The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet: Wayfarers 1

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Rosemary Harper – A Mars-born human, she leaves her home planet to join the crew of the tunneling ship Wayfarer, where she works as the ship's clerk, while struggling to conceal her past. Everyone in the book had to make choices, to share their secrets, to make choices for others so they wouldn't die even if they didn't want that choice made, thoughts and feelings toward other crew members, AI love, people trying to hide their love for things that just finally had to come out. Doing things for each other even if you don't really like each other because you are crew mates and you are family. These aliens and people have been together for years and years. Content and trigger warnings for murder, death, loss of a loved one, PTSD depiction, grief depiction, blood depiction, and general war themes.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet: 1 (Wayfarers)

Ashby and Sissix are close friends. They both know each others' families, and they regularly play chess together in Ashby's office. Ashby is Sissix's feather brother, which amounts to chosen family. The aliens are strange, but so are the humans. Human culture is as interesting as the alien cultures. Human culture has actually been shaped by history. For example, the culture of the Exodus Fleet has a pacifistic streak, which has formed Ashby’s strong aversion to weapons. There’s also the fact that humans don’t have one unified culture - there are differences between Mars and the Exodus Fleet, as well as differences based on class and where you grew up. The author seems to be trying to emulate the Joss Whedon and associates style of breezy television writing (Firefly, Buffy, Shield etc) which also depicts groups of friends having adventures but what imitators forget is that Whedon created conflict between his characters, he threw massive obstacles in their path, he made them hate each other sometimes, he *scarred* them, he often killed them and so the lessons that they learnt about acceptance and loyalty and diversity and courage etc genuinely resonated with the viewer because they were hard won. This by contrast is tepid, innocuous, and faintly patronising, perfect for a 21st century audience that wants to feel cozy and be spoon fed all the answers. Jenks - A technician on the Wayfarer. I will say I think the moment I fell in love with this book was when Jenks asked Lovey, “What kind of body do you want to have?” One of my biggest pet peeves in all of literature is when authors give AIs genders. And seeing Lovey decide what she wanted to be… friends, I don’t have words for how beautiful it is. You all know that I’m pansexual, so maybe I’m stretching here, but I think Jenks is my new pansexual hero, by the way.It’s a great big world. There are all these interesting alien species, with interesting cultures and history which affect their society. If you love well-written settings where the lore isn’t a bunch of facts but is actually a huge factor in the plot, you will like this. A place where user, lovers, and admirers of makeup can share their storage and organization ideas, vanities, collections, DIYs and all things in between! We cannot blame ourselves for the wars our parents start. Sometimes the very best thing we can do is walk away.”

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - SuperSummary

This is the kind of book that makes you remember why you fell in love with reading. This is the kind of book that feels so powerful you can’t believe it exists. This is the kind of book that sets your very soul on fire and makes you want to do better. This is the kind of book that instills a hope so great that you feel like you could make a difference. This is the kind of book that you won’t be the same after finishing.

Goodreads Summary:

Kizzy - A technician on the Wayfarer. Never, have I ever, read a character that I felt I was personally more like than Kizzy Shao. From her being so talkative, to always trying to be cheerful and positive, to her playing dating sims and loving all food, especially all things spicy, to her loving so unconditionally. I will never answer another bookish question of “what character are you most like” with bits and pieces from other books, because I truly see all of myself in Kizzy. Oh, and her being Asian warms my damn heart, too.

A Closed and Common Orbit - Goodreads A Closed and Common Orbit - Goodreads

Do you agree with Ohan that the Wane is a fair price to pay for enlightenment? What would you be willing to give up for the kind of knowledge Ohan possesses? This book also emphasizes the importance of respect; respecting peoples’ pronouns, peoples’ bodies, and peoples’ feelings. And the representation in this book is honestly unparalleled. From different species, to different races, to different genders, to different sexualities, to different mental health issues, to different bodies types, to different upbringings, to different cultures, to different traditions, to different religions, to different social settings, to so much more. It’s books like this one which make me regret that I give out five stars so easily. I mean, genuinely, the book went straight onto my favourites list as soon as I finished. Everything – the characters, the worldbuilding, the tone – is just perfect. I waited means also long to lastly study this character driven science fiction and since read it I comprehend why it is a well liked story. That is, 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.

