Scan barcode
emzhay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I really enjoyed reading this book! I was looking for some lighthearted sci-fi and it definitely delivered. It’s a slice of life type story so there’s no main plot at the forefront, which I personally really enjoyed, but may not be for everyone.
I did have some issues with how race was portrayed among humans. It seems like the author went with the route of humans all being ambiguously brown (though no one is mentioned as being darker than “tan”) thus ending racism among ourselves since we all look the same now. It came off as a pretty lazy writing ploy to me given how much the book pushed embracing differences among species.
And why are we so far into the future and to be fully accepting of neopronouns, but it’s still ”confusing” to use singular they? or in this case it actually is a plural they. It’s great to see neopronouns used so casual, but as someone who uses they/them pronouns and was told this book had great trans rep, it was really off putting.
I also really disliked how Ohan’s bodily autonomy was violated with seemingly no consequence. They were cured with zero input on their part and it just gets glossed over
I did have some issues with how race was portrayed among humans. It seems like the author went with the route of humans all being ambiguously brown (though no one is mentioned as being darker than “tan”) thus ending racism among ourselves since we all look the same now. It came off as a pretty lazy writing ploy to me given how much the book pushed embracing differences among species.
And why are we so far into the future and to be fully accepting of neopronouns, but it’s still ”confusing” to use singular they?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism and War
toffishay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I'm not normally big into science fiction, but I really enjoyed this. The characters and the found family element are just so much fun and I had a really good time reading this, even when things got intense and sad. It is always a little tough to pull off representing the human element in a fantastical story and I really liked the alien characters and parts more than our human characters, but everyone is stronger together. I also know that this is the first in a series, but I think that this could really stand on its own as an engaging science fiction story. There is an overarching plot, but it ends up not being the focus of the story in a way that felt a little flat by the end, but there is enough adventure along the way to make up for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and War
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual content
meagangrace's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
I have been looking for a long time for a single sci-fi book that I would like and I have finally found it! I have had a hard time finding any book that I liked enough to get me into the genre, and not only do I like this book, it may be my new favorite book of all time. I highly recommend.
The world building, the characters, everything was so well done I loved it! I couldn't even pick the elements apart they blended so well together, and one could not exist without the other. It made the most awesome world I think I've ever read about.
The world building, the characters, everything was so well done I loved it! I couldn't even pick the elements apart they blended so well together, and one could not exist without the other. It made the most awesome world I think I've ever read about.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
temporarilyhuman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Torture, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and Death
Moderate: Child death and Chronic illness
Minor: Classism, Slavery, Racism, Drug use, Cursing, War, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Medical content, Body horror, Blood, Genocide, Gore, and Confinement
corriejn's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This is a 5-star book not because it's some wildly innovative book, or the kind that is so all-absorbing that it leaves you with a "book hangover." But it is just a thoroughly enjoyable read. (All the CWs noted are fairly moderate-- that is, not super graphic content, and in general relate to specific events in the story.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Death, and Terminal illness
Minor: Racism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Violence, Confinement, Alcohol, Drug use, Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Pregnancy
klfgasaway's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
So much fun
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, and Sexual content
emmy_award's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Ableism, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Genocide
Ableism description:booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-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
5.0
THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL, ANGRY PLANET is about a ship, a crew, a space journey, and the friends they made and (or sometimes tragically lost) along the way.
There are a lot of characters and they generally feel distinct from each other. That means I can't really point to an overall style, other than that once I tracked names enough to tell Jenks and Ashby apart I did all right for the rest of the book (I kept mixing up who was with Pei).
main character - If anyone is the main character it might be Rosemary, she's definitely the reader's way into the narrative as a human who doesn't have any travel experience and is generally unfamiliar with the people and places that they encounter on the way. Because she isn't the only point-of-view character there's a pretty robust diversity not only of perspectives but of angles for explanation.
The ship has a relatively small crew but it's enough to make a character relationship web complicated pretty quickly. Ashby is the captain, which means he doesn't pal around with the crew much but still is close to most of them. I like his relationship with Pei, it's nice to see a long-distance thing portrayed well. Jenks and Kizzy have a friendly working relationship and a great rapport. They get along even when they're getting on each other's nerves, which is good since they're generally working on ship maintenance together. Sissix is my favorite, and I like how she is with Rosemary, especially towards the end. There's even more crew and I'm very bad with names, so that's about my limit of what I can remember and say without spoilers. Generally speaking I like the way that non-human characters have conversations and relationships with each other that don't have anything to do with the human ones. It helps reinforce the feeling of a galaxy that isn't centered on humans, which is definitely a welcome departure from a lot of space sci-fi.
Most of the worldbuilding in terms of physical spaces is focused on the ship, with a few visits to other worlds on the way. Where it shines is in establishing the impression of a full galaxy with complicated dynamics of which we're just getting a tiny slice. I love the descriptions of various aliens, and the way the characters make a specific effort to understand other perspectives and ways of being.
