The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Executive Summary: This book was a lot of fun. I don't read a lot of sci-fi, but this is the kind I seem to enjoy the most. A bit light on plot at times, but great/memorable characters. I'm looking forward to the second book.

Full Review
This is another of those books I'd probably have never heard of/picked up if not for Good Reads. Now that I have, I'll be adding my voice to the praise of several of my friends here.

I prefer space-opera to hard sci-fi. I love character-driven stories. This book is both of those. In fact for much of the book there is very little overarching plot and mostly a lot of interconnected vignettes about a crew of a ship whose job it is to create wormholes between planets.

The crew is about 65% human and 35% alien. Oh, and one fantastic AI whose named after Ada Lovelace! There are a lot of alien species in this book, not just those aboard the Waybringer. Most of the focus of alien culture comes through the crew members, but we do get to learn a bit about some others as well.

Ms. Chambers does a great job of trying to come up interesting and alien seeming perspectives on the universe.

The pictures she paints may feel unrealistic to some. In a small ship of about 8 individuals there is very little conflict among them. In fact all of them get along well with each other save for 1 crewmate. Most of the conflict is external to the ship.

She also explores a variety of relationship ideas and what it means to love someone. That isn't to say this is a romance book. I personally am not a big fan of books with big romance arcs. Instead these ideas are often presented as just another part (albeit at times a large part) of the characters lives. I liked the way she weaved these ideas in.

Overall, I found it a nice change of pace. I read to escape realism, and I'd love to spend more time among the Wayfayer. Luckily for me being so late to the party, I don't have long to wait for book 2. I'm looking forward to it.

If you enjoy light/fun character driven stories give this one a shot.