Review: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

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

As it turns out, all of the positive criticisms that you've heard about this book are true. I enthusiastically enjoy reading book reviews but I generally expect to have a very different experience than others readers report having. In this case there were many moments in the story which exactly fit with what I'd heard before starting.

Firstly, the generally positive outlook stays firm even through the dire situations that this crew face. I loved that. It's not necessarily that I'm tired of dreary, miserable narratives (unlike many other readers who appear to have had quite enough of that), it was more that it seemed like a fresh and welcome perspective to me.

I had also read that this series has much in common with Star Trek and I found that to be delightfully true. In particular many of the social issues presented reminded me of Star Trek and especially more recent productions.

It's also true that the characters are wonderfully, fully developed and I felt invested in each of the main crew and their personal stories.

Where I'd disagree slightly, is that I've seen a few reviews which insist that there's barely a plot (if any at all) to this story. Well, I can see why people felt that way but really the plot is there it just isn't the kind of jam-packed, shoot 'em up that we're used to. We meet a crew, they get a job which seems like a walk in the park, but it isn't and they run into a variety of dangers which they must navigate in order to succeed. There's piracy and heresy and failed diplomacy. Really, as I write this now I'm thinking it is a lot like Firefly in that respect.

What this story is jam-packed with is aliens

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