Originally a self-published novel and soon to be published as hardcover by Hodder in the UK, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers has earned acolytes, enthusiastic reviews and a Kitschies nomination. The idea that they were drilling holes in the universe was appealing. This did not bother me much, though. However, it didn’t limit my enjoyment of the romantic storyline(s). Each of the aliens did at least have their own unique personality.If you were ambivalent about The Long Way, I recommend avoiding the other two books in the series.
The primary cultural groups seem greatly simplified, but even those cultural differences are still referenced in the story in an interesting way.)
(One possible exception to this could be the way that humanity’s cultural history seems to have shifted further into ethnic homogeny, with most of the humans in the story being vaguely brown without much more specification than that. Third-person limited point of view allows the narrative to maintain a certain smoothness, and occasionally take a half-step out of the characters’ heads to The main thing that stood out for me, though, was that the voices of the characters, both internal and external, just Different characters in the story have different cultures, needs, and motivations, all well-crafted and multi-dimensional. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a fun, breezy book that feels like an eccentric Star Trek episode. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (TLWTASAP for short) takes this structure and uses it to incredible effect. This website uses cookies to improve your experience.
The dual creature who calculated their course while they were doing their interstellar road building was appealing. 90% of it was devoted to character building and 8% to world building. We had to check it out. He recently relocated to Japan, and is working as an assistant English teacher in the Osaka area. I thought they were not bad, but not quite as good as the first one.I almost put it down several times because there was enough plot for a short story, but not for a book.
They’re only loosely connected, sharing the universe and some characters, but the storylines of each stands alone.
The atmosphere of the Wayfarer, the primary setting of the story, was a keystone of detail, containing everything from computer banks, to a greenhouse attached to a kitchen, to jellyfish-patterned curtains that reassure the reader that this novel never loses sight of its personal angle on the far future.The settings were beautifully written, often acting as characters in their own right.
There are a few heterosexual pairings in the book as well, but they were all between different types of satient beings, written with the same lack of assumptions and care to emotional detail that the f/f pairing was, even when they featured slightly less central members of the cast.In addition, none of the romances took over the narrative. The visuals and sensory details in this story were well-balanced, grounding it excellently.
However, I had some really major problems with it that really ruined the story for me. The book focused on how personal interactions can echo diplomacy between peoples, especially when large cultural gaps come into play.Terry is an eternal student, a writing nerd, an indifferent violist, an avid knitting novice, and a gay trans man.
The characters are bright and quirky, so if you’re in the mood for a story about goofy people getting along in a sci-fi setting, you should pick this up. Most of the story is the adventures the crew has as they travel to the planet (hence the book’s title).I think I enjoyed it more than you did.
The journey, taking place over the course of a standard galactic year, chronicles the long haul that a ship takes to get to where they need to go to fulfill a governmental work contract that could change everything for the ship and crew.
Instead, they were given room to breathe in scenes that didn’t necessarily move the story forward directly. This was true both figuratively, in that different locations on and off different planets added conflict and emotion to scenes, and literally, because Wayfarer is overseen by an excellent AI character named Lovelace.Chambers writes compellingly from a number of points of view, without the voice changing enough for it to be jarring.As far as I can tell, it works for a few reasons. But nothing much happened. The strength of the cast is a major one. Okay, so A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was recommended to me as a hilarious, comforting space found family story.