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anni_swanilda's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Confinement, Animal death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, and Child death
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Vomit, and Blood
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
5 ⭐ CW: swearing
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers is book two in the Wayfarer series. I cannot express how much I am loving this series! This is the best cosy scifi I've ever read. Becky Chambers has a hold on my soul.
We get two timelines in this book: one taking place after the events of book one following the sentient AI Sidra, and one that takes place twenty years before following Pepper's story. I was kind of sad at first that we wouldn't be continuing to follow the crew of the Wayfarer, but I absolutely love what Chambers did with this story. She is a genius at writing character centric stories.
We get to see a lot more of Port Coriol and learn a bit more about Aeluons. I love that we get Pepper's backstory, and get her as a more well rounded character, as well as learning more about her partner Blue. We are also following Sidra, an AI that has been illegally downloaded into a body kit. In the GC, AI aren't considered people, so this has to be kept secret. Sidra finds being in a body a difficult transition with a lot of barriers. A lot of this story is about Sidra figuring out how to be a person which is also mirrored by Pepper's experiences as a sheltered Jane on a fringe planet.
Sidra reminds me of a more emotional Data from Star Trek TNG. The way she learns and her curiosity and wanting to understand herself and become more. Pepper's story is also one of resilience. An overarching theme of the book is about who gets rights. Just because someone is made instead of born, doesn't mean they aren't a person. I loved learning about the AI that raised Pepper. It was such a good story with a sweet ending.
So looking forward to book three!
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers is book two in the Wayfarer series. I cannot express how much I am loving this series! This is the best cosy scifi I've ever read. Becky Chambers has a hold on my soul.
We get two timelines in this book: one taking place after the events of book one following the sentient AI Sidra, and one that takes place twenty years before following Pepper's story. I was kind of sad at first that we wouldn't be continuing to follow the crew of the Wayfarer, but I absolutely love what Chambers did with this story. She is a genius at writing character centric stories.
We get to see a lot more of Port Coriol and learn a bit more about Aeluons. I love that we get Pepper's backstory, and get her as a more well rounded character, as well as learning more about her partner Blue. We are also following Sidra, an AI that has been illegally downloaded into a body kit. In the GC, AI aren't considered people, so this has to be kept secret. Sidra finds being in a body a difficult transition with a lot of barriers. A lot of this story is about Sidra figuring out how to be a person which is also mirrored by Pepper's experiences as a sheltered Jane on a fringe planet.
Sidra reminds me of a more emotional Data from Star Trek TNG. The way she learns and her curiosity and wanting to understand herself and become more. Pepper's story is also one of resilience. An overarching theme of the book is about who gets rights. Just because someone is made instead of born, doesn't mean they aren't a person. I loved learning about the AI that raised Pepper. It was such a good story with a sweet ending.
So looking forward to book three!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
bergha1998's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved the duo storyline of this one. Seeing why Pepper is who she is and also Sidra coming into her own were two very special stories. Freaking emotional throughout, though.
Sci-Fi, Found Family
“All the things made better for some people. Nobody has ever figured out how to make things better for everybody.“
“I love it dearly. But it will never feel the same as it did when I was a kid. I’m different now. And different is good, but it cuts both ways.“
“Every organic sapient I’ve ever talked to, every book I’ve read, every piece of art I’ve studied. You are all desperate for purpose, even though you don’t have one.”
“I haven’t found a purpose like that yet–nothing so overarching and big. But I don’t think purposes have to be immutable.”
Sci-Fi, Found Family
“All the things made better for some people. Nobody has ever figured out how to make things better for everybody.“
“I love it dearly. But it will never feel the same as it did when I was a kid. I’m different now. And different is good, but it cuts both ways.“
“Every organic sapient I’ve ever talked to, every book I’ve read, every piece of art I’ve studied. You are all desperate for purpose, even though you don’t have one.”
“I haven’t found a purpose like that yet–nothing so overarching and big. But I don’t think purposes have to be immutable.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, and Grief
cornfusedsnow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Grief, and Slavery
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Infertility, and War
thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Becky Chamber's books are always so comforting to me. there's something so quite and cozy about them that makes them just feel like a warm hug. I didn't love this one quite as much as the first Wayfarers book, but it still really hit the spot, and I'm very excited to continue the series. Specifically, I loved how this book grapples with the question of personhood and the difference between what is right and what is allowed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Cursing, Grief, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Death, Blood, and Child death
Minor: Xenophobia, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
moonknitter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Before I read this I was disappointed that the same characters of the first book would not really be in the second one but Becky Chambers has done it again. Even tho I was sad to not hear more about sissix & rosemary and even tho the whole Jenks & Lovelace storyline didn’t really appeal to me in the first book, the way this explored AI rights and genetic modification and both the utopian and dystopian aspects of both was just incredible, wholesome in some ways, and very inspiring! I’ve sometimes really hated books that go back n forth between 2. Characters or time periods but this one did it so incredibly well and I think the book would have not been as good if they’d been separate or only 1 together. When I got tired of sidra complaining about being in a body, the chapter ended and I got a glimpse of Jane working hard to survive. When I got tired of hearing the horrible parts of janes story, the chapter ended and I could learn about sidra experience something new for the first time. I’ve also been really terrified about the future of AI over the next few years just based on our society, and this book gave me a different perspective to all that. The Owl and Jane storyline was a big part of that for me. However, the ending was sort of confusing for me. I didn’t totally understand exactly what happened it was like tech jargon and it went over my head. On a basic level I kind of get it but it wasn’t super clear. I also think one thing this book did similar to the last one was that it was much more character based than plot based. The climax/ ending came fast and in the last 60 pages or so. Which was fine with me because I liked getting to understand these different worlds and seeing things for the first time through an AI perspective as well as Jane’s. Becky chambers also does a really great job of writing different voices. Janes voice as a 10 year old made it very easy to put yourself in her shoes, as did janes narration voice as a teenager (as she learned how to cuss and starts to be annoyed with Owl, as all teens do). This is a small thing but also the voice of Blue with his speech impediment is just a small thing that many authors wouldn’t think to do. Each character truly had a voice through her writing. The other thing I noticed as soon as janes story began is that it is very much Plato’s allegory of a cave and I think that allegory speaks to the parallels between both Sidra and Janes story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Confinement
Moderate: Cursing
annamorgan27's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcohol, Child death, Blood, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Cursing
sulinde's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A by turns charming, riveting and heartbreaking portrait of someone learning how to feel at home in themselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Dysphoria, Grief, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Child abuse, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
oceanescence's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this even more than A long way to a small angry planet. Explored a very interesting concept and I found the constant switching of focus of the chapters between the two characters very engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Grief, and Animal death
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Drug use
Minor: Gun violence
scifi_rat's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Plot: 3.5★
Prose: 3 ★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 4.5★/4★
Characters: 3★
Worldbuilding: 4.5★
Ending: 3.25★
Prose: 3 ★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 4.5★/4★
Characters: 3★
Worldbuilding: 4.5★
Ending: 3.25★
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Eating disorder, Violence, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Blood, Grief, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Gaslighting, Gore, Infertility, Drug use, Vomit, and Xenophobia