Synopsis

Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

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.

Review

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the ideas proposed, but was a bit overly produced and flat for me. I think audiences who like a lighthearted, more middle grade type outlook to life’s ups and downs, predictable tension, and a more polished approach to introspection and solving interpersonal problems may like it more than me.

I read this one for Life’s Library Book Club. The last one of our 3-year journey. It’s been lovely!

The Story
Read like soggy cereal. All the ingredients were there but prepared as a less savory experience for me.

I wanted to read about The Fermi Paradox, interstellar travel, cosmology, consciousness, a few deeper aspects related to space and relevance.

I wanted predicaments, some awry situations. Instead there was focus on much minutiae of detail I didn’t care about.

It was a bit more comic book villain than I wanted, but ones where the characters felt overly proposed and overly purposed. Just a small handful of characters and storyline with an exciting, arching plot would have been wonderful, but rather there was a lot to follow without much zing or substance to keep me interested.

It needed drama, whether internal or external conflict.

The Writing
Technically well written but very flat. Lacked motivation, emotional drama, and had very featureless yet uniformed, predictable, more surface-leaning plot points.

I liked the concepts though!

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