The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Wayfarers, #1

by Becky Chambers

eBook, 518 pages

English language

Published Aug. 6, 2015 by Hodder & Stoughton.

ISBN:: 978-1-5004-5330-5

View on OpenLibrary

View on Inventaire

(233 reviews)

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 …

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.

18 editions

moving to outside.ofa.dog reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The long way to a small, angry planet' on 'LibraryThing'

5 stars

This was a lovely read. Although it's set in a rich fictional future which Chambers has clearly written a lot of history and sociology for, I enjoyed how that was background, not the point of the story. It's not a story about empires rising and falling, or historic heroes, just of a group of people getting through a series of challenges together. And while those people start out feeling like caricatures, they get progressively more believable as the book goes on, to the point that by the end I was very invested in their fates - not because The Fate Of The Galaxy Depends On Them, but just because they were interesting personalities I'd developed some affection for.

moving to outside.ofa.dog reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The long way to a small, angry planet' on 'LibraryThing'

5 stars

AndySoc1al reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A fresh voice in the space adventure sub-genre! I love the optimism, the joy, and the adventure. This isn't to say that there aren't sad bits and anxiety-driven scenes. Nobody wants a pollyanna, and Chambers' first novel certainly has ups and downs driving the plot forward. She also has some very science-fictiony looks at identity and sapience. The aliens are sometimes very alien, and that's a very good thing. I'm looking forward to starting the next entry already.

windchime reviewed The long way to a small, angry planet by Becky Chambers

Review of 'The long way to a small, angry planet' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

DNF at 51%. Not a bad book, but I couldn't connect with any of the characters, and the plot, such as it was, didn't hold my attention.

Matthew Royal reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is a good and enjoyable book. It's not high art, and the mechanics of the story telling and character development are too visible for my taste, but I read it to prepare for her next book, Hugo-nominated "A Closed and Common Orbit."

World-building in this book is good -- I feel like pieces of it could come alive and live in my brain all by themselves, with a little more work. It feels like a series of short stories. They're not perfectly strung together, but the lack of total continuity isn't used to imply progress or convey mystery. In this universe, everything can be known.

It felt like Chambers was working down a checklist as she wrote:
- describe the technology they use day-to-day in detail
- resolve all conflicts by the end of the book, and preferably by the end of the working day
- make sure to …

Martijn Reintjes reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Fun sci-fi read.
Only the book never gets really exciting.
It feels like the characters are just going to the motions and never make any real choices.

What I did like where topics like:
- Sentient AI / Humanoid relations
- Interactions of humanoids from different alien cultures

matt reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I loved this book.

Not very much happens - it’s really almost like a series of individual episodes with one overreaching arc. Every character felt realized in their own and alien ways. Wonderful science fiction/space fantasy.

loppear reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' on Goodreads

4 stars

A low-key campy space crew (obvious parallels in tv) have some fun and danger and ask kinda big questions.

Patrick Johanneson reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This was the finest, happiest, best space opera I've read in a long, long time—maybe ever.

Sir Diesalot reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I re-read this book in preparation for the new one coming out later this year. Still good.

Manzabar reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I tend to read & rate books but not review them. For 2018, I decided to try fixing that and [b:The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet|22733729|The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)|Becky Chambers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405532474s/22733729.jpg|42270825] is the first book benefit from this decision.

In any case, [b:The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet|22733729|The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)|Becky Chambers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405532474s/22733729.jpg|42270825] is a little bit silly, a little bit light, and totally kicked me in the feels. The plot is on the thin side but this isn't a book you read for the plot; it's all about the family the crew of the Wayfarer have made of each other.

Sure, there's dangerous stuff that happens to them but it's less about laser battles then it is about how the crew pulls together to help one another. All in all, it was a fun read …

hexarchate reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

It's a leisurely-paced, feel-good sci fi about family; the one you're born with, and the one you create.

It felt a bit contrived at the start, but after the plot started rolling I really got interested. By the time I got to the end I was attatched to all of the characters, despite initially being bored of several of them.

The plot never really was completely resolved, which I was fine with since it was the first in a series, until realizing that the other books don't address what happened either. I'd love another book following the actual Wayfarer crew.

Ultimately it's a comforting exploration of an intriguing sci-fi universe that I'll definitely be reading again.

cargide reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

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.

Octo reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I can only recommend this to people who enjoy solid sci-fi paired with interesting, believable characters. The first book for ages that engulfed me so thoroughly and made me care so much about a fictional group of people. I also like that Chambers' aliens are not just humans with scales or antennaes and her take on artificial intelligence. After listening to the audiobook I immediately started with the sequel and hope there will be more to come.