For the first half of the book I was lukewarm, having trouble getting into it but having a good enough time to continue. It more than paid off in the second half, wow. There are a lot of important characters by virtue of paying attention to the entire crew plus a few additional people. Because the big thing that's happening is they're traveling a very long way to a specific destination, plus some stops and occasional complications along the way, most of the plot revolves around developing and continuing relationships between the characters. The main journey is to slowly travel to somewhere very far away for a specific reason, and then because of the tech involved they'll be able to get home very quickly. It makes the ending feel climactic even though technically all they did was go a long way away and then come right back to where they started in a fraction of the time.
The ending is devastating. The emotional culmination of getting to know these characters runs into the dangers of their journey in a way that is sudden, frightening, and grief-stricken. If you like found-family journey stories (especially ones in space), don't miss this one.
There are a lot of characters and they generally feel distinct from each other. That means I can't really point to an overall style, other than that once I tracked names enough to tell Jenks and Ashby apart I did all right for the rest of the book (I kept mixing up who was with Pei).
main character - If anyone is the main character it might be Rosemary, she's definitely the reader's way into the narrative as a human who doesn't have any travel experience and is generally unfamiliar with the people and places that they encounter on the way. Because she isn't the only point-of-view character there's a pretty robust diversity not only of perspectives but of angles for explanation.
The ship has a relatively small crew but it's enough to make a character relationship web complicated pretty quickly. Ashby is the captain, which means he doesn't pal around with the crew much but still is close to most of them. I like his relationship with Pei, it's nice to see a long-distance thing portrayed well. Jenks and Kizzy have a friendly working relationship and a great rapport. They get along even when they're getting on each other's nerves, which is good since they're generally working on ship maintenance together. Sissix is my favorite, and I like how she is with Rosemary, especially towards the end. There's even more crew and I'm very bad with names, so that's about my limit of what I can remember and say without spoilers. Generally speaking I like the way that non-human characters have conversations and relationships with each other that don't have anything to do with the human ones. It helps reinforce the feeling of a galaxy that isn't centered on humans, which is definitely a welcome departure from a lot of space sci-fi.
Most of the worldbuilding in terms of physical spaces is focused on the ship, with a few visits to other worlds on the way. Where it shines is in establishing the impression of a full galaxy with complicated dynamics of which we're just getting a tiny slice. I love the descriptions of various aliens, and the way the characters make a specific effort to understand other perspectives and ways of being.
For the first half of the book I was lukewarm, having trouble getting into it but having a good enough time to continue. It more than paid off in the second half, wow. There are a lot of important characters by virtue of paying attention to the entire crew plus a few additional people. Because the big thing that's happening is they're traveling a very long way to a specific destination, plus some stops and occasional complications along the way, most of the plot revolves around developing and continuing relationships between the characters. The main journey is to slowly travel to somewhere very far away for a specific reason, and then because of the tech involved they'll be able to get home very quickly. It makes the ending feel climactic even though technically all they did was go a long way away and then come right back to where they started in a fraction of the time.
The ending is devastating. The emotional culmination of getting to know these characters runs into the dangers of their journey in a way that is sudden, frightening, and grief-stricken. If you like found-family journey stories (especially ones in space), don't miss this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Grief, Ableism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Gore, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Confinement, Medical content, Vomit, Torture, Genocide, Animal death, Murder, and Death
Minor: Sexual content
smrj's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Genocide, Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, Torture, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
_forestofpages's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.0
This is a light-hearted space opera, light on politics for book 1, and heavy on character focus and some hard hitting topics.
Pros: I loved the crew from the jump, the writing was fluid and fun, the author has a good sense of humor, the world building and learning about the different types of alien species are by far the coolest aspect of the book and quite original in terms of cultures and species.
Cons: not a whole lot happens in the book for the first 170 pages; its very light on action and supense, the situations that do occur that have higher stakes get resolved lightning fast, the ending was abrupt and is clearly leading into the sequel, and lastly a personal issue was the over generalization of certain types of people.
Overall I did enjoy this. It felt wholesome and light-hearted but still talked about some deep and psychological things, including grief/suffering and how people can marginalize theirselves in their suffering, how we compare to others and how unhealthy that is, the nonsensical and horrible realities of war, how political games put more stock in the prospect of gaining resources than in people's lives, racism/xenophobia, etc.
There are some great and profound discussion topics here and I can't wait to pick up the rest of the trilogy.
Pros: I loved the crew from the jump, the writing was fluid and fun, the author has a good sense of humor, the world building and learning about the different types of alien species are by far the coolest aspect of the book and quite original in terms of cultures and species.
Cons: not a whole lot happens in the book for the first 170 pages; its very light on action and supense, the situations that do occur that have higher stakes get resolved lightning fast, the ending was abrupt and is clearly leading into the sequel, and lastly a personal issue was the over generalization of certain types of people.
Overall I did enjoy this. It felt wholesome and light-hearted but still talked about some deep and psychological things, including grief/suffering and how people can marginalize theirselves in their suffering, how we compare to others and how unhealthy that is, the nonsensical and horrible realities of war, how political games put more stock in the prospect of gaining resources than in people's lives, racism/xenophobia, etc.
There are some great and profound discussion topics here and I can't wait to pick up the rest of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, and Sexual content