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.
Using the trope of a computer or AI to discuss about what it means to be a human is not new, but Chambers does something interesting with it. It's more about human as a social animal than the question of consciousness. I think that was a far more interesting question anyway.
I found Pepper's story to be really engaging as well, and this time it felt like the author did develop her skills writing plot driven as well as character driven. Chambers has become one of my favourite writers.
Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
Closed & Common Orbit certainly chimed with my dysphoria through its representation of Sidra disassociation and Pepper’s trauma. I’m definitely going to continue reading more of these when it comes to adding more to my list, not least because the change in perspectives keeps things very fresh.
Closed & Common Orbit certainly chimed with my dysphoria through its representation of Sidra disassociation and Pepper’s trauma. I’m definitely going to continue reading more of these when it comes to adding more to my list, not least because the change in perspectives keeps things very fresh.
Der Fokus liegt hier auf den zwei Hauptprotagonistinnen, deren Charakterentwicklung und einen konsistenten Handlungsstrang mit merklich steigendem Spannungsbogen. Somit ist der Erzählstil anders, als in Teil eins, dennoch ist das Buch mindestens genauso gut, wenn nicht sogar besser!
Die Story fand ich wunderschön und die Protagonistinnen und die drei Nebencharaktere durch und durch sympathisch und liebenswert. Auch dieses Mal habe ich während des Lesens mehrfach in Emotionen geschwelgt. Wie sehr habe ich mit ihnen mitgefiebert, wie sehr mitgefühlt, wenn sie es schwer hatten, wie sehr ging mir das Herz auf, wenn sie schöne Dinge erlebt hatten.
Und letztere sind zum Glück auch in diesem Teil wieder in der Mehrzahl, auch wenn diesmal ein bisschen häufiger auch etwas bedrückendere Momente stattfinden, was die Bindung an die Charaktere aber umso mehr verstärkt.
Besonders angetan hat es mir Protagonistin Sidra. Nicht nur, weil ich es interessant …
Hach, was für ein wunderbares Buch. 🥰
Der Fokus liegt hier auf den zwei Hauptprotagonistinnen, deren Charakterentwicklung und einen konsistenten Handlungsstrang mit merklich steigendem Spannungsbogen. Somit ist der Erzählstil anders, als in Teil eins, dennoch ist das Buch mindestens genauso gut, wenn nicht sogar besser!
Die Story fand ich wunderschön und die Protagonistinnen und die drei Nebencharaktere durch und durch sympathisch und liebenswert. Auch dieses Mal habe ich während des Lesens mehrfach in Emotionen geschwelgt. Wie sehr habe ich mit ihnen mitgefiebert, wie sehr mitgefühlt, wenn sie es schwer hatten, wie sehr ging mir das Herz auf, wenn sie schöne Dinge erlebt hatten.
Und letztere sind zum Glück auch in diesem Teil wieder in der Mehrzahl, auch wenn diesmal ein bisschen häufiger auch etwas bedrückendere Momente stattfinden, was die Bindung an die Charaktere aber umso mehr verstärkt.
Besonders angetan hat es mir Protagonistin Sidra. Nicht nur, weil ich es interessant fand, einen Großteil der Handlung aus der Sicht einer KI zu erleben. Sondern auch, weil ihre Persönlichkeit einfach lieb und herzlich gezeichnet ist.
Außerdem fand ich es bewegend, mitzuerleben, wie sie sich als empfindungsfähige KI in einem Bodykit unter Organischen anfangs schwer tut, sich in der Situation entwickelt und dabei liebevolle Freundschaften schließt.
Wie schon Band 1 ein wirklich optimistisches und wohltuendes Buch. 😌
i enjoyed A Closed and Common Orbit even more than the prequel one. (which has not enough story to keep up--for my taste at least) i think of it as a kind of double bildungsroman, with two developing characters between which the novel is split.
Chambers connects her scifi(-world) convincingly and smoothly with the problems most of us are facing and can relate to. it's how scifi should comment the present. and although the focus is always on the personalities, there are also a lot of social themes and thoughts.
a lot of readers mention the caring characters throughout the story, which make it so satisfactional to follow. I can support that! but it would be sad to think, it's just another form of escapism, a tweak to the genre. this is a shortcoming of understanding the themes Chambers is working on.
the real impact makes Chambers skill in building …
i enjoyed A Closed and Common Orbit even more than the prequel one. (which has not enough story to keep up--for my taste at least) i think of it as a kind of double bildungsroman, with two developing characters between which the novel is split.
Chambers connects her scifi(-world) convincingly and smoothly with the problems most of us are facing and can relate to. it's how scifi should comment the present. and although the focus is always on the personalities, there are also a lot of social themes and thoughts.
a lot of readers mention the caring characters throughout the story, which make it so satisfactional to follow. I can support that! but it would be sad to think, it's just another form of escapism, a tweak to the genre. this is a shortcoming of understanding the themes Chambers is working on.
the real impact makes Chambers skill in building up and writing emotional scenes. and because i was listening to the audiobook: R. Dulude did a great job on this one (too).
More feel-good scifi. (No spoilers:) It's Pepper backstory, and another minor character from A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. I think this one benefits a lot from taking it slowly and focussing on just two characters.
Review of 'A Closed and Common Orbit' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
It had compelling themes and interesting things to say, but somehow still managed not to be compelling to me. I felt like it was two stories that weren't enough on their own mooshed into one. They were well woven together though, and definitely had dependencies on each other in the story telling. I dunno. It just didn't grab me.
I absolutely adored this book. I realise that part of this is that it was a perfect little escape while I was stuck at home with covid, but I do also think it's really wonderful.
It has some similar strengths to the first in the series, in that it's mostly about the relationships between a few outcast characters that become a chosen family and just happen to be in space. But if anything I think it's better written (I guess Chambers getting into her stride with book 2), and benefits from being a more focussed story of a smaller number of characters. And has some weightier things to say about embodiment, the tension between fitting in and freedom, and loyalty & reciprocity.
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 …
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.
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.
"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.
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).
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 …
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 obviously rushing to go read the third book in the series, and whatever the plot may be or who it might feature, as Malcolm Reynolds said, "don't much care what it is." I trust Becky Chambers now to give me a thoroughly enjoyable story.
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.
