The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

I enjoyed this thoroughly and don't think I've ever read anything else which so aptly weaves relatable examples of how to be kind into an engaging story. That said, it's not just a story which is a container for giving examples of #kindness. The worldbuilding seems quite strong and consistent to me and reminded me favorably of Vernor Vinge's Zones of Thought, right down to the way data streams are presented, but containing a lot more admirable behavior.

I listened to the #Booktrack edition, which gave the audiobook a pleasantly cinematic feel. Some of the choices for background music didn't really seem to fit, but in most cases the production was nicely done, especially the sound effects.

Becky Chambers shows us a hopeful future. Sure, the world she creates still has familiar problems like bigotry, exploitation, and war. But most of the characters we see are fairly open minded, diverse, emotionally intelligent, and culturally sensitive.

I really started to appreciate the book more about 2/3 of the way through. All the world building and character development of the beginning finally led up to some interesting social commentary and ethical questions, as well as some queer bits. At one point we meet a character who had to pretend to be something they weren't to survive in their society, until they were able to escape to get treatment to fully become what they knew they were inside. Which seemed like an obvious trans metaphor to me.

I love how the book ends with an open ethical question that the author doesn't resolve for us. We only get to see a bit of the aftermath, but she leaves it to the reader to decide what was right.

A warning, this book is primarily driven by character interaction and world building, not narrative and plot. From what I've heard that turned some people off. I loved it though.

J’ai entendu parler de ce livre grâce au podcast Les couilles sur la table où il a été recommandé comme alternatif à la science-fiction classique masculine avec beaucoup d’armes et de guerres dans l’espace. À la place, cette histoire se concentre beaucoup plus sur les personnages et leurs interactions entre eux. Je suis complètement d’accord avec cette analyse, et j’ai adoré tous les personnages. J’ai eu l’impression de passer un bon moment avec des potes en lisant le livre. Tout le monde a une histoire et une personnalité bien distinctes. J’ai aussi apprécié que l’autrice a réussi à créer des personnalités pour les personnages non-humains et elle a pu éviter le raccourci qui se trouve dans beaucoup de science-fiction que tous les êtres d’une même espèce non-humaine aient les mêmes caractéristiques et ne soient pas vus comme des individus. Le livre parle avec douceur des sujets comme la diversité et la compréhension entre les gens. Mais il s’agit non seulement des différences entre les espèces fictives mais aussi des différences causées par de vrais handicaps. Il peut même y avoir de la neurodiversité entres les individus d’une espèce non-humaine par exemple.

J’ai l’impression que le livre a été écrit comme une série de télévision. Les chapitres sont comme des épisodes de la série avec des histoires séparées qui n’ont pas toujours un grand rapport avec l’histoire centrale du roman.

La description sur le dos du livre fait croire que Rosemary est la protagoniste et que l’histoire va se dérouler autour d’elle. Mais finalement elle n’est pas plus importante que les autres membres de l’équipage et la narration change souvent de point de vue pour se concentrer sur un autre personnage, ce qui donne encore plus l’impression de regarder un soap.

Bien que la description du livre dise que l’histoire évite les guerres de la science-fiction classique, il y en a quand même dans l’univers du livre ainsi que des politiques intergalactiques. On pourrait bien se croire dans l’univers de Star Wars. La différence principale est juste que tout ça est à l’arrière-plan de l’histoire et on le voit du point de vue des gens ordinaires qui ne sont pas des héros et qui ne peuvent pas beaucoup l’influencer.

Du coup, je recommande fortement le livre.

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 being interesting enough to always keep you engaged.

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 being interesting enough to always keep you engaged.