Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

36 reviews

the_reading_wren's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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 quote on the front of this book says it’s “quietly profound” and I think that sums it up perfectly. 

I wasn’t expecting it but I liked the episodic style of storytelling because it made every chapter satisfying. I could tell this was Chambers’ debut novel due to pacing and some lack of clarity in the messages (which in her more recent books are more honed), but the fact I still gave it 5 stars shows just how much I love her world building, and the wisdom she shares through her characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, and War

Minor: Blood, Murder, Ableism, Vomit, Confinement, Drug use, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Torture, Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Slavery, and Violence

arinheck's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Terminal illness, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Violence, Racial slurs, and Medical content

Minor: Ableism, Colonisation, Drug use, and Alcohol

puckeverlasting's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective tense slow-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? Yes

4.75

Was obsessed with "A Psalm for the Wild Built," and came to this one after. It took me a bit longer to get into, but once I did I was hooked. So many warm and cozy feelings, but it doesn't shy away from complex topics and conversations. First time for quite a while that I've cried multiple times while reading. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, War, Colonisation, Racism, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Xenophobia, and Classism

anjasshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Torture, Colonisation, Death, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Drug use

ekcd_'s review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

The characters are lovable but only because they designed to be lovable. As a result they come off as unrealistic and one dimensional. Even the cantankerous foil to the other sickly sweet personas on board is given a tragic backstory designed to inspire the reader to love him. 

It’s an incredibly slow book, plot wise, and the few plot events we do see dont make sense. The characters have odd reactions - socially and culturally. And god knows Becky Chambers lives to talk about how different all her aliens are. There is a weird fixation on sex and sexual differences in the book which could have been a fun exploration in sexuality if it was done well but instead it felt like she was patting herself on the back for coming up with such sexually diverse races/species. Several times in the book she says outright “yeah XYZ is so different from humans” and like that’s it. 

I feel like I read a different book than all the critics (formal and informal) who have such high praise. This read like a YA novel or children’s cartoon that feeds the reader emotions with a spoon. I’m fact, most of the world building in general is fed to the reader with a spoon- it’s explicit and heavy handed OR it’s nonsense words that are never explained or expanded on. It’s clear the author uses letters and characters who are librarians to shoehorn in world building she wasn’t creative enough to build into the narrative. No nuance, no complexity. Just a feel good mill, which I personally do not like. I want moral ambiguity and conflict in my space opera. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Police brutality, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, War, Death, Genocide, and Classism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Blood

mxawprince's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.5

I know this book was written in 3014, and that it's a first novel, but (amongst many other similar things) there's an autistic-coded character that in the end gets "cured". Blegh.
I'll probably read something more recent from this author to see if it gets better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Genocide, Racism, and War

Minor: Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Gun violence, and Fatphobia

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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

This is just as wonderful as everyone says it is. This sort of slice-of-life thing in a Sci-Fi setting really works for me, but it's the characters are really that shine here. If you love a big cast you can emotionally invest in, this is the book for you. I can see why some might find it a bit boring, but for me it was damn near perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Torture, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Blood, Child death, Grief, Alcohol, War, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement and Cursing

phantomgecko's review against another edition

adventurous funny 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? No

5.0

I love the galaxy created in this book. The situation, the technology, the aliens. The characters are diverse and varying levels of loveable. As in all good sci-fi, fascinating ethics questions are asked.

I wish I was better at taking descriptions of the alien species and converting them to actual figures in my brain. These are not an assortment of humanoids with little tweaks but a wide array of body types and cultures. Just A++ world building here. I'm looking forward to exploring more of the galaxy in the subsequent books.

All of the technobabble makes the reading a bit dense at times. Tbh, it took me a lot longer to read than I expected, and I took several breaks.

Would recommend if love aliens. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Xenophobia, and War

scifi_rat's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Plot: 3.5★
Prose: 3★
Pace: 3.5★
Concept/Execution: 4★/2.75★
Characters: 3★
Worldbuilding: 4★
Ending: 3★

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Cursing, Confinement, Gun violence, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Grief, War, and Terminal illness

Minor: Blood, Drug use, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit

eni_iilorak's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Confinement, Grief, and Gun violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Blood, Racism, Violence, War, Medical content, and Xenophobia

Minor: Cursing