Review of 'The long way to a small, angry planet' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Start here and you will never turn back!
Paperback, 404 pages
English language
Published Nov. 23, 2015 by Hodder & Stoughton.
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that's seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past. But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptilian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants. Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet.
Start here and you will never turn back!
So wonderful. I heard that this was an "optimistic" read, and it's true; the characters tackle the adversity they face by being emotionally intelligent, thoughtful, supportive, ethical. It scratched the same itch as, say, Kim Stanley Robinson. Chosen family was a constant theme. To switch mediums, it felt like a mix between Firefly, Star Trek, and She Ra.
I inhaled it! So good!
An utterly charming story. If you enjoy spaceships full of goobers, you'll love this.