The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is the 2014 debut science fiction novel by Becky Chambers, set in her fictional universe the Galactic Commons. Chambers originally self-published it via a Kickstarter campaign; it was subsequently re-published by Hodder & Stoughton.
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I really needed a fun little sci-fi road trip story, and this delivered quite well! The characters are all quite likable, and the world building with such a diverse array of alien species made for a lot of fun scenarios.
There is a romance later on that comes seemingly out of nowhere, and I wasn’t a big fan of how Ohan’s they/them pronouns are treated as a symptom of a disease. It kind of nearly crosses the border into demonizing plurality, but I know for sure that wasn’t the author’s intention.
Sympathische Charaktere, die alle auf ihre Art liebenswert sind, als Crew und Freund*innen aufeinander aufpassen und einen liebevollen Umgang miteinander pflegen. Gemeinsam erleben sie herzerwärmende und zugleich unterhaltsame Geschichten auf ihrer Reise zu diesem kleinen, zornigen Planeten.
Wer einen stringenten, zusammenhängenden und sich aufbauenden Plot erwartet, wird hier zwar nicht fündig (auch wenn ein Plot durchaus exisitert). Wer sich hingegen an herzlichen Charakteren, mitfühlendem und freundschaftlichem Zusammenhalt und optimistischen emotionalen Erzählungen erfreuen kann, wird dieses Buch lieben, denn davon enthält es eine Menge.
Ich jedenfalls musste das Lesen mehrfach kurz pausieren, um vor Rührung und positiver Ergriffenheit zu seufzen. 😌
Kurzum eine wirklich wunderschöne, herzerwärmende und optimistische Space-Opera mit bewegendem, spannendem und emotionalem Finale.
Absolute Leseempfehlung!
Reading this feels a lot like watching a soap opera. It's very much a character driven story with the plot serving merely to prod the story along as and when needed. And the characters are an entertaining and likeable bunch of misfits, doing their job and surviving as best they can.
It's also worth noting that this is a really nice story. The characters have spent years learning to get along with each other and... they get along with each other. What tensions there are are relatively minor and never distract from the fact that these people are looking out for each other.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a very easy read and a solid debut from Becky Chambers.
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
I really don't know where to start. This book just plain sucks, sorry. No overarching story and character development is pretty much non-existent. Just finished it, and I'm now sitting here thinking what the book was about. What was the story? I read a lot of not-so-good books, but this is the worst in a long time. Character story lines just come and go, none, except for Lovie is resolved. And that is also badly written. Wtf. I really can't fathom how this book has a 4.16 star rating. Is it because the author was "progressive" with the weird pronoun thing? Am I too old for this book?
What I did like though, where the characters and the energy of the techs.
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while …
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while being interesting enough to always keep you engaged.
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while …
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while being interesting enough to always keep you engaged.