The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

This was an odd book. The characters are likable enough, but it seemed to be lacking in an overall story, more feeling like a long stream of semi random events in the lives of the characters.

There was also no real conflict. I mean things happened that the characters had to react to, but once the immediate was done, it was done and over. I honestly have no clue where this series might be going. Actions that might have been the source of conflict between different characters in other stories were just brushed aside way too easily.

It was also somewhat heavy handed when it came to its messages. Its not that I disagree with them, but they were blatantly obvious and tended to happen one after the other. It sometimes felt more like I was being preached to than reading a story for enjoyment.

Which makes it seem somewhat odd as well given one particular scene.
When Jenks changes his mind about the the body kit, Lovey just says something along the lines of "its ok, I was only doing it for you" and that was that, resolved and done. It felt rather creepy to me that Lovey was supposed to be a person to his eyes and yet all she was doing was molding herself to his desires and this was ok. No discussion about how it should have been her real choice, it was just ok. If Lovely is supposed to be a person, supposed to be sentient, that would absolutely not be ok in any way, shape, or form.Yes, the body kit comes into play at the end of the book, but instead they could have decided to wait until after the mission to go through with the change, and then the events that transpired caused Lovey's death, which would have added to Jenks' grief. He would have been so close to getting his desire. Blaming himself thinking if they hadn't been delayed that she would have survived.
Given the messages in the rest of the book, this just came across as rather creepy.

And then there was what happened between Corbin and Ohan.This was not ok, not in the slightest. Ohan's right to make their own personal choices about their own body and life was violated. This would have been a wonderful opportunity to discuss conflicting morals. When does a persona's right to live their life as they see fit, to die as they see fit (death with dignity anyone?) end? Jehovah's Witnesses believe its against God's will to receive blood transfusions, even if it would be life saving. Is it ok for a doctor to force the subject against the patient's wish? If it is, then where do we draw the line?

Whether or not I agree with what was done, the result was just Ashby shrugging his shoulders and saying its over now so its ok. The author shows no interest in actually delving into what a true diverse society actually is, a huge mass of compromises and conflicting ideas, morals, societies, cultures, and similar. Instead it was “the right thing” to happen because it was the author's personal belief and she designed the story to make it so.

And then the scene with Rosemary and Sissix after their visit to her world. I have no problems with interspecies relationships. I've been reading SF/F for most of my life, this is nothing new. But the way it happened feels creepy to me again. Rosemary realizes that the crew is Sissix's Feather Family and its not the same as the affection and custom's Sissex would normally have. She wishes to offer Sissex more and that's perfectly fine. But it immediately goes straight to the sex part. It would have worked better if Rosemary had shown some kind of interest in Sissex like that prior to visiting her world. Instead it comes across more like Rosemary molding herself to what she thinks Sissex needs instead of it being something she already desires and has found the opportunity to move forward with it. It again is something that comes across as creepy to me and it also stands out in my mind that in both cases it is happening to female characters.

I will continue with the next book. As I said, the characters were likable enough that I'm willing to keep going to see if it gets any better, less preachy, or maybe even finds some kind of character growth. Something other than a novel full of “diversity is wonderful!” and nothing more.