The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Written by Becky Chambers

Narrated by Rachel Dulude

Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Series!

The acclaimed modern science fiction masterpiece, included on Library Journal's Best SFF of 2016, the Barnes & Nobles Sci-Fi Fantasy Blog Best Books of 2015, the Tor.com Best Books of 2015, Reader’s Choice, as well as nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Kitschie, and the Bailey's Women's Prize.

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 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: May 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062969538

Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers is a science fiction author based in Northern California. She is best known for her Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series, which currently includes The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit, and Record of a Spaceborn Few. Her books have also been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Locus Award, and the Women's Prize for Fiction, among others. Her most recent work is To Be Taught, If Fortunate, a standalone novella. Becky has a background in performing arts, and grew up in a family heavily involved in space science. She spends her free time playing video and tabletop games, keeping bees, and looking through her telescope. Having hopped around the world a bit, she’s now back in her home state, where she lives with her wife. She hopes to see Earth from orbit one day.  

Reviews for The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

[bulletproofheeb-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If it's possible to extend the "cozy" descriptor to genres other than mysteries, then this is cozy science fiction.

[acciohaley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was... yeah, this was brilliant. The characters and their cultures and backgrounds were so intricate and beautiful, I'm a little bit in love with all of them (especially Kizzy, oh man do I love Kizzy). This is very much a character driven plot but everything about the characters was amazing to me and they all fit together so well. Every character matters; every character gets their chance to shine; every character has a history that makes them who they are. And it is very clear that every character on the wayfarer cares about the others. Even the characters that can't stand each other (really just corbin and sissix) come to an eventual understanding. Their dynamic is just... so good. They all have such a feel-good relationship with each other and they're all such good people. I really am a little bit in love with all of them. Not only that, but the entire world was obviously well thought out. There is so much world-building and explanation about different planets and species and technology, but it's all done so well and it never gets boring. I loved hearing about the different planets and aliens and how their cultures vary. Every aspect of the books has such a beautiful flow to it there isn't anything I would change.This truly was a fun and highly enjoyable read and I'm a little mad it took me so long to read it because it's definitely one of my favorites.

[haloedrain · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There isn't a plot so much as a bunch of related things that happen, but I really enjoyed the development of the characters and their relationships.

[Justin Hauschild · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Very unimpressed. Incredibly anticlimactic. All over the place. Unfocused. Largely pointless unless serving as a jumping off point for what I hope are much more entertaining installments.

[being_b-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What a charming book. It reminded me of Farscape in a lot of ways- humans as a minority group in a vast universe full of alien species with more knowledge and experience.

[Carl Brahms · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Spectacular. A little different than the standard sci-fi. The same amount of future world building and strangeness of alien life, only seen through a more balanced lens with soul and heart in the mix. This is up there at the top of my favorites.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oh, lovely. I tried to read the second book in the series when it was nominated for a Hugo in 2017, but found the characters confusing and the setting opaque and quit. Now, starting from the beginning of the story, I find the setting fascinating and the characters delightful. This is a very small-focus book - no saving the universe, just people working together (or not) and the structures of their relationships. There are implications for the wider universe, but they're largely accidental - the Captain's testimony to the Council has and will have resonances, but it's a very minor point in _this_ story. Rosemary is lovely, Kizzy is...well, I'd find her really annoying in real life but as a character she's great. Sissix is fascinating, both as a person and in her culture - all the various cultures crossing are fascinating. And there are a lot - at least three cultures among the humans, plus various aliens - and there clearly are differences within those cultures as well, though it's not as clearly delineated (mostly because there's only one of each species aboard the Wayfarer). But the Heretics, and the people who ignore the old woman that Sissix cuddles - it's clear that the races are not simplistic, monolithic cultures, but have as many variants as the humans do. The story is a little fuzzy - I hadn't realized they'd started on their long trip until the second or third incident within it. But again, what's going on is not the story, it's the connections between individuals that make the story. I'm now looking forward to reading the next two books - knowing who the characters are and why will make all the difference to my pleasure in reading.

