The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Wayfarers 1 Wayfarers, #1

by Becky Chambers

hardcover, 518 pages

English language

Published July 15, 2015 by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.

ISBN:: 978-1-4736-1979-1
Goodreads:: 22733729

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(228 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.

18 editions

V171 reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

All hesitations I had at the beginning of this book quickly evaporated once the plot got going. In typical Becky Chambers fashion, this story was touching, gentle, compelling, complex, and fascinating all at once. In the beginning, I was concerned that the story seemed to simply just be about a spunky, diverse crew of lovable crew mates who all have wacky relationships and interactions with each other. And while that's not necessarily untrue, the character development and the depths that we explore each character's emotions and anxieties really made them come alive, each in unique ways. The pacing initially felt slow with a LOT of time being spent with characters just interacting with each other and no real forward movement of the story. But as the story picked up, it became apparent that so much of those seemingly "small" interactions played a role in the overall narrative. It all came …

Douglasfur reviewed The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet

4 stars

LouInABook reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

a story that thrives on its characters

5 stars

The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).

I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).

This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while …

This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while being interesting enough to always keep you engaged.

LouInABook reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

a story that thrives on its characters

5 stars

This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while …

This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while being interesting enough to always keep you engaged.

Chungledown Bim reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

So cute & sweet, just tootling along on a space adventure where nothing truly terrible happens. Touches on all manner of complex topics, peril, sex, war, ethics, xenophobia, capitalism, eugenics, death - but it's all mild & heart-warming, somehow. I suppose it's all counterbalanced & so gently done. I've already started the second book because I don't want it to end.

rainbowreckoner reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

What a charming, fun, thoughtfully put together book. I tore through it without being able to stop myself. Big Firefly energy, but with queerness and curiosity, and no machismo. I liked that it asked interesting questions and incorporated so many perspectives while keeping the action going and fully fleshing out the characters. I think Dr. Chef, Ashby, Sissix, and Kizzy (who is surely my ADHD brethen) are my favorite characters, but I enjoyed them all by the end. Can't wait to read the next installment!

meeg 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

Really heartwarming, feels like a warm hug (which says a lot for a book about space travel).

Nostradamnit 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

I loved this book. I loved the humanity, the ways it addressed so many of our current problems of racism, sexism and personal and cultural differences. A really fun read.

sarah reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

actual non-human aliens!!

5 stars

Someone recommended this to me when I was looking for good rich sff reading and it hit the spot. It's an episodic plot, which I don't always love, but it worked for me here, given the complexity of the world-building and the assortment of characters. I was not expecting so much depth to the characters nor the deep emotions. In any case, I looked forward to returning to it every night I was reading it and now I miss that world! on to the next, of course

state_electrician reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

DNF.

This book is not for me. I started it because I wanted more from the "like Firefly", meaning an ensemble crew on an old but beloved spacecraft, pile and it started off OK. But about 100 pages in I gave up. I still didn't give a damn about any of the characters and the writing was so - damn - full - of boring explanations. I am a big fan of "show, don't tell" and this book is the opposite of that. And with the writing not being my thing, on top of that the characters are somehow too quirky and yet generic in their quirkiness. There wasn't a single thing in this book that I liked.

But don't let that stop you. It has received high reviews, so some people do find something in this book.

Felis reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Great!!

Wetdryvac 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

A lovely read with strong characters, excellent development over time, a nifty world build, and just plain fun reading.

Yashima reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I had started to read this once before but never got beyond the first chaper or so. I am so glad I chose to listen to the audiobook. I am definitely hooked, book 2 is already waiting for me. Such an awesome constellation of characters.

moving to outside.ofa.dog 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 'LibraryThing'

5 stars

This was a lovely read. Although it's set in a rich fictional future which Chambers has clearly written a lot of history and sociology for, I enjoyed how that was background, not the point of the story. It's not a story about empires rising and falling, or historic heroes, just of a group of people getting through a series of challenges together. And while those people start out feeling like caricatures, they get progressively more believable as the book goes on, to the point that by the end I was very invested in their fates - not because The Fate Of The Galaxy Depends On Them, but just because they were interesting personalities I'd developed some affection for.