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.
Je moet er een beetje van houden denk ik, het is een beetje fluffy en lief met allemaal aardige mensen die het beste met elkaar voor hebben. De Grote Geheimen waar het in de flaptekst over gaat zijn niet heel erg wereldschokkend, en zelfs de (weinige) slechteriken zijn grotendeels niet echt slecht. Niet echt een nagelbijter dus. Maar ach, het is bijna kerst, en we kunnen wel wat woke feelgood gebruiken in de wereld.
Needed to get used to the pacing, loved it in the end
4 stars
Enjoyed the weirdness of the worldbuilding, loved the relationshis and interactive, just liked the characters. I needed to get used to the slow pacing but enjoyed it in the end.
Review of 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is feel-good science fiction, in some ways a rarity. It's a story set in post-apocalyptic future, after mankind managed to dig its way out of the destroyed Earth, but there's nothing apocalyptic about the story itself.
The Wayfarer is a tunneling ship, a spaceship used to create stable wormholes to enable faster than light travel between faraway places. The main plot involves creating a passageway to manage contact with a previously isolated civilization.
The plot, though, is a side issue. The book is really a description of a journey of friends - the crew of the Wayfarer - who meet new people and visit new places. Most of the book is about more or less mundane, everyday things, so even if every chapter has a defined date, it's actually hard to follow the journey.
There are plenty of aliens in the Wayfarers …
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is feel-good science fiction, in some ways a rarity. It's a story set in post-apocalyptic future, after mankind managed to dig its way out of the destroyed Earth, but there's nothing apocalyptic about the story itself.
The Wayfarer is a tunneling ship, a spaceship used to create stable wormholes to enable faster than light travel between faraway places. The main plot involves creating a passageway to manage contact with a previously isolated civilization.
The plot, though, is a side issue. The book is really a description of a journey of friends - the crew of the Wayfarer - who meet new people and visit new places. Most of the book is about more or less mundane, everyday things, so even if every chapter has a defined date, it's actually hard to follow the journey.
There are plenty of aliens in the Wayfarers universe, and it's nice to see they are different - some of them are humanoid, some are something else. Different species have clearly different modes of communication and different social norms. The species could be more complete, though; most of the species have their appearance described, but the norms and peculiarities are often also just descriptions - they are not really a part of the story, just something thrown in.
Social norms also present the author with means for social commentary, and in places that becomes a bit tedious; I heartily approve of the message of acceptance, but the way it is delivered - and the way it so obviously mirrors current events - is a bit heavy handed in places.
Having said that, I still enjoyed the book and I'm definitely going to read the sequel.
