416 pages
English language
Published Aug. 7, 2015 by Hodder & Stoughton.
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that's 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 reptilian 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.
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that's 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 reptilian 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.
DNF
Not sure what this was supposed to be. Cozy space opera?
The science is so bad it’s basically fantasy. And the rest is really dull.
Went in expecting a cozy, low-stakes sci-fi romp with Found Family tropes abound, and I got... something that was all that but also something that was occasionally darker and threatening? Not in a, "this was two completely separate books poorly smashed together" kind of way but more like a work that isn't afraid to hold the good with the bad at the same time. I don't know if this makes sense, but what I'm getting at is that it surpassed my expectations.
There's a big cast of characters here and while I was originally afraid we'd only be tied to two of the main protagonists for most of the book, we actually get a fair amount of separate POV chapters, and I think the book benefited from that. As with any new speculative fiction setting, there's going to be some worldbuilding, but most of it here was handled in-fiction …
Went in expecting a cozy, low-stakes sci-fi romp with Found Family tropes abound, and I got... something that was all that but also something that was occasionally darker and threatening? Not in a, "this was two completely separate books poorly smashed together" kind of way but more like a work that isn't afraid to hold the good with the bad at the same time. I don't know if this makes sense, but what I'm getting at is that it surpassed my expectations.
There's a big cast of characters here and while I was originally afraid we'd only be tied to two of the main protagonists for most of the book, we actually get a fair amount of separate POV chapters, and I think the book benefited from that. As with any new speculative fiction setting, there's going to be some worldbuilding, but most of it here was handled in-fiction through dialogue between characters, so it came across as more natural and conversational than paragraphs of dry lore-dumping. And even despite the presentation, the content was engaging enough that I wouldn't mind revisiting this universe again. There are a few alien races that are touched upon that genuinely felt alien to me and I wanted to know more about them.
The middle sort of... I feel like the word "sags" is a little too harsh, because there is constant dramatic action, but the central task this crew is trying to achieve often feels like something just passively lingering in the background instead of the main driving impetus for everything else going on. I guess when you have a job that will take literal months to complete and there's nothing you can do to speed it up you're naturally gonna have a ton of downtime to explore all these side characters, but I suppose I would've preferred a bit more urgency and momentum throughout. Still, I can see the appeal of a more leisurely narrative pace like this. If I do continue with the series, I feel like I'll have a better set of expectations going into it.
Very nice worldbuilding. Good characters. Nice story. To bad there is no sequel.
In general I really liked this book. It is obvious that Chambers loves worldbuilding. For how queer it was though, I kept getting distracted by how rigidly it stuck to the gender binary. One character is introduced as "they", but then it turns out that they're plural. The diversity in the story wasn't bad exactly, but as an enby it felt really alienating.
In general I really liked this book. It is obvious that Chambers loves worldbuilding. For how queer it was though, I kept getting distracted by how rigidly it stuck to the gender binary. One character is introduced as "they", but then it turns out that they're plural. The diversity in the story wasn't bad exactly, but as an enby it felt really alienating.
This was a good read at a good time - Long Way spends most of its energy focusing on the crew of the Wayfarer and their interactions with each other, and that's where all the delight comes from. I would love to hear more about Rosemary, Sissix, Kizzy and Jenks, and all the rest. It's also given me some great thoughts about future tech for some projects of my own.
This was a good read at a good time - Long Way spends most of its energy focusing on the crew of the Wayfarer and their interactions with each other, and that's where all the delight comes from. I would love to hear more about Rosemary, Sissix, Kizzy and Jenks, and all the rest. It's also given me some great thoughts about future tech for some projects of my own.
This is a nice piece of postmodern space opera. I may (or may not) read some of the sequels. Not sure yet. I've read this right after finishing Iain Banks' Culture Series, no doubt the ultimate progressive space opera. Of course, it's tough to follow up on that. Becky Chambers definitely doesn't play in the same league as Banks, but I can hardly hold that against her. I found her on-the-nose wokeism pretty annoying initially, and the story does start ultra-slow, but I warmed to her character- and world-building quite quickly. They are both exceptionally well done and refreshing, given the shallowness in that regard of most of the other works of space opera (or sci-fi in general) that I've read so far. I loved the polyamorous Aandrisks, the rickety ship, the inter-species crew of rig-workers, and the positivity of the whole thing.
SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT: What really marred …
This is a nice piece of postmodern space opera. I may (or may not) read some of the sequels. Not sure yet. I've read this right after finishing Iain Banks' Culture Series, no doubt the ultimate progressive space opera. Of course, it's tough to follow up on that. Becky Chambers definitely doesn't play in the same league as Banks, but I can hardly hold that against her. I found her on-the-nose wokeism pretty annoying initially, and the story does start ultra-slow, but I warmed to her character- and world-building quite quickly. They are both exceptionally well done and refreshing, given the shallowness in that regard of most of the other works of space opera (or sci-fi in general) that I've read so far. I loved the polyamorous Aandrisks, the rickety ship, the inter-species crew of rig-workers, and the positivity of the whole thing.
SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT: What really marred my overall impression was the annoyingly naive description of the pirate incident, and the absolutely stupid love story involving the AI. But maybe this last topic is spoiled for me forever, since my job is to research the fundamental differences between machines (like AIs) and living beings. Anthropomorphizing software is not a sign of humanism, but a sign of very confused thinking.
I love Becky Chambers. A friend called it a little stereotyped, but it's so nice, it's my comfort food. It gives hope for a life after climate change (not very realistic hope, but it's nice to escape sometimes). Also the characters are super cute.
I love Becky Chambers. A friend called it a little stereotyped, but it's so nice, it's my comfort food. It gives hope for a life after climate change (not very realistic hope, but it's nice to escape sometimes). Also the characters are super cute.
Rosemary Harper has low expectations for her time as a member of the Wayfarer crew. All she could possibly want is offered by the Wayfarer, a repaired vessel that has seen better days: solitude in a remote area of the galaxy, adventure in remote corners, and a break from her past traumas.
With the Wayfarer, Rosemary, however, gets more than she expected. With Sissix, the amiable reptile pilot, and Jenks and Kizzy, the perpetually combative engineers who keep the ship afloat, the crew is a jumble of species and personalities. Rosemary is happy that the chaotic yet generally calm life aboard is what she desires.
I also reviewed this book on other platforms like shabd.in and kindle too
Je moet er een beetje van houden denk ik, het is een beetje fluffy en lief met allemaal aardige mensen die het beste met elkaar voor hebben. De Grote Geheimen waar het in de flaptekst over gaat zijn niet heel erg wereldschokkend, en zelfs de (weinige) slechteriken zijn grotendeels niet echt slecht. Niet echt een nagelbijter dus. Maar ach, het is bijna kerst, en we kunnen wel wat woke feelgood gebruiken in de wereld.
An absolutely beautiful, character-driven story filled with vignettes that range from humorous to heartbreaking to downright philosophical. The various factions present throughout are all well-written and impactful, and we learn about them in ways that never feel overly exposition-y. It's like Firefly, but better, and with 100% less Whedon.
An absolutely beautiful, character-driven story filled with vignettes that range from humorous to heartbreaking to downright philosophical. The various factions present throughout are all well-written and impactful, and we learn about them in ways that never feel overly exposition-y. It's like Firefly, but better, and with 100% less Whedon.
Enjoyed the weirdness of the worldbuilding, loved the relationshis and interactive, just liked the characters. I needed to get used to the slow pacing but enjoyed it in the end.
Start here and you will never turn back!
Everyone has stakes and a journey and I am fond of all of them. Now I’m in for the next books.
Ich suchte nach: - ScienceFiction - Autorin - optimistisch - divers und fand dieses Buch. Es ist nicht sonderlich spannend. Keine Intrigen, keine Schlachten, noch nicht mal philosophisch nachhallende Denkansätze. Man lernt einfach nur die sympathische, diverse Crew kennen, die ein bisschen was zu tun hat. Wie so eine von den etwas unspektakuläreren TNG- oder Voyager-Folgen. I love it! War leider etwas abrupt zu Ende, daher habe ich mir schnell Band 2 gekauft. Ich will noch ein bisschen weiter mitreisen.
Ich suchte nach: - ScienceFiction - Autorin - optimistisch - divers und fand dieses Buch. Es ist nicht sonderlich spannend. Keine Intrigen, keine Schlachten, noch nicht mal philosophisch nachhallende Denkansätze. Man lernt einfach nur die sympathische, diverse Crew kennen, die ein bisschen was zu tun hat. Wie so eine von den etwas unspektakuläreren TNG- oder Voyager-Folgen. I love it! War leider etwas abrupt zu Ende, daher habe ich mir schnell Band 2 gekauft. Ich will noch ein bisschen weiter mitreisen.
I've come a bit late to The Long Way, it's not as ground breaking now as it may have been back in 2014.
I can understand readers that may have been disappointed when what at first glance looks like the premise for a technical space thriller, turns out to be a cozy tale of found family and acceptance.
I found it to be too long, despite the warning on the label.
The shorter format of, [b:A Psalm for the Wild-Built|40864002|A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)|Becky Chambers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600789291l/40864002.SY75.jpg|63655961], was more suited to my taste.
I've come a bit late to The Long Way, it's not as ground breaking now as it may have been back in 2014.
I can understand readers that may have been disappointed when what at first glance looks like the premise for a technical space thriller, turns out to be a cozy tale of found family and acceptance.
I found it to be too long, despite the warning on the label.
The shorter format of, [b:A Psalm for the Wild-Built|40864002|A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)|Becky Chambers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600789291l/40864002.SY75.jpg|63655961], was more suited to my taste.
