The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

by Becky Chambers

Audiobook

Published May 20, 2019 by HarperAudio.

ISBN:: 978-1-4736-1978-4

(4 reviews)

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 …

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.

10 editions

Otts reviewed The long way to a small, angry planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Getting to know you…in space!

4 stars

Wow, not what I expected: actual character development in a sci-fi title with lots of new species, cultures, and morphologies. How refreshing to take the time for this and not just plot plot plot! It does drag just a teeny bit: I wanted more to happen at one point. But I have faith Chambers can calibrate plot and character development for the rest of this series. Excited to read the rest.

Ben K-C reviewed The long way to a small, angry planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Oh my stars

5 stars

An absolutely beautiful, character-driven story filled with vignettes that range from humorous to heartbreaking to downright philosophical. The various factions present throughout are all well-written and impactful, and we learn about them in ways that never feel overly exposition-y. It's like Firefly, but better, and with 100% less Whedon.

Eph (they, them) reviewed The long way to a small, angry planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The long way to a small, angry planet' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Start here and you will never turn back!

Daniel reviewed The long way to a small, angry planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

An incredible story. A real delight.

5 stars

Wow this book is incredible! There’s so much to say that I’m afraid I don’t have the words to convey it all. Becky Chambers’ book gave me so many FEELINGS. Each new page revealed some unexpected delight or curiosity that kept me hooked right to the end.

I love science fiction, but especially stories that involve both the minutia of the daily lives of spacefarers or colonists and the sweeping grand scale of interstellar travel and galactic politics. Combine this with a healthy dose of chunky, tangible tech, sentient AIs and a variety of different races and cultures and I’m in my happy place.

The Long Way delivers on all of this and so much more. The multi-species crew of the Wayfarer are all fleshed out as distinct individuals, each with their own personalities, belief systems, desires and struggles. It was thrilling to discover little snippets of their backstories and how this influences their relationships with each other. I also really enjoyed that our window into their world was initially that of an outsider, Rosemary, and that as I grew more accustomed to the crew, so did she.

(Kizzy is my absolute favourite❤️ Jenks asking “are you making them hats?” absolutely killed me😂)

Becky makes expert use of the interpersonal relationships between this small cast of quirky characters living in tight quarters to explore themes of identity, family, gender and sexuality effortlessly. It never feels heavy handed and the variety of species only made it more natural. It was refreshing to discover a universe where multiple gender pronouns, sexual orientations and found families are the norm.

All this set against the backdrop of the Galactic Commons and the political concerns of different planets and species. The destination, Hedra Ka - the small angry planet of the title - is only found after a long and meandering journey, but what a journey. This is a story that’s all about what happens when you take the long way round and it’s SO worth it. I adored this book.

I’m really sad that it’s over - a little stunned to be honest - but I’m so grateful for the heartwarming, emotional story that now lives rent free in my brain. Better still, I am delighted to discover that, not only is there a sequel, this is the first book of four in the Wayfarer series. The little preview of the second book was a nice teaser and I’m looking forward to what comes next. Highly recommended.