The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet: Wayfarers, Book 1

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 27,288 ratings

Price: 23.62

Last update: 01-11-2025


Top reviews from the United States

Karissa Eckert
5.0 out of 5 stars So happy I finally read this; fun and thoughtful.
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2022
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Wayfarers series, there are four books in this series. I bought this book for my Kindle. Previous to reading this I had read Chambers’ “To Be Taught If Fortunate” and her Monk and Robot series and really loved them both.

Thoughts: I ended up thoroughly enjoying this first installment in the Wayfarers series. This is definitely in the space opera subgenre of sci-fi. Chambers does an excellent job throwing the reader into an intriguing sci-fi world without the term-dumping that makes sci-fi such a drag sometimes. The characters are engaging and entertaining. The worlds are intriguing and I loved the discussion of the different races of aliens and how complicated it is to get everyone working together without any misunderstandings.

The story starts by following Rosemary Harper as she joins the crew of the Wayfarer. The Wayfarer is a ship that punches holes through space to different locations to enable space travel. When they get the offer of a lifetime they can’t refuse, even though it may be incredibly dangerous. As the book continues we get to spend time with all of the crew and learn about their lives and backgrounds.

It did take me a bit to warm up to all the crew on the Wayfarer because we do jump between a lot of characters and planets and races. However, it was time well spent and once I was about 25% through the book I was totally engaged in this story and absolutely loving it. Chambers’ writing style is easy to read and flows well. The story packs a lot into it; there is a good overall plot but a lot of small subplots as well. There is action, adventure, and a bit of romance, as well as political intrigue and some philosophical topics addressed. All in all, there is a lot here and it blends together to make an amazing and engaging story.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really enjoyed this book a lot. This was an amazing start to this sci-fi series. I enjoyed the characters, the intriguing worlds, and races we get to visit. I loved getting to know the Wayfarers crew and really enjoyed my time with them. I am looking forward to starting the second book in this series, “A Closed and Common Orbit” very soon. I would recommend this to fans of Chambers’ writing, fans of space opera, or fans of accessible sci-fi with action and adventure but also a lot of character development and thoughtfulness. So far I have loved everything I have read by Chambers and I look forward to reading more.
LT
4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable read even if disappointing in some respects
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2016
TL;DR: If you're looking for a complex book to fully explore the deep philosophical issues it touches...this isn't it. If you're looking for an enjoyable read that (if you so choose) can remind you that those deep philosophical issues exist...it'll do fine.

At core this book is a fun, silly romp across space. The basic setup is classic/borderline-cliché: the reader is introduced to the working class crew of a patchwork ship as they embark on their chance to make it big. Along the way we're given hints at many different cultures.

NOTE: I've tried to limit spoilers but there may be some small ones after this point.

Sadly a few cultures appear as simple cardboard stand-ins for attitudes and viewpoints. But this can be forgiven as they are not the main drivers of the story (even when they are shown as the main drivers of the galaxy). There are also hints of other cultures that could be plumbed for a bounty of interesting stories but are mostly left alone in this book (perhaps future volumes will give more thought to the Exodans, Aeluons, etc.).

Only three cultures are explored in any kind of depth. The soon-to-be-extinct Grum provide us with a truly enjoyable character (Dr Chef who, as the name implies, serves as the ship's doctor and cook). Unfortunately, the Grum culture only serves as an object lesson in self-destructive behavior. The reptilian Aandrisk show us an alternate definition of family, one that is explored in more depth than any other culture in the book. Although that concept of family (fluid, polyamorous, adult-centered) will be offensive to some, the real problem is the role it plays in the story - or rather the non-role it plays: one could easily delete the chapter that focuses on the Aandrisk and lose nothing from the story. Finally, there is the technology-focused, geeky, libertarian modder culture at the fringes of humanity. The modders are presented such that we're not merely to take them sympathetically but any significant negative views of modders are consistently shown as fundamentally wrong.

The biggest failings in cultural presentation center around the Toremi and the Sianat.

The Toremi are newly admitted members of the Galactic Commons and their admission is controversial due to their continued intraspecies wars. Although the fundamental problem is presented as their inability to find peaceful ways to resolve differences and/or acceptance of differences there is a strong undertone that implies that what the Toremi really need to do is drop their strange beliefs. I suppose one could read this in a way that is not anti-religion but it'd take some effort. Even then, my objection isn't to an anti-religious outlook (if I objected to that it'd seriously restrict my reading options). My objection is the lengths to which the book goes to present the notion of accepting that the beliefs and views of others are to be respected...except in this case.

Worse still is the Sianat. We're only given slight hints at their culture but the climax of that storyline is intentionally telegraphed well in advance. The Sianat are a symbiotic pairing of a normal sized being and a microbe. In effect, the Sianat are beings that have contracted a rather interesting disease. The disease reconfigures their brain which allows them to perform impressive feats, including navigating the ‘sublayer’ (hyperspace), but also reduces their lifespan. The Sianat believe this relationship is sacred and should never be severed even if it means dying decades earlier than they would naturally. There is, of course, a 'cure' but the Sianat crew member refuses it. After talking up the importance of respecting this belief the author has one crew member force it on the nearly-dead Sianat. And then...nothing. The Sianat recovers and has no animosity towards the one who violated their core belief in such a personal way. We don't even see the Sianat struggle with their own feelings over what happened. Instead we see a being 'recovering' and seemingly happy to be rid of a symbiot that's been part of them and helped shape their every thought since childhood. This, I think, is the single biggest failing in the book.

There's more I could write about this book. Great strengths like the truly complex and sympathetic character of Jenks who is fundamentally a part of modder culture yet refuses to be modded even to correct a genetic defect or the odd yet tender love between Jenks and the ship’s AI. And also great weaknesses like the cliché that is Corbin (an angry, often mean, self-centered perfectionist who is forced to face his father issues, has an epiphany and is suddenly a changed man). But I'll leave it there as this is long enough.

So, given all my grumbles, why 4 stars? Because it's still a fun read. Would I suggest this book be added to the syllabus for a 21st century lit class? No. Would I suggest someone looking for a fun read grab a copy? Absolutely.

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