When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The patched-up ship has seen better days, but it offers her everything she could possibly want: a spot to call home, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and some distance from her past.
And nothing could be further from what she's known than the crew of the Wayfarer.
From Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the chatty engineers who keep the ship running, to the noble captain Ashby, life aboard is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. That is until the crew is offered the job of a lifetime tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet. Sure, they'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years, but risking her life wasn't part of the job description.
The journey through the …
A rollicking space adventure with a lot of heart
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The patched-up ship has seen better days, but it offers her everything she could possibly want: a spot to call home, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and some distance from her past.
And nothing could be further from what she's known than the crew of the Wayfarer.
From Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the chatty engineers who keep the ship running, to the noble captain Ashby, life aboard is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. That is until the crew is offered the job of a lifetime tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet. Sure, they'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years, but risking her life wasn't part of the job description.
The journey through the galaxy is full of excitement, adventure, and mishaps for the Wayfarer team. And along the way, Rosemary comes to realize that a crew is a family, and that family isn't necessarily the worst thing in the universe…as long as you actually like them.
Bien heureuse de ne pas avoir lu la 4ème de couverture avant de terminer, elle raconte presque toute l’histoire !!
C’est assez rare les livres de SF et les spaces opera où l’on est agréablement confuse presque tout le long de l’histoire sur l’apparence, origine, us et coutumes des différentes espèces (au point que je me disais qu’il y avait un tome à lire avant celui-ci).
J’ai entendu parler de ce livre grâce au podcast Les couilles sur la table où il a été recommandé comme alternatif à la science-fiction classique masculine avec beaucoup d’armes et de guerres dans l’espace. À la place, cette histoire se concentre beaucoup plus sur les personnages et leurs interactions entre eux. Je suis complètement d’accord avec cette analyse, et j’ai adoré tous les personnages. J’ai eu l’impression de passer un bon moment avec des potes en lisant le livre. Tout le monde a une histoire et une personnalité bien distinctes. J’ai aussi apprécié que l’autrice a réussi à créer des personnalités pour les personnages non-humains et elle a pu éviter le raccourci qui se trouve dans beaucoup de science-fiction que tous les êtres d’une même espèce non-humaine aient les mêmes caractéristiques et ne soient pas vus comme des individus. Le livre parle avec douceur des sujets comme la diversité et …
J’ai entendu parler de ce livre grâce au podcast Les couilles sur la table où il a été recommandé comme alternatif à la science-fiction classique masculine avec beaucoup d’armes et de guerres dans l’espace. À la place, cette histoire se concentre beaucoup plus sur les personnages et leurs interactions entre eux. Je suis complètement d’accord avec cette analyse, et j’ai adoré tous les personnages. J’ai eu l’impression de passer un bon moment avec des potes en lisant le livre. Tout le monde a une histoire et une personnalité bien distinctes. J’ai aussi apprécié que l’autrice a réussi à créer des personnalités pour les personnages non-humains et elle a pu éviter le raccourci qui se trouve dans beaucoup de science-fiction que tous les êtres d’une même espèce non-humaine aient les mêmes caractéristiques et ne soient pas vus comme des individus. Le livre parle avec douceur des sujets comme la diversité et la compréhension entre les gens. Mais il s’agit non seulement des différences entre les espèces fictives mais aussi des différences causées par de vrais handicaps. Il peut même y avoir de la neurodiversité entres les individus d’une espèce non-humaine par exemple.
J’ai l’impression que le livre a été écrit comme une série de télévision. Les chapitres sont comme des épisodes de la série avec des histoires séparées qui n’ont pas toujours un grand rapport avec l’histoire centrale du roman.
La description sur le dos du livre fait croire que Rosemary est la protagoniste et que l’histoire va se dérouler autour d’elle. Mais finalement elle n’est pas plus importante que les autres membres de l’équipage et la narration change souvent de point de vue pour se concentrer sur un autre personnage, ce qui donne encore plus l’impression de regarder un soap.
Bien que la description du livre dise que l’histoire évite les guerres de la science-fiction classique, il y en a quand même dans l’univers du livre ainsi que des politiques intergalactiques. On pourrait bien se croire dans l’univers de Star Wars. La différence principale est juste que tout ça est à l’arrière-plan de l’histoire et on le voit du point de vue des gens ordinaires qui ne sont pas des héros et qui ne peuvent pas beaucoup l’influencer.
Reading this feels a lot like watching a soap opera. It's very much a character driven story with the plot serving merely to prod the story along as and when needed. And the characters are an entertaining and likeable bunch of misfits, doing their job and surviving as best they can.
It's also worth noting that this is a really nice story. The characters have spent years learning to get along with each other and... they get along with each other. What tensions there are are relatively minor and never distract from the fact that these people are looking out for each other.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a very easy read and a solid debut from Becky Chambers.
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while …
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while being interesting enough to always keep you engaged.
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while …
The basic storyline of this book is nothing entirely out of the ordinary: Space crew gets dangerous but lucrative job offer, travels to their destinations, stuff happens there and along the way. You can take the title literally: it's a long way but only a small planet (episode).
I liked the world building, but especially the way the protagonists interact with each other. It's a story that is, for once, not driven by toxic behavior and the inability to communicate, but instead based on empathy and mutual support. The characters belong to different alien and human races, they do sometimes face conflicts over their specific needs, but frequently try to find solutions that work for everyone. In some ways, it seemed like an enhanced and more diverse version of the "Firefly" crew to me (which I loved).
This is a read leaves you with more positive than negative emotions, while being interesting enough to always keep you engaged.