[purpledog-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was another that has been on my TBR pile for a long time. It remained unread for two reasons. The first reason, I simply have way too many unread books that I own and despite good intents I just didn’t get to them. Second, after all the good things I heard about the book, I wanted to love it and was afraid of being disappointed. I need not have worried. This is a lovely, well written space opera that left me feeling like I had read something fresh and different. The plot was believable. The world building just as good; yet, it is the character development that is the star in this story. The author gives the reader just enough to understand the characters and their actions while leaving room for further development in future installments. There is a lot of subtleness in the relationships among the crew members and I am looking forward to what comes next.

[Jess · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such great characters, and a well written story. Somehow, Becky Chambers always manages to capture the profound meanings that are woven through the events, large and small, of a life

[Andrea Stith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As many of my reviews have stated by now, I am sure I love a good cozy read. I enjoy reading on occasion just for some lovely characters that draw you into a space that feels happy and safe. I loved these characters.

I feel like we are getting to know them in this book, and I am excited to see where their stories go from here. I love that they faced some conflict and challenges, but also I enjoy that they pull together as a team, show their strengths, and make it through even when they don't always agree or like each other.

I was not prepared to cry in the last few pages, but the scene between the two techs towards the end touched a broken part of my heart, and it was something I didn't know I needed. I have loved every book by this author so far and plan to continue reading more.

[Diane Gill Morris · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The world building is amazing. One of my favorite books.

[Kathryn Robbs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely wonderful world building, compelling characters, and lgbtqia+ inclusivity that felt beautifully natural and real. Couldn’t recommend this enough.

[Linda Caldwell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great characters, fresh and original. Loved the many species and that humanity was accepted late because of our tendency to destroy ourselves.

[elenaj-147457 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Not a perfect book, but so unusual and delightful that it gets five stars from me anyway.

[johnfair_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

this is part of our reading At first I wasn't too sure about this book. Sure, it's set aboard a spaceship in a future where humanity is a member of a galactic confederation. As I read it, though, I was slowly won over but I do have to say that there was more than a whiff of the Firefly about the crew of the Wayfarer

[kevn57-163679 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I 'read' the Audio book and really loved it. The narrator Patricia Rodriguez was amazing, she brought the book to life, my favorite character was Kizzy, I never would have pictured the character as vividly if I'd read the novel. This has to be the most character driven science fiction novel that I've ever read. I love SF, usually the plot is an action adventure or a what if or even sometimes a philosophical take on a scientific issue and like I said I love SF but often the characters suffer, rarely are all the characters as fleshed out as in this book. All the characters were distinct and you learn quite a lot about the aliens and humans that make up their universe, like I said Kizzy was my favorite every scene she just reminded me of Kaylee (Jewel Staite) one of my favorite mechanics. I'm already looking forward to reading the sequel.

edit***
reread this time read the book didn't listen to the audiobook and enjoyed it every bit as much as I did the first time.

[Hillary Okun · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved the book, and the narration was great, but there was a technical problem with the recording where periodically a minute or so of the audio would just be missing, which was super annoying.

[thegreatape-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Felt like what you'd get if Star Trek were written by Oberlin graduates. Enjoyable enough, but didn't have enough narrative tension to really grab me.

[eldang-1 · Rating: 5 out of 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.

[wunder-62679 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sweet, scary, sad, and wonderful. This is not your average space opera. It is all about the people, whatever their origin, including the ship AI. I want more books with this crew.

