A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

Sci-fi suited for all readers

If you have read any of my previous reviews, you’ll know that I stumbled upon Becky Chambers when hearing about Psalm for the Wild Built. When I finally made the trip to my local indie bookstore to pick Psalm up, I looked through her other books as I was completely new to her and saw that A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet was book one in a Hugo best series winner. Obviously, I bought it, and all the lovely women working the shop said how much they loved it (one woman saying she loved it even more than Psalm which I don’t think I can even compare the two but that’s exactly why reviews are subjective and there are no wrong answers!)

I believe I do a decent job of reading a broad range of genres. Why limited myself to one flavor when there is a whole spice cabinet of literary tastes available? Referred to as a “space opera” on its back cover, Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is a serial story that ticked all the boxes of why I love serial stories. They work great as palate cleansers after intense reads. But most importantly, when I think back on books that feel like home to me, often they are what I would refer to as serial stories. Stories that have arcs, climaxes, and resolutions but more importantly are stories that could continue on forever. It’s why people love watching soap operas, have obsessions with Star Wars, and why they could reread these stories over and over again. 

Chambers wrote a story but more importantly, she built a world. A world where endless stories can be created and told, where the reader can fall in love with the crew of the Wayfarer ship and the people they meet along the way even if that cast of characters changes stories branch off from one another. 

If you are a reader who is only interested in hard science fiction/high fantasy, you probably won’t enjoy this book. But if you’re a lover of Hitchhiker’s guide, or the show Firefly you might just love it. Though I’m sorry to say no one will ever be able to match the dry wit of Douglas Adams, it just can’t be done. There are four books in the Wayfarer’s series and I’m happy to say that I don’t feel rushed to read them. Mainly because they aren’t a complete continuation of where you left off, but a new story within the world of the Galactic Commons.  A world that I don’t need to rush to finish but rather savor and explore over time. A world that will likely become comfortable and familiar enough over time where I feel a sense of coming home whenever I jump back into it.