A Closed and Common Orbit

The dual stories, told in short, impactful chapters is such a powerful mechanism, and Becky Chambers wields it perfectly.

Both stories are riveting for their own, very different reasons. But both have to do with social justice, and personhood denied.

I found myself getting to the end of one chapter and being oh but I want to stay with this character! only to get embroiled in the other character's chapter immediately.

It's like an anti-cliffhanger. Rather than leaving you hanging, it pulls you in to the next segment, and then pulls you right back into the following.

If you liked The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - the previous entry by Becky Chambers, then I can super-recommend this.

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.

I am excited about the rest of the series.

"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.

How amazing was this book? I had put this one off for a while, because I like plot-heavy books, and as I stated in my review of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, I had my issues because there was no plot as such in there. Instead it had a huge ensemble cast of characters and their stories. A Closed and Common Orbit follows the events of the first book, but it's not a return to the crew of the Wayfarer at all. Instead this book has a very tight focus on two characters: Sidra and Pepper. Sidra, the AI formerly known as Lovelace, was installed in a body kit at the end of the previous book, and she starts over a new life on Port Coriol with the aid of Pepper. The latter is a friend of Jenks from the first book, a tech with a repair shop on Port Coriol. With a different PoV in each chapter, we learn about Sidra's struggle to adjust to life in a body, and learn Pepper's quite heartbreaking backstory of why she is so fond of AIs.

You still have all the hallmarks from the first book, with diversity oozing from every page. I loved every moment of this.

A wonderful sequel

This book went an entirely different direction from the first in the series, yet it was just as enjoyable. My favorite part of the book was the structure in which the two stories were told in parallel, coming together into a great finish. Can't wait for the third one!

A wonderful sequel

This book went an entirely different direction from the first in the series, yet it was just as enjoyable. My favorite part of the book was the structure in which the two stories were told in parallel, coming together into a great finish. Can't wait for the third one!

A wonderful sequel

This book went an entirely different direction from the first in the series, yet it was just as enjoyable. My favorite part of the book was the structure in which the two stories were told in parallel, coming together into a great finish. Can't wait for the third one!