The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience!
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILEY'S WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
The beloved debut novel that will restore your faith in humanity
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past.
But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants.
Until the crew are offered the job …
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience!
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILEY'S WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
The beloved debut novel that will restore your faith in humanity
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past.
But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants.
Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years... if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful.
But Rosemary isn't the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed.
Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration and complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration so that listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
What a fun book! It's a rollicking sci-fi tale like Red Dwarf and Hitchhiker's Guide, only with characters with better back stories and motivations. I can't help but appreciate how apt the title is. It's all about the journey and the people we meet, not the destination.
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
All hesitations I had at the beginning of this book quickly evaporated once the plot got going. In typical Becky Chambers fashion, this story was touching, gentle, compelling, complex, and fascinating all at once. In the beginning, I was concerned that the story seemed to simply just be about a spunky, diverse crew of lovable crew mates who all have wacky relationships and interactions with each other. And while that's not necessarily untrue, the character development and the depths that we explore each character's emotions and anxieties really made them come alive, each in unique ways. The pacing initially felt slow with a LOT of time being spent with characters just interacting with each other and no real forward movement of the story. But as the story picked up, it became apparent that so much of those seemingly "small" interactions played a role in the overall narrative. It all came …
All hesitations I had at the beginning of this book quickly evaporated once the plot got going. In typical Becky Chambers fashion, this story was touching, gentle, compelling, complex, and fascinating all at once. In the beginning, I was concerned that the story seemed to simply just be about a spunky, diverse crew of lovable crew mates who all have wacky relationships and interactions with each other. And while that's not necessarily untrue, the character development and the depths that we explore each character's emotions and anxieties really made them come alive, each in unique ways. The pacing initially felt slow with a LOT of time being spent with characters just interacting with each other and no real forward movement of the story. But as the story picked up, it became apparent that so much of those seemingly "small" interactions played a role in the overall narrative. It all came together in a truly masterful way, all the way through the end. For video game fans out there, this has an extremely Mass Effect feel with extremely unique characters, personal storylines, complex relationships, and a lot of love. I loved this so much, I think I'm going to immediately jump into the next one.
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while …
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while being interesting enough to always keep you engaged.
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while …
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while being interesting enough to always keep you engaged.
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
So cute & sweet, just tootling along on a space adventure where nothing truly terrible happens. Touches on all manner of complex topics, peril, sex, war, ethics, xenophobia, capitalism, eugenics, death - but it's all mild & heart-warming, somehow. I suppose it's all counterbalanced & so gently done. I've already started the second book because I don't want it to end.
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
What a charming, fun, thoughtfully put together book. I tore through it without being able to stop myself. Big Firefly energy, but with queerness and curiosity, and no machismo. I liked that it asked interesting questions and incorporated so many perspectives while keeping the action going and fully fleshing out the characters. I think Dr. Chef, Ashby, Sissix, and Kizzy (who is surely my ADHD brethen) are my favorite characters, but I enjoyed them all by the end. Can't wait to read the next installment!
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I loved this book. I loved the humanity, the ways it addressed so many of our current problems of racism, sexism and personal and cultural differences. A really fun read.
Someone recommended this to me when I was looking for good rich sff reading and it hit the spot. It's an episodic plot, which I don't always love, but it worked for me here, given the complexity of the world-building and the assortment of characters. I was not expecting so much depth to the characters nor the deep emotions. In any case, I looked forward to returning to it every night I was reading it and now I miss that world! on to the next, of course
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
DNF.
This book is not for me. I started it because I wanted more from the "like Firefly", meaning an ensemble crew on an old but beloved spacecraft, pile and it started off OK. But about 100 pages in I gave up. I still didn't give a damn about any of the characters and the writing was so - damn - full - of boring explanations. I am a big fan of "show, don't tell" and this book is the opposite of that. And with the writing not being my thing, on top of that the characters are somehow too quirky and yet generic in their quirkiness. There wasn't a single thing in this book that I liked.
But don't let that stop you. It has received high reviews, so some people do find something in this book.
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I had started to read this once before but never got beyond the first chaper or so. I am so glad I chose to listen to the audiobook. I am definitely hooked, book 2 is already waiting for me. Such an awesome constellation of characters.
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Such an uplifting read! It managed to scratch my space opera itch.
We're in space. Lots of aliens in a galactic alliance. Everyone breathes the same atmosphere and is roughly the same size. Artificial gravity, faster-than-light travel. Your normal "let's not get creative here" setting.
Where the creative part comes in is the cast and the plot. We're on the Wayfarer, a spaceship for digging "sublayer" tunnels, through which FTL traffic can flow from one star system to another. The crew of nine includes five humans, three aliens and an AI.
With a few exceptions everyone is super nice. The captain is a pacifist. They carry no weapons. They story is mainly a road trip to a "small, angry planet". They run into conflicts at times, but these are never settled with force. They don't outwit or otherwise defeat the enemy either. They just come to an agreement or find …
Such an uplifting read! It managed to scratch my space opera itch.
We're in space. Lots of aliens in a galactic alliance. Everyone breathes the same atmosphere and is roughly the same size. Artificial gravity, faster-than-light travel. Your normal "let's not get creative here" setting.
Where the creative part comes in is the cast and the plot. We're on the Wayfarer, a spaceship for digging "sublayer" tunnels, through which FTL traffic can flow from one star system to another. The crew of nine includes five humans, three aliens and an AI.
With a few exceptions everyone is super nice. The captain is a pacifist. They carry no weapons. They story is mainly a road trip to a "small, angry planet". They run into conflicts at times, but these are never settled with force. They don't outwit or otherwise defeat the enemy either. They just come to an agreement or find a legal solution.
I love this book for this. I mean how many times in your life have you been in a conflict? How often was it resolved by force or cunning? Way less often than in novels or films. So this is a nice change of pace.
The story is a bit like a collection of short stories about these characters. You could probably swap around some chapters without anyone noticing. It's not a bad thing. There is not a strong overarching plot or big twists. But still it was a satisfying read. The stories are interesting enough.