The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers)

Thanks to everyone who joined us last week to chat about A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. It was a smaller group but the discussion was as voracious as ever. It seemed like the book couldn't be more different from The Authenticity Project, but, we all agreed they actually had a lot in common. Both books played with multiperspectivity and were largely driven by the characters instead of the plot, but the consensus was that this month's book did it much better. Both books featured an underwhelming mystery, followed by a big secret being revealed that failed to impact the narrative in any way, shape or form! Everybody enjoyed Becky Chamber's world-building, especially that the different aliens did feel like distinct species with their own history and cultures, rather than just humans in alien suits. We also appreciated the effort made by Chambers to build a world that felt diverse and inclusive, which isn't always the case with science fiction and fantasy. Unfortunately, it did feel like the plot suffered as a result of the author focusing so heavily on world building and character. For many people in the group, this was an opportunity to dip their toes into a genre they weren't really familiar with. While they weren't new converts to science fiction fandom, they did finish the book and that's not nothing! Sadly, rather than epic adventure through space, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet felt more like travelling a really long way for a work event - kind of mundane, but at least it's a bit different. In the end, the group gave it a rating of 3.2 stars out of 5.

this was the most wholesome scifi novel Ive ever read <3