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A review by scvalentine
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
Becky Chambers did it again. This is the sequel to A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, but it’s really more of a spin off. There’s a lot more darkness in this one but well balanced with hope, self discovery, and friendship.
The book follows the AI, Lovelace, who was tragically rebooted and put into an illegal body kit. She leaves the Wayfarer with Pepper, who takes her in. Pepper and her partner, Blue, nurture Lovelace/Sidra and help her acclimate to living in a body rather than a ship. Throughout the story, Sidra makes friends and struggles to find her purpose.
The second point of view is a girl named Jane, created by a community of Enhanced humans as a cheap source of labor. She lives her life sorting junk in a factory, supervised by faceless robots, until suddenly a hole is blown in her world and she discovers that something exists outside of the factory walls. 10 year old Jane then has to learn how to survive, with the help of a lonely AI in a crashed ship.
Both POVs are heartfelt stories about learning what it means to be alive in a world full of mysteries and surprises and rules. Becky Chambers remains one of the only authors to consistently leave me in tears for the last 60-ish pages of each book. I can’t wait to read the next one.
The book follows the AI, Lovelace, who was tragically rebooted and put into an illegal body kit. She leaves the Wayfarer with Pepper, who takes her in. Pepper and her partner, Blue, nurture Lovelace/Sidra and help her acclimate to living in a body rather than a ship. Throughout the story, Sidra makes friends and struggles to find her purpose.
The second point of view is a girl named Jane, created by a community of Enhanced humans as a cheap source of labor. She lives her life sorting junk in a factory, supervised by faceless robots, until suddenly a hole is blown in her world and she discovers that something exists outside of the factory walls. 10 year old Jane then has to learn how to survive, with the help of a lonely AI in a crashed ship.
Both POVs are heartfelt stories about learning what it means to be alive in a world full of mysteries and surprises and rules. Becky Chambers remains one of the only authors to consistently leave me in tears for the last 60-ish pages of each book. I can’t wait to read the next one.