Book: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
Read From: 19th September - 21st September 2021
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary: Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer but all she wants is some distance from her past. Rosemary has never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain. Life aboard the Wayfarer is about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime - tunnelling wormholes through space to a distant planet. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of mishaps and adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn about love and trust, and realise that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.
Ahhh! I can’t believe this has been sat on my shelf waiting to be read since NOVEMBER 2020. That’s nearly an entire year! I think the reason I’d been putting it off is because sci-fi is really out of my comfort zone and I always feel so intimidated by the genre - even though I’ve really enjoyed the (albeit very few) sci-fi books I’ve read in the past! I’m so thankful this got picked for @rainbowreadersbookclub September book because I ended up loving it! I dread to think how much longer this amazing book would have been sat on my shelves otherwise!
As much as I want to sit here and gush about each individual character, I would be here all day. Each and every one was so well developed - their backstories were extremely well thought out and often poignant! Through this eclectic bunch of characters we were able to learn so much about the world Chambers so cleverly crafted, as well as the species within it. I feared at times the book would become a bit too info-dumpy and I worried I would get lost but this was not the case at all! Any world-building and the addition of contextual information was woven into the story so well, broken up with wholesome dialogue and the development of our characters’ relationships.
This book is one that will stick with me for a long time - mainly because of how it covered so many important topics but in the most creative way! There are so many underlying themes: colonialism, gun control, racism, xenophobia, gender-fluidity, religion, polygamy, mental health, sexuality, the importance of pronouns (even neo-pronouns!) and respecting other peoples culture - just to name a few. The way these discussions were integrated into the story was absolutely remarkable, and even though this was published back in 2015 - they are still very relevant today!
PLEASE read this! Even if you’re scared of sci-fi like me and ESPECIALLY if you loved The House in the Cerulean Sea because this is literally the adult version set in space. A Long Way exceeded all of my expectations, I ordered the sequel before I even finished because I just need MORE! This novel only solidified that found family is my absolute all time favourite trope and I will be recommending this book to everyone!