Audiobook
German language
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is the 2014 debut science fiction novel by Becky Chambers, set in her fictional universe the Galactic Commons. Chambers originally self-published it via a Kickstarter campaign; it was subsequently re-published by Hodder & Stoughton.
Well this book made me cry and want to run away and find my own Wayfarer.
It would have been so nice.
There's space lesbianism, fluffy aliens, cool characters & polyamory.
The plot was not overly captivating and felt a bit haphazard and aimless, but that would have been okay if the book had been enjoyable...
Which it really would have been, were it not for the ableism.
It's full of ableist slurs & comparisons, with a free inspiration porn scene on top where one of the characters meets one from their own species who has a condition that's not called autism, but described exactly as autism is usually described. And then the character is nice to the space autistic who is eternally grateful for 10 minutes of kindness and they have totally changed each other's lives!!!!
That felt like a punch in the face.
So no, do not recommend. Sorry.
I love the characters and the universe that Becky has created with this book, it was really refreshing for a sci-fi genre book where they're often more about the tech than the personalities. I was ga-ga for the book by the one-third point, the second third dragged a bit and I was anxious to have something a bit more exciting happen, but the last third was good. I was trying to decide between 4-star and 5-stars after the first third of the book, it was closer to 3-stars for the next two parts.
I'll definitely be reading the next in the series, and I'd recommend this to friends who are interested in sci-fi genre books that have really fun characters and personalities in their stories.
Soooo many metaphors :-) Beginning from the title itself, to the story's titular planet and its inhabitants, to all the species mentioned throughout the journey and their lovingly crafted relationships. It's the Long Way that counts, both in the book's story and the enjoyment I got from it.
4.5 stars
This was excellent for several reasons: the multiple types of prejudice and small-mindedness the crew address, the fresh and humbling approach to humanity's future, the endearing fullness of the characters, the pleasant honesty of the dialogue... There's a lot to appreciate. Highly recommended.
At the heart of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a crew of the most lovely, amazing characters ever to set foot on a spaceship. Rosemary might set off on the wrong foot, being given the tour by the grumpiest member, and worrying that her past will catch up with her, but this isn’t setting the scene for strife. This is a ship of good people.
In the future, the human race isn’t at the top of the hierarchy. Quite the opposite, they were only just allowed to be let into the GC, what with many other species looking down on them. As Wayfarer travels towards Hedra Ka, the readers learns about different cultures and quite how absurd some of the things we take for granted might seem to another sentient species.
Why would social structures be the same as 20th century Earth’s in cultures that have …
At the heart of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a crew of the most lovely, amazing characters ever to set foot on a spaceship. Rosemary might set off on the wrong foot, being given the tour by the grumpiest member, and worrying that her past will catch up with her, but this isn’t setting the scene for strife. This is a ship of good people.
In the future, the human race isn’t at the top of the hierarchy. Quite the opposite, they were only just allowed to be let into the GC, what with many other species looking down on them. As Wayfarer travels towards Hedra Ka, the readers learns about different cultures and quite how absurd some of the things we take for granted might seem to another sentient species.
Why would social structures be the same as 20th century Earth’s in cultures that have evolved independently to ours? Of course they wouldn’t, and we see a variety of different identities and ways of living. The key thing to note about this story is the overarching acceptance of differences. It’s just lovely. The writing uses a variety of pronouns, for those species that are genderless, or to be polite when you don’t know what gender someone identifies as. There is also the use of they for Ohan.
Oh Ohan. I cried over pretty much every part of their story. For some reason I had them pictured as a sort of blue orang-utan though, anyone else? How hard to watch friends waste away, but knowing it’s their own choice, their own beliefs sending them to their grave.
Lovey has got to be the best AI ever. I’m not sure I’ve ever cried over a fictional computer before. Whilst the universe seems so liberal in many ways, there are still prejudices. What about life artificially created, does that not deserve the same rights as anyone else? It’s not just AIs that have this problem, as little glimpses into the characters’ lives will tell.
This book is as far from angry as you can get. It is full of love and emotion, and an endearing loyalty. More please!
Review copy provided by publisher.
While there is an overarching story that ties all the character plots together, the main attraction here are the individual character stories, which in my opinion are highly engrossing. Basically, this is The Canterbury Tales in space.
