
1 month

Gran space opera, que se centra en lo importante, los personajes de la nave. Además unos personajes que no son soldados, que ni pueden ni quieren solucionar los conflictos con violencia, y que se ven sobrepasados con los resultados.

La historia son como los capítulos de una serie: Todos casi independientes, pero arrastrando las consecuencias de los anteriores, y además la escala de las situaciones va subiendo progresivamente.

Me ha recordado mucho a la segunda saga de "La vieja guardia" de Scalzi, porque comparten muchas de las características, pero este libro desprende mucho más optimismo, tal vez por no estar directamente involucrado en ninguna guerra.

 
Liked It
1 month

Reading this book felt kind of like watching a season of Star Trek: Voyager. It's very episodic, focused on character growth and relationships, into the cultural difference between species, a bit fuzzy on the science, and fun but not great art.

 
Incredible
1 month

I read a lot of sci-fi, probably more than any human should, but I have *never* read anything quite like this.

Chambers created a fantastically inclusive, positive story that features a novel plot line—even if some of the tech & fringe objects are present in other space-based books (which, as a reader, I appreciated & found it added to the overall value of the story; familiar yet in a brand new context). The characters are not only realistic, but their progression, quirks, and development are seamless and add to the overarching theme of the book.

It’s so refreshing to read a novel where the women are complex, layered individuals rather than foil archetypes. There is room for any and all types of people, scales or no scales, pairs or heretics, organic or AI. Though the story is kind and overtly approachable, there is still plenty of action & intrigue along the way. Though if you’re looking for a fast-paced page turner filled with gore and mystery, you may look elsewhere to satisfy that itch.

But ultimately I think this is a novel every sci-fi nerd should get their claws on; come for the story, stay for the writing.

My one and only critique would be the grammatical misuse of “sometime” which should instead be “some time” (and similarly “anytime” vs. “any time”). But this editing issue is a minor star in a vast galaxy and hardly occludes the brilliance thereof.

Will absolutely read the rest of the series

 
Did Not Like
3 months

Boring

 
Loved It
4 months

Found family

 
Did Not Like
8 months

Too boring, episodic, unfocused, splitting energy between too many narrators.

DNF at 16%

 
 
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