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