The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

May 22, 2021 Cathy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I was set adrift after finishing The Expanse, and this book has brought me back to my core self. After all, what is a girl supposed to do without spaceships, world building, and characters who become friends?

I’m in love with this book. It’s about a cheerful, motley, interspecies crew working dangerous jobs together. They literally drill holes through the space-time continuum. In this universe, humans are not on top of the food chain. We exist, but we’ve destroyed Earth and dissolved into self-ri ...more

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Aug 13, 2021 Sarah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: american-fiction, north-american-fiction, fiction, lgbtqia, sci-fi

I was really into this book, but it weirdly took forever to read, because it's pretty character-driven, which is not what you'd expect from a supposedly-light-hearted sci-fi space journey. It's a found family story, with an omniscient narrator that rotates focus on the ship Wayfarer's various crew members. And there are a lot of things to love about this book: there is such diversity among the characters and many of their stories and backgrounds are quite thought-provoking on issues of norms and ...more

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Apr 12, 2020 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The characters in this book are so well-developed! Chambers did a great job creating entire species and their worlds, and then using them to tell a fun and engaging story. The plotlines were well-constructed, and the tension/drama/conflict wasn't over-the-top. I'm definitely interested in continuing with this series. ...more

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Mar 12, 2018 Natalie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: plch, audio, 2018

This book really wanted to be Firefly. I wish I could ignore the similarities to the series, but I kept making comparisons. I ended up sticking with it and enjoying it for what it was, once I learned more about the characters. Going to take a break, and will decide later if I want to continue the series.

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Mar 27, 2021 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Some of this review is also featured in my review of Becky Chamber's upcoming release The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

Most of the reading I've been doing recently boils down to a main character who is different from those surrounding them, which usually also includes some special power that saves or changes the world. I don't want to knock that kind of story, but I really needed one that didn't center one powerful person. In this novel, there is not one main character with special abilities, bu Some of this review is also featured in my review of Becky Chamber's upcoming release The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

Most of the reading I've been doing recently boils down to a main character who is different from those surrounding them, which usually also includes some special power that saves or changes the world. I don't want to knock that kind of story, but I really needed one that didn't center one powerful person. In this novel, there is not one main character with special abilities, but instead a diverse cast who together have the special powers. In a way, The Wayfarer's universe reminds me of Star Wars, in the sense of a bunch of weirdos thrust together who have to work together for a common goal. Their power is their ability to work together and their loyalty (usually also affection, except for one crew member) to one another.

The Wayfarer's crew is mostly human, but among the humans there are cultural differences. I'm not going to break down the whole universe, but basically Earth is shot, some humans colonized with in the solar system and some left on a large fleet of ships. There's definitely some class warfare hidden in there that I can't wait for Chambers' to flesh out later.

There are also aliens and a sentient AI aboard the Wayfarer. The reader learns more about the different species as the story progresses through their words and actions, and sometimes from their interior thoughts. The amount of thought Chambers must have put into creating these worlds is so impressive.

The author also spent a lot of time explaining little parts of space life that usually don't get mentioned in space adventures. Where does food come from, what kind of fuel do they use and how do you refuel, where does the water come from? Chambers bothers to answer those questions, which made everything feel more real.

The Big Bad in this story is what we would call capitalism, but there's probably different words for it here. The crew takes a very well paying job tunneling black holes (the description of how it works is so cool!) offered by the large governing body of species, trusting that the government would not put them in a dangerous situation. Yet that's not even the largest narrative arc. Most of the story is about the journey to the job, during which the crew gets to know their new member while the readers gets to know the crew.

It was really nice to read a novel without an overhanging sense of dread and threat throughout it. Most of the story is just a slice of life for a space crew. I could also really relate to how stir crazy the crew got on a year long trip, since it's been a year of COVID-19. ...more

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