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A review by willrefuge
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
4.0
Comprehensive but not Complete.
This is going to sound weird. I really like this book (well, not that so much as the next part), but there's no over-arching plot present in it. Sure, there is a main story line that it follows, but it's more of a meandering, adventurous plot that seems to take it's sweet time toodling around the galaxy before every now and then making some headway.
It's a bit like your favorite modern RPG. Every game nowadays has an open world and so many side-quests that it's possible to subsist mostly on potatoes while working in a piece of meat every now and again, y'know, to keep the main line moving. This novel reads as such. My main complaint not two books ago was that DRAKE (a book by some guy) had--among other things--too little plot. TLWtaSAP could have the same said for it. With one distinct difference.
This book is REALLY GOOD.
I'm going to end up recommending this for the thought it provokes and ideals it challenges. For the space adventure and depth of character and character growth (not only individual, but between each). And yes, even for the lack of a dominant plot. I'm not convinced that one would make this any better. It's weird.
I've thought of another word I'd use to describe this: Discordant. Though to be fair, I'm not sure this is an adequate description. Mainly because, these stories, while oddly disjointed, blend together quite well. One of--well, almost the main reason I took off a star--was due to the middling discordant nature (I mean the nature of the MIDDLE of this book). The plot wandered a bit as each character focused on a side-quest of their own within this adventure. It seems as though this was done to build camaraderie among the crew, so they'd see one another as less of a crew and more of a family. Or something like that.
But it seems to work. And while I DID begin to relating with the personal struggles and achievements of each member, so did my attention waiver. Which is odd, I guess, but I'm like that. I had to start THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA three or four times before I got past the first stupid two hundred pages and found an excellent read behind it. This isn't nearly as bad, it's just... a bit slow, a bit of a meander. Certainly not a deal-breaker. I still loved the book, it was just hard to refocus on it. But that passed. For many others, it may not even occur in the first place. For my part, I hope Becky Chambers uses this to her advantage in the second book following the crew of the Wayfarer.
This is a tale of love and acceptance. Of struggle and strife. Of descending to your deepest, darkest places (well, maybe not quite, but close) and finding the strength to overcome. It may parallel your own story, or ingrain within you the seed of something new. This is a novel that seems to come straight from the author's heart, and I'm glad that she managed to share it with us.
While I didn't find this on Kickstarter, I wish I had.
4.5/5 stars. Excellent read.
This is going to sound weird. I really like this book (well, not that so much as the next part), but there's no over-arching plot present in it. Sure, there is a main story line that it follows, but it's more of a meandering, adventurous plot that seems to take it's sweet time toodling around the galaxy before every now and then making some headway.
It's a bit like your favorite modern RPG. Every game nowadays has an open world and so many side-quests that it's possible to subsist mostly on potatoes while working in a piece of meat every now and again, y'know, to keep the main line moving. This novel reads as such. My main complaint not two books ago was that DRAKE (a book by some guy) had--among other things--too little plot. TLWtaSAP could have the same said for it. With one distinct difference.
This book is REALLY GOOD.
I'm going to end up recommending this for the thought it provokes and ideals it challenges. For the space adventure and depth of character and character growth (not only individual, but between each). And yes, even for the lack of a dominant plot. I'm not convinced that one would make this any better. It's weird.
I've thought of another word I'd use to describe this: Discordant. Though to be fair, I'm not sure this is an adequate description. Mainly because, these stories, while oddly disjointed, blend together quite well. One of--well, almost the main reason I took off a star--was due to the middling discordant nature (I mean the nature of the MIDDLE of this book). The plot wandered a bit as each character focused on a side-quest of their own within this adventure. It seems as though this was done to build camaraderie among the crew, so they'd see one another as less of a crew and more of a family. Or something like that.
But it seems to work. And while I DID begin to relating with the personal struggles and achievements of each member, so did my attention waiver. Which is odd, I guess, but I'm like that. I had to start THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA three or four times before I got past the first stupid two hundred pages and found an excellent read behind it. This isn't nearly as bad, it's just... a bit slow, a bit of a meander. Certainly not a deal-breaker. I still loved the book, it was just hard to refocus on it. But that passed. For many others, it may not even occur in the first place. For my part, I hope Becky Chambers uses this to her advantage in the second book following the crew of the Wayfarer.
This is a tale of love and acceptance. Of struggle and strife. Of descending to your deepest, darkest places (well, maybe not quite, but close) and finding the strength to overcome. It may parallel your own story, or ingrain within you the seed of something new. This is a novel that seems to come straight from the author's heart, and I'm glad that she managed to share it with us.
While I didn't find this on Kickstarter, I wish I had.
4.5/5 stars. Excellent read.