The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - A Review

It's an old trope: The brat kid of a robber-baron hitches off with a band of misfits hoping to find a more mundane life. But she ends up finding even more adventure instead.

This is the basic premise behind Becky Chambers' book, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. The main character, Rosemary, wastes a bunch of her family's dirty money in order to buy herself a new identity. Then she joins the crew of a run-down spaceship called the Wayfarer. Her skills are immediately useful, and this allows her to work well with the crew, but they intrinsically know something's up with her. When she uses her linguistic skills to prevent a band of alien marauders from leaving them completely stranded, it becomes clear that there's more to Rosemary than meets the eye.

The crew itself is exotic. Sissix is a reptilian-like pilot, an Aandrisk, and Rosemary has to correct her thinking regarding their fundamental differences: complicated family structures, no concept of personal space, and physical affection to the point of promiscuity. Then there is Dr. Chef (yes, that's actually his name), the ship’s cook and chief medical agent, looks something like a cross between an otter and that gecko from the Geico commercials. The ship's AI is so well constructed that she seems like a member of the crew (because she is), and talk is even made about transferring her to a human body. And then there is the Wayfarer’s navigator, Ohan. They are a Sianat Pair, an alien species infected with a virus that gives them a second persona. (This results in “they, them” pronouns in a way that doesn't feel forced.) But this virus eventually kills them in very painful ways. Indeed, Ohan is going through this death process as the story progresses.

But misfits though they are, they bond over each other's misfortunes, and take solace that they're all, in one way or another, running away from something. Caught in between the Galactic Commons (GC) and the war-prone species, the Toremi Ka, they find plenty of hazards to avoid.

The Wayfarer is eventually offered a very lucrative opportunity. Specifically, the chance to tunnel a new wormhole. The profits for them could be tremendous, but the hazards are high. 

All in all, this story was one of the most well-constructed I've ever come across. It's a hard sci-fi adventure without feeling hard-core.

Highly enjoyable. Five stars!

Eric

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