Review time! I just finished reading the Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, and honestly this book was so fun. I need more people to read it!
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers is one of those books that does not have a big plot, but is more driven by its characters. The blurb on the back makes it seem like the story is centered around Rosemary, but in the end every character in the book is important.
So a little more about the setting. Rosemary takes on a job as a clerk on the tunneling ship the Wayfarer. The crew’s sole purpose it to make so-called tunnels in space to travel from one end of the universe to the other in a short amount of time. I shall not go into the science, but if you’ve read Aurora Rising you’ll notice it’s similar to “folding.” The crew takes on a very risky job, which will take them into hostile territory, and thus the adventure begins.
In this future, there are tons of different alien species and the crew of the Wayfarer is very diverse. I love how every alien species has their own distinct culture. I could tell that Chambers really thought about how each character would behave according to their own norms and values. This truly makes for an awesome, character driven story.
But my favorite thing about this book by far is that despite all the fun, there are some actual life lessons to be learned. I never saw that coming, but I appreciated it nonetheless. Every character goes through their own troubles in this story. But every character also has their wisdom to share.
I truly, highly recommend reading this book, even if science fiction is not your thing. And don’t worry about the plot, there’s still plenty of action!
★★★★★
In all this book was lighthearted, fun, but also surprisingly heartbreaking and tender. Give it a go when you have the chance!
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Cover Image by James Wheeler via Unsplash
