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.