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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, 1) Paperback – July 5, 2016

by Becky Chambers (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 25,857 ratings
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National Bestseller!

The acclaimed modern science fiction masterpiece, Hugo Award winner for Best Series!

Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 4
    Wayfarers
  2. Print length
    464 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Harper Voyager
  5. Publication date
    July 5, 2016
  6. Dimensions
    5.31 x 1.05 x 8 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0062444131
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0062444134
  9. See all details
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  1. “We cannot blame ourselves for the wars our parents start. Sometimes the very best thing we can do is walk away.”
    Highlighted by 2,199 Kindle readers
  2. Acting all sanctimonious while spouting bad info was a terrible way to win a debate, but a great way to piss people off.
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  3. Such a quintessentially Human thing, to express sorrow through apology.
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From the Publisher

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within Becky Chambers More from
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet A Closed and Common Orbit Record of a Spaceborn Few To Be Taught, If Fortunate The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet A Closed and Common Orbit Record of a Spaceborn Few To Be Taught, If Fortunate The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
Customer Reviews
4.4 out of 5 stars
25,857
4.6 out of 5 stars
15,832
4.3 out of 5 stars
8,542
4.3 out of 5 stars
4,914
4.6 out of 5 stars
7,333
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Great fun!” — Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice

“A quietly profound, humane tour de force that tackles politics and gender issues with refreshing optimism.” — The Guardian

“Becky Chambers’ debut is a joyous, optimistic space opera ... Although it isn’t shy about tackling Big Questions, Planet is a heart-warming debut novel that will restore your faith in science fiction (specifically) and humanity (in general).” — Tor.com

“One of the most enjoyable, brilliantly realized spacey SF novels I’ve read in ages.” — James Smythe, author of The Echo and The Explorer

“Humane and alien, adventurous and thoughtful, vast in its imagination and wonderfully personal in the characters it builds. But above all else, it is joyously written and a joy to read.” — Claire North, author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

“[A] wonderfully imaginative and quirky novel [...] It is hard to believe that this is Becky Chambers’ first novel, as it is so well constructed, imaginative, and fluently written.” — Strange Horizons

“There are so many amazing things about this book which I have tried to cover in my review, but to sum it up in one word I found this book to be: Perfect!” — Fantasy Book Review (Book of the Month; 10 out of 10)

From the Back Cover

A rollicking space adventure with a lot of heart

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn’t expecting much. The patched-up ship has seen better days, but it offers her everything she could possibly want: a spot to call home, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy and some distance from her past. And nothing could be further from what she’s known than the crew of the Wayfarer.

From Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the chatty engineers who keep the ship running, to the noble captain Ashby, life aboard is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. That is, until the crew is offered the job of a lifetime: tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet. Sure, they’ll earn enough money to live comfortably for years, but risking her life wasn’t part of the job description.

The journey through the galaxy is full of excitement, adventure and mishaps for the Wayfarer team. And along the way, Rosemary comes to realize that a crew is a family, and that family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe . . . as long as you actually like them.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Voyager; Later Printing edition (July 5, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062444131
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062444134
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 1.05 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 25,857 ratings

About the author

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Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers

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Becky Chambers was raised in California as the progeny of an astrobiology educator, an aerospace engineer, and an Apollo-era rocket scientist. Her first novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, was originally funded via Kickstarter in 2012. Her books have been nominated for the Kitschies Award, the Hugo Award, the Locus Award, the Arthus C. Clarke Award and the Women's Prize for Fiction, among others, and won the Prix Julia Verlanger.

After living in Scotland and Iceland, Becky is now back in her home state, where she lives with her spouse. She is a devotee of video and tabletop games, and enjoys spending time in nature. She hopes to see Earth from orbit one day.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
25,857 global ratings
Excellent book. Printing error should be fixed. Received a complete copy.
5 Stars
Excellent book. Printing error should be fixed. Received a complete copy.
I adore this book and bought a copy after reading a library copy. Excellent world building, humor, creative sexiness, and characters you’ll wish you could hang out with.Unfortunately, the copy I got was missing 32 pages. I reported it to Amazon and tweeted about it to HarperVoyager. Alas, the replacement copy is also missing these pages.[Update: I was able to get in touch with the publisher. They sent me a complete replacement copy and promised to check out the problem.]I highly recommend buying this book once this problem is fixed or in Kindle format. [Update: the partial copes should have been replaced.] The next two books in the series are terrific too. Can’t wait until this is resolved so I can read book 4! [Book 4 may have been the best one yet! Read the series!]
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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
Verified Purchase
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.
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LT
4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable read even if disappointing in some respects
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2016
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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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nikita
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible series
Reviewed in Canada on January 8, 2024
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This is my second time purchasing this book (this time as a gift). The series was recommended by a friend and is absolutely wonderful. Great sci-fi but also fantastic insight into humanity. Loved it.
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António Pinto Verdelho
5.0 out of 5 stars it's brilliant
Reviewed in Germany on August 17, 2022
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this is a small review for the whole series, 4 books up till now.
Becky Chambers tells stories of people. these stories happen to be in some distant future and include several aliens. trough her eyes we see the relationships of these caracters, always diferent, always new, certanly fresh.
there aren't any heroes or long batles and the main caracters on a story are often forgotten on another, or just a small footnote.
i also found quite interesting that although there are different planets and staship's and different cultures, most of the books stories are, in fact, within very confined spaces. sometimes it's almost as if you are "watching" a theater play on stage. the actors evolve their "story" telling us about their cultural backgound and the many ways of relating to a same event.
it's brilliant and i just hope that Becky can keep telling us more stories from this galaxy of hers, our own "galaxy" Earth after all, from where all this diversity comes from.
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Omar Ortiz Meraz
5.0 out of 5 stars excelente historia
Reviewed in Mexico on June 29, 2019
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es de los mejores libros de ciencia ficción . explors desde lo cotidiano hasta lo único de un futuro posible. me divirtió mucho, explora la condición humana desde una perspectivas fresa.
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Ashwini A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring friendships and found families!
Reviewed in India on September 7, 2020
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There’s so much I want to say about this book and how much I loved it but I don’t think I can do it any justice whatsoever. This is the sort of book that truly reminded me how much I truly loved reading. Reading about characters that made their lives better despite the hardships they regularly faced. If you want to read an action packed book, this is not the book for you, if you are in for a truly plot-centered book then this isn’t the book for you. It is a book where a reader is just reminded how much common people matter and that their stories are just as worthy of being told. There needn’t be any grand old quest for the truth or glory (although they are on a quest of sorts, it is totally a secondary if not a tertiary plot point), there just needs to be people who are complex, who are not always great at things but people who are also living their lives.

There’s colonialism, xenophobia and so many other themes addressed in this book and they are all deftly handled too. One of the biggest points of its awesomeness is the fact that it stays so very human despite the fact that there aren’t many humans in the story. It just gives a sentient species at its most natural/normal. It has found family, it has morally misfits who have made themselves into a family, it has some truly great character interactions in that they are subtle and yet they are obvious. There’s great representation, there’s inter-species relationships that never take the front stage but still remain important and valid.

Overall, I just truly loved the long drive that was this book. It gave me a great reminder as to why I really loved reading about characters and their very flawed existence.
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Consumidor
5.0 out of 5 stars Ficção científica de qualidade
Reviewed in Brazil on July 11, 2017
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Um livro emocionante, bem escrito e que mostra como a ficção científica pode se beneficiar de uma visão mais humanizada por personagens.
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