Review: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rosemary Harpe is beginning to think she might not make her rendezvous with the spaceship Wayfarer, wormhole builders. The pod she is in runs on cheap fuel and she is not sure that the drugs she is using to make the journey palatable, completely work… When she emerges from consciousness all she can think about is will her new brand new identity work when she gets to the ship? She makes it safely and after passing the Bioscan is welcomed about the Wayfarer. He fellow crew consist of humans, Ashby, the captain, Corbin the algae expert, Jenks and Kizzy who are the techs. With them are other species, Sissix a reptilian, Dr Chef and Sinat Pair called Ohan whose particular skill enables them to navigate through the wormholes.

Her new life is carrying out clerical and admin stuff for the ship and keeping well out of the way from her previous life. But life for the crew is about to change completely, they have the opportunity to punch a wormhole through to the Toremi, a race that have recently indicated that they want to be a part of the wider interspecies cooperation. This chance offers financial security, but it is a huge risk too; Ashby decides that he has to take it. So begins an adventure that will stretch and threaten them as they discover who their friends really are.

This is a really enjoyable drama set in space, with a diverse and unusual set of characters with flaws and qualities alike. The pacing was good, with quieter more reflective periods in-between moments of rapid action. I liked the way that Chambers wrote about the tech and physics, none of it felt implausible and she manages to convey what is happening without taking reams of text to explain it. The story wrapped up nicely, but it did feel like some of the story was being held back for the next ones in the series though. Good stuff, definitely will be reading the next ones in the series. 3.5 stars


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