The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet: Wayfarers 1
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By Becky Chambers
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3 reviews
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILEY’S WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION
‘A quietly profound, humane tour de force’ GuardianThe beloved debut novel that will restore your faith in humanity
#SmallAngryPlanet
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn’t expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past.
But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful – exactly what Rosemary wants.
Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They’ll earn enough money to live comfortably for years… if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful.
But Rosemary isn’t the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed.
PRAISE FOR THE WAYFARERS‘Never less than deeply involving’ DAILY MAIL
‘Explores the quieter side of sci-fi while still wowing us with daring leaps of imagination’ iBOOKS
‘So much fun to read’ HEAT
‘Chambers is simply an exceptional talent, quietly and beautifully redefining the space opera’ TOR.COM
‘The most fun that I’ve had with a novel in a long, long time’ iO9
TweetReviews
This book was amazing!!! It was funny, it was interesting and just a really nice feel-good read.
Until I read this book I thought I hated Science Fiction. John Wyndham was about my limit and I wasn’t overly comfortable with that. This book cannot be described as anything but Sci-fi but I was hooked from the first page.
The story is set on a ship which tunnels through space to create new pathways and the ship is manned by a crew of eight. It is very much a mixed race affair and all the characters are extremely well developed and mostly very likeable. Physical attributes peculiar to the character’s race are complemented by quirky personalities which define them as individuals. Their back stories emerge as the plot unfolds and I found myself really caring what happened to these crew members. Along the way they encounter other exotic creatures from both mainstream and fringe planets that they visit and these are equally well developed and unique.
In fact, whilst the book is set in space, it is not this aspect of the book which defines it. Characterisation is the driving force which, in my view, makes it so successful. Becky Chambers has a very creative imagination and the attention to detail regarding all aspects of life for any particular species is astounding - culture, sexuality, nutrition, disease and many more aspects of everyday life are covered in fascinating detail.
I seriously loved this book and it is impossible to explain how amazed I am to hear myself say that about a book that is quintessentially Sci-fi. Still, there you have it. I would recommend this book to anyone and will definitely be reading the sequel.
What an amazing book - one of the best I've read this year. Such brilliant world building, wonderful characters, I didn't want it to end.
