The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (2014)
No compelling story
Book cover blurb
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s 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 chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. 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 unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.
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My Review
This was a good read, with easy-flowing writing, a nice cast of characters and a very rich universe. Chambers must have put a massive amount of effort into building cultural traits and political mechanics. And she's managed to pull it all together really well. Everything plods along at an even and sedate pace, you never feel like you have to stretch yourself to keep up with proceedings...which was a big problem for me.
There isn't really an overall storyline driving this book, no real beginning, middle and end, it's all just sort of, there. As a reader I was never presented with questions that I was itching to know the answers to, no edge-of-your-seat action, no 'I have to read the next chapter!' tension. The only payoff is the ending, which is really good, the last 80 pages were the only part where I felt attached to what was happening and compelled to read on.
If the Chambers had of tantalised me with some foreshadowing or a dangling carrot or two this would have been a great read. As it is, I had to force myself to read to the end.
Having said all that, this book is simply lacking the elements I like to read, if you're a reader who is more interested in character studies and you don't need a compelling story, then you'll probably love this book.
My copy of this novel
Harper Voyager paperback edition.
Published in 2016
438 pages
ISBN 9780062444134