The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) in The Long Way... To a Common Orbit flash group

Sep 22, 2016 carol. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: my-library, et-phone-home, represent, my-library-trade, ships-in-space, fast-and-fun, my-library-kindle, awards-of-all-sorts, sci-fi

Niceness is undervalued. In an age of cynicism, we believe very little is done altruistically: this politician is facilitating an international adoption for campaign-fodder; that site is offering $1.99 books to boost web traffic; that church is holding a Sunday neighborhood BBQ to evangelize. Our stories show similar cynicism. We've embraced tortured dark heroes, we give five stars to stories sympathizing with killers and rapists, and although we believe a good guy can still win, the only way he Niceness is undervalued. In an age of cynicism, we believe very little is done altruistically: this politician is facilitating an international adoption for campaign-fodder; that site is offering $1.99 books to boost web traffic; that church is holding a Sunday neighborhood BBQ to evangelize. Our stories show similar cynicism. We've embraced tortured dark heroes, we give five stars to stories sympathizing with killers and rapists, and although we believe a good guy can still win, the only way he can is by embracing his dark side.

One reason The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet proved so enjoyable is that it believes in the better side of human and alien nature. It begins with Rosemary, a naif running from her family's past to take a position on a tunneling ship, a specialized kind of spaceship that creates 'shipping lane' wormholes to connect distant points. The story is set in galaxy of aliens, with the human race supported by the Harmagians, an intelligent oyster-like creature, and Aeluons, in attempting to recover the ruined Earth. The captain of the Wayfarer hired Rosemary hoping that a licensed clerk would give access to bigger jobs, and it's a gamble that pays off when they are offered a contract to create a tunnel near the galaxy core and the warlike Toremi, new members of the Galactic Confederation.

Much like any ship-enclosed story, it largely becomes about the characters and how they interact. Characterization is one of the story strengths; through small, focused interactions, almost each crew member is fleshed out. Rosemary, Sissex and Dr. Chef feel the most well-rounded. Ashby, the captain, is mostly concerned about his crew, getting the contract and his not-so-secret paramour. Kizzy and Jenks are the mechanical engineers who keep the ship running. Kizzy is often comic relief. Jenks is having a secret relationship with the ship A.I., Lovelace. Corbin is the algae biologist who keeps the fuel running, Dr. Chef is combination cook and medic, Sissix is the reptilian pilot and Ohan is the virus-merged Sianat pair who can calculate the complex physics required to tunnel through space. At times, Kizzy bordered on the absurd, but her personality stayed solidly genuine and she did provide a few laugh-out-loud moments, particularly her (mis-heard) song about "My Socks Match My Hat."

Plotting was unsteady. A number of readers relate this book to the Firefly tv series, and it's easy to see why; a loveable, ragtag crew copes with various adversities in weekly adventures. However, the pacing of the smaller on-the-way elements to the overarching story of the big tunneling job is uneven. The trip is supposed to take a standard year, but with a couple of stopovers, it seems no different than any other time period of the book. More significantly, the ending felt incredibly rushed, again incongruous with the lengthy and significant trip. When I learned from one of my co-readers that Chambers had lost her job and created a Kickstarter to fund finishing the book, it made more sense. I can't wait to see what she does with time and resources.

My last quibble is with narrative style. It's often a third-person omniscient, unevenly taking turns between various characters. Interspersed are missives, whether personal letters, information requests or news bulletins. I think they are meant to serve as information, but they distract from the friendly tone of the crew and further interrupt story pacing. I initially ignored them, until I learned one near the end of the book drops a significant story point. Conversation is often didactic style, with a character asking a question or seeking explanation and another answering. Although it doesn't quite have the dreaded, "as you know, Bob..." feel, in a few spots it feels clunky. In others, it just feels borderline lecturing about ethical principles. Well, what can I say: she's preaching to the choir. I appreciate the hope that we can find enough common ground or space to live with each other.

Thematically, there's some interesting exploration of some very topical and complicated topics such as safety and defense, individual right-to-die, identity, violence, sexuality and what makes a community. Chambers is also very inclusive in her visions of alien-ness as well as human beings, which is frankly a delight to find in science fiction. It isn't going to work for everyone; I'd recommend it for people who enjoy character-driven stories and envisioning alien cultures. Overall, it was a quick read, despite the size, and easy to spend time with the crew. I'm looking forward to finding out what they do next.

Many, many thanks to those at Goodreads who participated in a flash read and shared their insights. I enjoyed sharing perspectives and bouncing off ideas. Find them at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... ...more

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Jul 09, 2016 Nataliya rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-reads

Favorite quotes:

"We cannot blame ourselves for the wars our parents start. Sometimes the very best thing we can do is walk away."

"People can do terrible things when they feel safe and powerful."

"Feelings are relative. And at the root, they're all the same, even if they grow from different experiences and exist on different scales. [...] You Humans really do cripple yourselves with your belief that you all think in unique ways."

"All you can do, Rosemary - all any of us can do - is work to be some ...more

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Sep 30, 2016 Apatt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, sci-fi

“I wanted to create a setting in which space felt like a place for everybody. This is a story about the ordinary people living within an intergalactic society, the people who walk through the spaceport behind the heroes, who are normally not at the forefront of the story.”
An Interview with Becky Chambers

I first heard of this book when the SF Book Club I (barely) help to moderate picked it as Book of the Month for October 2015. Being such a terrible moderator I ignored the selection as I do 95% o ...more

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Jul 12, 2016 Carly rated it really liked it

Shelves: scifi

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is easily one of the most feel-good books I've read in a while. Put it this way: I think if Kaylee decided to rewrite a cross between Firefly and TNG, this book might be the result. There really aren't any bad guys; just people with problems, each of which is bound to find a solution. It may not be so good for general YA--lots of of profanity, and given that one of the species involved is prone to orgies, there's also quite a bit of sexual content-- which is The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is easily one of the most feel-good books I've read in a while. Put it this way: I think if Kaylee decided to rewrite a cross between Firefly and TNG, this book might be the result. There really aren't any bad guys; just people with problems, each of which is bound to find a solution. It may not be so good for general YA--lots of of profanity, and given that one of the species involved is prone to orgies, there's also quite a bit of sexual content-- which is unfortunate, since in all other aspects, I think it would have been good for a younger audience as well.

