A Closed and Common Orbit

by Becky Chambers

Paperback, 364 pages

English language

Published Aug. 7, 2017 by Hodder & Stoughton.

ISBN:: 978-1-4736-2147-3

(236 reviews)

Once, Lovelace had eyes and ears everywhere. She was a ship's artificial intelligence system - possessing a personality and very human emotions. But when her ship was badly damaged, Lovelace was forced to reboot and reset. Now housed in an illegal synthetic body, she's never felt so isolated. But Lovelace is not alone. Pepper, an engineer who risked her life to reinstall Lovelace's program, has remained by her side and is determined to help her.

13 editions

V171 reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Moving from the first book in the series to this one was like a punch in the gut. It became clear almost instantly that we would be moving away from the loving, wonderful, heartfelt story and characters of the first book to focus on a new set of characters that played a smaller role in the first book. This installment hyper focused on two characters in particular, which was quite the change from the first book's 4-5 POVs. But this change ultimately made me fall in love all over again. By spending so much time with these two interesting, intertwined but completely unique stories, there was enough time to fully flesh out the character development. If there was one criticism I had of the first book, it was that we didn't have enough time with any one character to feel like their character development was fully explored and justified, but this book completely remedied that. Again, this is a hugely character driven story, so in Becky Chambers fashion, don't walk into this expecting a Martha Wells sci-fi adventure.

The construction and dichotomy of the stories' exploration of what it means to be human, and what it means to belong was pure art. Both POVs served as each other's foil throughout the whole book, constantly orbiting each other in theme and tone. There were several moments of both of these stories that really touched my heart as Chambers expertly explored interpersonal relationships in a beautifully concise way. And it all came to a thematically beautiful close.

You can, of course, expect to see more fascinating explorations of gender, sexuality, and identity that Chambers is so good at implementing. Her sci-fi world building continues to build on what she established in the first book and continues to be very interesting. As always, this refreshing take on what sci-fi can be makes me fall in love with the genre all over again. Given how quickly I consume these books, I'm already dreading finishing the series. I'm not ready to say goodbye to this world.

Chungledown Bim reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I cried & cried. Just as lovely as the first

Rainer reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

This is how I expect all sci-fi to be written now

5 stars

Becky Chambers' approach to sci-fi has ruined me. No longer will I accept grungy and dystopian worlds that don't have redeeming character arcs filled with friendship, love, and care. This book is just so good.

Derek Caelin reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Another Optimistic Read

5 stars

"A Closed And Common Orbit" by Becky Chambers is set in the same universe as "The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet" but follows side characters from the first book.

It took me a while to adjust to the new cast (I was still in love with the old cast!) but once I took a little break and came back to it with a fresh pallet, I really enjoyed it. I particularly liked how much the characters tried to look after each other.

vertis reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Deep and engaging

When I started reading this I was a little disappointed that we were going off on a tangent. As the novel continued though I came to love the story.

It reminds me of Iain M. Banks and Anne McCaffrey in equal measures. A universe to explore and live in. Deep philosophical questions, and a cast that doesn't die off one at a time (I hope this doesn't change in future books).

Highly recommended.

rainbowreckoner reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Well, Becky Chambers did it again. After finding the first Wayfarers book such a delight, I wanted more stories of the crew I'd grown so fond of. I was a bit crestfallen to realize this book would follow Pepper and the AI mentioned at the end of the first book. And now here I am, shedding a few happy tears upon finishing the book, having grown to truly care about each character. The writing is just so good - I had to go back and reread a whole chapter when Pepper is on the way to the museum after the reveal about the crew member's location, and marveled at how cleverly it had been done. And just like the first book, this story does what the best sci fi does- it makes me question my assumptions and beliefs, makes me feel more open to possibilities, inspires curiosity and wonder. I'm …

Eduardo Santiago reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

(Clarification first: this is not a sequel to [b:Angry Planet|22733729|The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)|Becky Chambers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405532474l/22733729.SY75.jpg|42270825]. There’s a connection, but it’s tenuous at best. Don’t expect any of the same characters or situations.)

And, with that out of the way, squee again! Not at first — I was slow to catch feelings for these characters — but catch them I did, and it all just kept getting better and better up to the very end. In this book, Chambers speaks to the Broken Ones: those of us with physical and/or psychic trauma, different, weird, hurting. And she writes about grit, compassion, caring, finding one’s tribe, one’s purpose, one’s self. There’s a whole lotta love in these books, and okay it can be a little thick at times, but right now I’m A-OK with that.

sarah reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

gentle and fierce

4 stars

I found this much more emotional of a read than I expected. The questions about what makes a person a person, and a home a home, and a family a family, not to mention what is the relationship between ourselves and our physical bodies— it’s a lot to handle! And the book does is so gently even as it’s really fierce on valuing lives and loves. Anyway. She’s so good, Becky Chambers.

SI CLARKE reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Lovelace is the AI that manages the Wayfarer — until she finds herself freshly rebooted, no memories, and migrated to a human body. Pepper, my favourite character from Long Way, finds herself playing mother-figure to Lovelace.

Becky Chambers is the supreme ruler of character-driven science fiction. No one else creates characters that readers get deeply invested in quite like she does. She gives us the very best of found family.

My one complaint about The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet was the lack of a clear, cohesive plot. The characters in this book are every bit as compelling — possibly even more so. But what separates the two books is that this one follows a more traditional story arc.

If you’re someone who lives for action-heavy, bang-bang-pew-pew science fiction, this might not be your bag. But if you (like me) love story that puts the focus on the …

Adem reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Was expecting further adventures of the Wayfarer crew, and was at first sort of bummed to be reading a mostly unrelated story featuring a minor character from the first book and a character that was literally born in the last few pages of that book, but got over that pretty quickly. You can't really call this a sequel, as it shares almost nothing with the first book other than being set in the same universe and sharing the original's fascination with characters who have non-human psychologies while still being fully realized persons.

Steen Christiansen reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Cool reflections on artificial intelligence but the story feels flat.

Wetdryvac reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Sentience, a near-and-dear topic for me, as with the value of same. Absolutely lovely read, from characterization to world-building. Best thing I've read in ages.

Rallidaerule reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Loved the first book, enjoyed this one even more. At first I was sad we left the main cast of book 1, but came to love this new crew just as much. What an amazing story.

AndySoc1al reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Another good entry in this series, this time focusing on a completely new character.

otrops reviewed A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

I loved this book for the same reason I loved The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. The world building that is so well thought out that everything seems obvious, though it’s very different to our own world. It’s a world that is lived in by multiple alien species, all of which are very original but still entirely believable. But all of this—a finely wrought world and the aliens that inhabit it—is merely background to the characters that live in this world and the relationships between them.

This novel explores what it means to be a person through the lens of two AIs. Each is slowly shown to be a person in their own right. Chambers is so effective at this that she had me near tears toward the end of the novel.

I really can’t recommend the Wayfarers novels enough.