The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) in Beyond Reality

Aug 07, 2017 Wealhtheow rated it it was ok

Shelves: queer-characters, sci-fi

The Wayfarer travels the universe, doing the blue-collar work of punching holes in space time to create tunnels for other ships to travel through. Its crew is from all over and all walks of life. Some have mysterious dark paths. Some come from respected species; others from species that are barely tolerated. One is a hedonist who loves drugs and spicy shrimp snacks; another is only interested in the quantum entanglements only they can see. Together, they're a ragtag family.

I did not like this. I The Wayfarer travels the universe, doing the blue-collar work of punching holes in space time to create tunnels for other ships to travel through. Its crew is from all over and all walks of life. Some have mysterious dark paths. Some come from respected species; others from species that are barely tolerated. One is a hedonist who loves drugs and spicy shrimp snacks; another is only interested in the quantum entanglements only they can see. Together, they're a ragtag family.

I did not like this. It was very episodic, and and nearly every problem or concern only lasts a few pages before being resolved, so I never felt too motivated to keep reading or pick the book up again. None of the characters interested me or got much more depth over the course of the book. And even when really big things happen, like (view spoiler), there are only a few sentences about it. More attention is given to the shipmates arguing about algae flavors than the aftereffects of any of these huge, life-altering moments.

That last example is a particular frustration of mine. (view spoiler)

And that kind of fuzzy storytelling is rife through this book. One of the characters (view spoiler) It's so simplistic and babyish. It sets itself up as though its going to deal with complex moral dilemmas, but then sidesteps every time. Same for all the cultural differences between members of different races: even though there's a lot of difference (which I liked!) there's very little conflict or misunderstandings due to it (which I don't like). Everything is just kinda nice. Not great, not terrible, just fundamentally fine.

The one thing I really liked about this book was the universe-building. In this, there's a Galactic Consortium that runs a great deal of the galaxy, but humans just a late-joining, low-power member. No one designs chairs to fit humans, no one is worried about angering them, and they don't have any particular skills, powers, tech or resources. Similarly, the Wayfarer is just one of many tunneling ships, no more special than any other. And none of the crewmembers is a secret emperor, genius, or something particularly important. I liked that we got to see a little of the bureaucracy and nitty gritty of galactic travel and commerce. Also, the very last page, which describes the Wayfarer hanging in space, is well written. ...more

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Dec 25, 2015 Banner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, alien

Long way to a Small Angry Planet

This book was just a whole lot of fun and excitement with a little "thinking" thrown in for good measure. Humanity is now a new member of the Galactic Council, a group of civilizations that have formed a union for the peace and mutual betterment of all it's members. We are but one race in a galaxy full of sentient species. The universe we find in this story is filled with wonder, amazing technology that is so imaginative, and very strange aliens and cultures; but ...more

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Apr 28, 2021 Christine H rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: aaa

This was very sweet and weirdly cozy in its own way. I'll probably pick up the next one when I'm in the mood for something soothing. The characters are pretty good, and it's pleasant. It's a nice story but there's no real plot. There is absolutely no throughline involving a conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution.

Instead, there's an overarching mission that gives them a reason to sort of wagon train through the galaxy, and each chapter is a little vignette involving a stop along the way ...more

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Mar 09, 2016 Chessa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sf_fantasy, series, space, debut, popsugar16

️LOVE!!! I enjoyed every minute of this soft scifi book - it really is feel-good scifi (and why is that so rare)!? Focused on characters more than plot, I felt like I could read this book forever, going on adventures, encountering more aliens and their cultures, and being a part of the Wayfarer family. I am desperate for the sequel!

For fans of Firefly, Rachel Bach's Fortune's Pawn series, and soft science fiction space stories. :) ...more

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Nov 05, 2016 Christine rated it it was amazing

I love this book!!
Many different alien species which we learn about as they work together on the WayFarer
Problems arise and solutions found
The book has a satisfactory ending; there is another volume (and I believe a third on the way), but this book is complete in itself
I want to continue reading about these people and their journeys!!
Highly recommended

1 like · Like · see review