As in most space-opera-style scifi, there's lots of political and social commentary, mostly in a positive social-uplifting way. Mind you; I think a lot of the scenes and the characters' actions imply a much more problematic perspective, which may be one reason I couldn't totally jump onboard with the story. (view spoiler) Whatever my feelings about certain subplots, I was extremely impressed by the way Chambers managed to keep everything fluffy and positive without ever drifting into the saccharine. If you want a low-key heartwarming read,The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is definitely worth a look. ...more

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Sep 20, 2016 Beth rated it liked it

Shelves: sffbc, buddy-reads

I've pretty much said what I'm gonna say about this book in Carol's flash read group for this novel. And there are some much more eloquent voices than mine there, too! ...more

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Mar 16, 2017 MrsJoseph *grouchy* rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, 2016-reading-challenges, outstanding-outstandingness, flights-of-fantasy-group-reads, bookclub-reads

http://bookslifewine.com/r-long-way-t...

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is one of the best group reads I've had all year! I truly enjoyed this read - even though I didn't expect to at first.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a...difficult book to categorize. When I've tried to explain this book to hubby, I tell him it's "Star Trek mixed with Firefly." When I say "Star Trek" I mean the era of Star Trek while Gene Roddenberry was still alive and the universe was filled with mostly goo ...more

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May 07, 2016 fromcouchtomoon rated it liked it

Take one part Farscape characters, one part Firefly good-humored misfit crew, and one part uplifting moral integrity and stir to the point of toughness so it bakes kind of stale. Sprinkle with a dash of exaggerated personality and hope nobody's seen this before. Or, you could save time by skipping all those dialogue tags and just write a TV script.

Non-violent, feminist, open-sexuality space opera novels can be done with more intelligence and depth. Don't settle for this. ...more

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Oct 20, 2016 Emily rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, 2016

I'm sure the length of time I took to finish this affected my enjoyment of it. This novel had the misfortune of being read when I was adjusting to being back in school after a couple of decades, and I feel it's only fair to disclose that.
I fell in love with the characters right away, and then I gradually fell out of love with them as the novel progressed. They were just...so very good. Characters that always do the right thing (there was one exception, but it felt like being the exception was h ...more

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Aug 23, 2019 Bee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourite, audiobook, science-fiction, reread, merchant-sci-fi

This is one of my all time favourite Sci-Fi books, and series. It's my comfort reading. And having reread it now for the first time, I love it even more. Wonderful characters that crawl into your heart, lovable characters with interesting qualms. The Galactic Commons is full of weird species and all the rest. It's not deep, but it touches on real human foibles and charms. It places us in a much larger stage, and makes us as insignificant as everyone else, a mirror who's distorted reflection make ...more

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Mar 15, 2016 Bee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, space-opera

What fun. Kinda like Firefly meets... I don't know.

Becky Chambers writes a really sweet and enjoyable, easy to read space opera. Characters have some depth, there's nice back story, nice world building. Interesting aliens & alien cultures. I am defiantly awaiting the sequel. ...more

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Jul 18, 2017 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: all-time-favorites, sci-fi, highest-rated, award-winner, portlandorbookclub, z2017-novel-reads, bechdel-approved, hugo-nom-to-vote-on

Carol's Review pretty much says it all.

to add to her excellent review... this had a lot of lovely futuristic details aside from the very excellent social commentary such as the lack of mammalian meat the Earthen diaspora accepts as normal, the pixelated 'plants' that everyone seems to have in lieu of actual greenery, the disproportionate love of all things potato-based, the differences in philosophies and behaviors between the "Exodans" (those Earthans who had to evacuate Earth and just headed ...more

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Apr 26, 2016 Ric rated it liked it · review of another edition

SF novel featuring a wormhole-punching ship.

The ship is the Wayfarer, for hire as a private vessel in the portion of the galaxy traversed by an alliance of alien species, of which humans are a gadabout member. The ship's captain is a human named Ashby, and the crew is an eclectic mix of aliens and other humans, including the new hire Rosemary, who all seem to enjoy the same atmosphere, food, and gravity --- very early Asimov assumptions about humans mixing with aliens designed to the same specif ...more

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Jan 28, 2017 Harryo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Can't tell you how much I loved this book! It's true the plot is sometimes a wee bit loose, but the story is always compelling for the mere fact it deals with interpersonal relations of the highest sort--people (humans and non humans) interacting with a common purpose, with good intentions and with a wise and compassionate motivation.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: men have said all they've got to say but women still have fresh ideas to spread. First they have to completely unshackle ...more

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Sep 13, 2016 Naomi rated it liked it

Not perfect, but still enjoyable. I'll probably read the next book. ...more

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Aug 04, 2015 Inkdeathinbloom rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I'll be honest, I remember sitting on writing a review because I didn't want to say anything about Firefly when I wrote it. But here I am a stretch down the road, and that's still what I'm going to say.

This book is not Firefly. To say it is would be an insult to the worldbuilding, plot, and characters that Chambers built. There are complex alien societies, AIs, travelers from all walks of life, humanity far far from a time when Earth was their home, politics and technologies with their own prob ...more

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