The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - 5 stars

[Amy N.]

I loved this book. It's feel-good sci-fi, which I is something I didn't know I needed in my life. For those of you who have seen Firefly, (something this book gets compared to a lot) take that show and dial down the political themes just a tad and dial up the warm fuzzies to 11. For those who haven't seen Firefly, go watch it, it's good!

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a slice-of-life look at the close-knit crew of a ship that tunnels through subspace to create wormholes. They accept a long-haul job that will take almost a year, and during that year they bond, fight, learn and grow, and go through tragedy and come out the other side. It brought me to tears in a few places, but not sad tears. The kind of tears you get when something is just so true. Well, sad tears too, sometimes. But for the vast majority of the book it's about a group of very different people bonding despite, and sometimes because of, their differences, and it feels designed to make you feel better about yourself, the people around you, and life in general. If you like character-driven stories, even if sci-fi isn't normally your thing, go check this one out!

[KateNZ]

This is a favourite of mine as well, Amy - you’ve totally summed up my reaction to it.

The second in the series is also very good though rather different in tone - fewer warm fuzzies and a little more exploration of ideas particularly about identity and personhood. Not too heavy, and lovely characters, but different.

I think there’s a third one out ... (Record of a Spaceborn Few)

[Susie]

I loved it too! The audio was great.

[Cheryl]

I love them too. I bought them so my whole family can read them.

[Karin]

I liked it, but didn't love it. However, even at 3 stars I chose to read the sequel. Since you liked this one so much, then I suggest you read the next one.

[annapi]

Yay, another fan - both of the book and Firefly!

[Critterbee❇]

Ah - I am about to start reading this, it sounds so good.

[Joy D]

I found it an engaging and imaginative story of relationships and acceptance. Just for awareness, the Kindle version of this book is missing at least six pages where there should be text, so you may want to obtain it in a different format.