The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

4.5 stars. Science fiction is a genre that I've been slowly trying to read a bit more of recently, and this is an incredibly refreshing entry to read. Unlike most science fiction novels which tend to ruminate on the effect of technology on civilisations and/or broader galactic politics, Small, Angry Planet instead concentrates on imagined alien species and what makes their cultures tick. It's heavily character-focused and is so wonderfully imaginative that I'm absolutely here for it.

Before properly going into this book, I read a review for it on here that described its action as “episodic” and that term has stuck with me throughout my read. There isn't really a huge amount of plot - the crew of the Wayfarer undertake a job to deliver cargo to a planet that's undergoing civil war. It's as straightforward as that. There aren't a lot of plot twists along the way, but that isn't really what the book is here to do. The book is primarily interested in the lives, personalities, backstories, and respective cultures of the Wayfarer crew.

The book does a masterful job at pacing. I loved how we aren't just thrown into the deep end of things, but instead spend a good part following Rosemary Harper, newest member of the Wayfarer crew, and also sheltered Human who doesn't know enough about other alien species. She makes a great self-insert for the reader to slowly learn about the other crew members from scratch, their dynamics, and their respective civilizations.

The crew of the Wayfarer aren't anything to shout about at first, but we slowly get to know each of them on deeper levels that by the end of it, you don't really want the book to end because you don't want to leave the new friends you've made. Each of them brings something new and interesting to the table: Ohan the Sianat Pair makes us think about using plural pronouns for an entity, Sissix the Aandrisk makes us reexamine our concept of the parent-child bond and the sanctity of biological vs found families, Dr Chef the Grum lets us think about how gender fluidity might have evolved in an alien species.

I like to think of this book as F.R.I.E.N.D.S in space, except much more character-focused. It doesn't take itself too seriously but exhibits so much creativity when it comes to imagining alien cultures and their inter-species dynamics. It's got everything I've always found lacking in a lot of science fiction: a celebration of the diversity of life and cultures that could potentially be found out there, and of these species coming together to work, cooperate, bond, and just having fun and cracking jokes at each other.