The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2015 (first published in 2014)
• Genre: Sci-Fi
• Format: Paperback
• Page Count: 404 pages
• My Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)

Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

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Content warnings: mention of a cult, mention of genocide, death of prominent character, misgendering?, speciesism, torture, blood

Did you know that this book was a Kickstarter project and initially self-published when Chambers was about twenty-nine years old? I didn’t. After hearing so many great things about the Wayfarers series, I finally picked it up, and stars, was it amazing!

The story follows the Wayfarer crew as they travel through space for roughly one standard after getting offered a highly paid job of tunneling between Central space (Tokath Gateway) and Hedra Ka, the capital planet of the new Galactic Commons (GC) ally Toremi Ka. Nine main characters consist the ensemble cast:

• Ashby Santoso is the captain, a male human, and in a secret relationship with Pei, a female Aeluon;
• Rosemary Harper is the newly hired clerk, a female human with a past she wants to forget;
• Sissix Seshkethet is the pilot, a female Aandrisk;
• Kizzy Shao is the mech tech, a female human, and best friends with fellow tech Jenks;
• Jenks is the comp tech, a male human, and in love with the ship’s AI Lovey;
• Lovey is the sentient AI on Wayfarer whose formal name is Lovelace (cf. Ada Lovelace) and in love with Jenks, her installer;
• Artis Corbin is the algaeist, a male human, and not very friendly;
• Dr Chef is the chef and doctor, a currently male Grum;
• Ohan is the navigator, a male Sianat Pair and uses plural pronouns.

Since The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is not a thousand-page book, the story suffered a little from such a large cast. With so many drastically different characters, I had trouble connecting with the crew, and even though there are confirmed queer characters in the book, I am surprised they aren’t my favorites. I end up loving Ashby and adoring Kizzy. And it probably doesn’t help that Rosemary, who seems to be the main character out of all the other mains since the first and last chapters are in her point of view, is not someone I really like. I find her somewhat judgemental and too focused on the biology of different species.

“Ninety per cent of all problems are caused by people being assholes.”

Bear

It was slightly uncomfortable reading about the gender differences of alien species in a purely biological aspect, yet I also understand this cis gaze is prevalent in most sci-fi and fantasy (SFF) works. At this point, though, I crave stories that are told through trans and non-cis gaze. But apart from my issues with the book being very cis and gender binary, the world-building and overall story is pretty awesome. I also appreciate how there is no homophobia in the story.

This book wasn’t really what I had expected. It reads rather episodically with many random events happening to the characters whom I wish I cared more for. The story feels neither character-driven nor plot-driven but a collection of thoughts, and I think to read it as such increases the enjoyment tenfold. I definitely did not get as much thrill as I had hoped for, but I love how it made me think. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is more of a philosophical work, and I love all the questions Chambers tried to tackle as well as everything about the conversations between the characters. It is about deciphering humans as a species, reevaluating humanity from the eyes of alien species, and using interspecies analogies to break down what we perceive as cultural differences. I am completely in awe of Chambers’s ability to remove herself from being human and think about the world with such clarity while never letting details slip through her fingers.

“I’ll never understand how the rest of you expect brand new adults to be able to teach kids how to be people.”

Sissix

There are a few parallels between the Wayfarers universe and ours that I’d like to point out. In many SFF works, including this one, racism is explored through speciesism, but somehow intraspecific racism is rarely addressed. It is also a little disappointing that there seems to be only one language per species, despite the separation between multiple planets must have led to development of more than one language. There is also one speciesist slur against the Aandrisks, namely “lizard,” that directly reflects anti-Semitism. Also, there are some unsettling parallels between GC and the EU, making the antagonization and infighting characterization of the Toremi very much like how many countries incorrectly treat the Middle East.

Humans had a long, storied history of forcing their way into places where they didn’t belong. 

Ashby

The writing of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is wonderful, flowing smoothly with occasional witty and beautiful dialogues and narratives. I love the incorporation of different formats, such as documents within chapters. It is a clever technique to deliver Wayfarers universe specific information in such an obvious way that it doesn’t even seem like info dumping. I also love how the story touches upon AI rights, and whether or not being sentient means an AI should be treated differently.

Apart from the story itself, I have to say that I am obsessed with the UK cover. Though I am physically in the US, I purchased UK copies of the series because they are breathtaking. And since my field of study is related to space sciences, I think it is safe to say I love some good space-inspired designs.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is a well-written, beautifully crafted sci-fi novel that makes us rethink humanity. As we embark on a journey with the Wayfarer crew, we go through, in Kizzy’s words, “monstro clusterfucks,” and experience what it means to have a tight-knit found family in the vast, boundless space.

Buddy read with E.!