[aug3zimm-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

That's it. 42% and I'm done. I hate this book. I thought I would love it but no. Nothing happens. It's twee and insipid with no plot that I can find. It's like Friends in Space - a group of "chosen family" all get up to (not-so-)hilarious hijinks that are quickly forgotten or moved on from by the next scene -with the occasional addition of some Sesame Street moments to show that we may all look different but we are at heart all the same and our differences make us wonderful! (Except for humans. They are annoying, immature, smell bad, and have the irritating habit of being sad when a baby dies. How stupid are these guys? The pink one is definitely the worst though. Even the other humans don't like him.) I saw a review that mentioned Buffy the Vampire Slayer and yes, I can see that. If Buffy had no Hellmouth, no vampires, no darkness other than a few scuffs on used equipment. Seriously, give me a "Starfleet is too pessimistic about the mixing of different species in space" kind of book, but it can't all be sunshine, puppies, and rainbows. (Even the pirates are somewhat honorable in that they only take what they need and doing it for their children. Sure, they toyed with the idea of kidnapping one guy to sell but still, everything that they took will be replaced on someone else's dime so nothing bad really happened!) I need something with at least a little grit, some meat, some conflict, something to make things interesting! Or else bring up some interesting cultural, philosophical, or ethical questions. Something! I mean, I suppose this tries to have some character-study moments with deep topics but it ends up coming across like the thoughts of not even a first year philosophy major but rather a random person that once read a philosophy class syllabus. I had delayed reading this book because I knew I would just love it and I wanted to have time to dig into the sequels. Well, it didn't work out like that and I only got as far into the book as I did through the sheer force of my hate for it.

[charlotteburt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book, almost as much as a closed and common orbit, it is totally character driven and for two thirds of the book not much happens but it doesn't matter as we get to hang out with the crew.  None of the characters are a main protagonist and the crew as a whole are the ones we care about and that really works, they are a team and depend on each other, even when they don't all like each other.
This book is also really funny in places in the banter between the crew mates which I think the sequel doesn't have to the same effect.

For the full review check out my blog: Engrossed in a Good Book

[jennybeast · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ok, so there's a negative review on this list that describes this book in part as "a bunch of super best friends have a whizzo time pootling about the galaxy eating food" (thank you, Ed, seriously, that is beautiful phrasing) and I have to say, YES, YES that's exactly what this book is and I LOVE it. This is totally my kind of sci-fi -- great characters, reasonable but not excessive drama, and a vivid imagining of what day to day life might be in a universe where sentient species have moved past the idea of war. Or at least are actively trying to move past the idea of war.

It's why I liked Bannerless (Carrie Vaughn) so much, too -- it's an attempt to take another bite at Utopian ideals in a more realistic way than the Utopians were ever able to pull off. This book is also full of diverse and rich cultures and beings, thoughtful conversations, some deep challenges and astronomical theory. Also silliness that made me giggle out loud. This is a book that has many great moments of people being excellent to each other, and that is something to aspire to. Yummy.

And truthfully, my favorite times are spent pootling about with my friends, eating cheese and singing, so I have no problem with that as a setting.

[brandon ferguson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book about great characters and their complex motivations and interactions. It happens to be set in a safe environment which is tons of fun in the world building is great but this really shines through it's amazing characters. If you want something super plot-driven this probably isn't it.

[tldegray-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked so much about this. Of course I adored the found family of it all--with family having so many and varied meanings in this book. I also really liked that though Big Things happened the crew was far more concerned about themselves then about the universe in its entirety. Which is honestly as it should be--your personal problem is the biggest problem in your universe.

This was just a really neat book and you should read it.

[Audrey Gutierrez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very very good sci-fi such interesting characters and great writing. Highy recommend.

[ajagbay · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely wonderful chararacter-driven science fiction novel. Where most science fiction stories focus on key plot set pieces to drive tension and momentum, this book focuses on character's experiences and growth.

[malexmave · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful book, especially as an audiobook - the performance of the narrator is incredible and adds a lot to the experience. Very much recommended!

[West Anderson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book so much. The world building, different species and cultures mixing, exploring the ways we are the same and different. Beautiful character and relationship building. I love all the Wayfarer books, but I hope we get to see these specific characters return someday.

[montzaleew · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet(Wayfarers #1)by Becky ChambersI wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. I didn't read any blurbs but dove right in. I was grabbed by the mysterious reason Rosemary is being evasive and sneaky about who she really is. This book is really character driven and totally fascinating in how the many species are introduced and the background given. Plenty of action too, romance, friendships, and learning to live with others. I really enjoyed it! Never bored!