Review – The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, Book 1) by Becky Chambers (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 423 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: August 18, 2015
ASIN: B00ZP64F28
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Wayfarers series
Source: Bought ebook for Kindle
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.
Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Wayfarers series, there are four books in this series. I bought this book for my Kindle. Previous to reading this I had read Chambers’ “To Be Taught If Fortunate” and her Monk and Robot series and really loved them both.
Thoughts: I ended up thoroughly enjoying this first installment in the Wayfarers series. This is definitely in the space opera subgenre of sci-fi. Chambers does an excellent job throwing the reader into an intriguing sci-fi world without the term-dumping that makes sci-fi such a drag sometimes. The characters are engaging and entertaining. The worlds are intriguing and I loved the discussion of the different races of aliens and how complicated it is to get everyone working together without any misunderstandings.
The story starts by following Rosemary Harper as she joins the crew of the Wayfarer. The Wayfarer is a ship that punches holes through space to different locations to enable space travel. When they get the offer of a lifetime they can’t refuse, even though it may be incredibly dangerous. As the book continues we get to spend time with all of the crew and learn about their lives and backgrounds.
It did take me a bit to warm up to all the crew on the Wayfarer because we do jump between a lot of characters and planets and races. However, it was time well spent and once I was about 25% through the book I was totally engaged in this story and absolutely loving it. Chambers’ writing style is easy to read and flows well. The story packs a lot into it; there is a good overall plot but a lot of small subplots as well. There is action, adventure, and a bit of romance, as well as political intrigue and some philosophical topics addressed. All in all, there is a lot here and it blends together to make an amazing and engaging story.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really enjoyed this book a lot. This was an amazing start to this sci-fi series. I enjoyed the characters, the intriguing worlds, and races we get to visit. I loved getting to know the Wayfarers crew and really enjoyed my time with them. I am looking forward to starting the second book in this series, “A Closed and Common Orbit” very soon. I would recommend this to fans of Chambers’ writing, fans of space opera, or fans of accessible sci-fi with action and adventure but also a lot of character development and thoughtfulness. So far I have loved everything I have read by Chambers and I look forward to reading more.