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What was **normal everyday life** like for people living 50, 100, or more years ago? Featuring old photos, scanned documents, articles, and personal anecdotes that offer a glimpse into the past. Chapter 10: The Wane: We meet Ohan, Sianat Pair of The Wayfarer, looking out the window of their quarters. They are experiencing the first stage of The Wane: stiffness and muscle spasms. Eventually their body would continue to degrade and break down. Ohan is afraid, even if the infection was sacred. Only Chef and Ashby know that Ohan has begun to Wane.

Ashby Santoso | Wayfarers Wiki | Fandom Ashby Santoso | Wayfarers Wiki | Fandom

I went with huge expectations. In blurbs comparisons where made to Ursula Le Guin and Firefly mention those two is sure ways to get my undivided attention. Sadly this book is nothing like my favorite tv show and it's nowhere near of depth of Le Guin's books. A place to discuss published speculative fiction**—novels, short stories, comics, and more. Not sure if a book counts? Then post it! Science Fiction, Fantasy, Alt. History, Postmodern Lit., and more are all welcome here. **The key is that it be speculative, not that it fit some arbitrary genre guidelines**. Any sort of link or text post is welcome as long as it is about printed / text / static SF material. Dr. Chef - A Grum and the most amazing doctor and chef upon the Wayfarer. A highlight in this perfect book was seeing Dr. Chef become Dr. Chef and everything that had to do with Grums. Again, so beautiful and I would happily trade lessons for his soup, too. This book was just what I needed during a stressful period. I would highly reccomend this to anyone who wants a comfortable/unintimidating sci fi novel with interesting ideas, wholesome characters, accessible language, steady pacing, and interpersonal relationships. I think this book is a fantastic way to recover from a reading slump and improve mood :) I'm so glad I found out about this novel and I'd love to read other works by Chambers! Chapter 13: The Last War: Dr Chef and Rosemary talk about Chef’s species in the Fishbowl. He explains that his species, when left to their own devices, will fight themselves almost to extinction. There are only 300 Grum, Chef’s species, left. He explains that the opposing side, called The Outsiders, used organ cutters to kill his people, which targeted genetic markers of anyone who wasn’t an Outsider. Apparently, the Outsiders stole the tech from Chef’s people who had designed it originally. Chef was a doctor during the war and saw his daughters die in it, and the war later eventually ended. Chef tried to live a quiet life and he eventually became a doctor and was taken onto The Wayfarer by Ashby. Chef believes none of the crew would have an issue with who Rosemary’s father is, just that she lied.

From Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the chatty engineers who keep the ship running, to the noble captain Ashby, life aboard is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. That is until the crew is offered the job of a lifetime tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet. Sure, they'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years, but risking her life wasn't part of the job description. Seriously though, while the central ship in The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is actually named The Wayfarer almost everyone in the book is so cloyingly sweet that the name of the Simpsons' archetypal nice guy seems like a better fit. There's friendly Captain Flanders, chirpy lady engineer Flanders, friendly dwarf Flanders... you get the idea. Even the ship AI is a little Flandersesque. What I found, instead, was a heartily tasty meal of perfectly prepared insects aboard the Wayfarer, enjoying wonderful conversations and a surprisingly diverse collection of humans, aliens, and a truly beautiful soul within an AI. Ashby grew up in the Exodus Fleet, and his family still live there. On the Exodan homesteader Asteria he has an elderly father (" Pop"), and a sister, Tessa, who has two children, Ky (aged 2) and Aya (aged 9). He regularly sends credit to both Tessa and his father. So is this space-opera, or not? Of course it is! But think of it more like distilling and creating anew some of those old favorites, bits and pieces here from Babylon 5, ST:TNG, Red Dwarf, or even a taste of Enterprise. The tropes are familiar, but the tale-crafter, her worlds, and her spacecraft is most certainly not.