Review: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
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I am floored by Chamber's material. I really don't know where she got it, but growing up in a household of science probably helped a lot. This novel is immersive, and often overwhelming. But really, this book is...fun. Not Star Wars type of fun and legendary (*ducks to avoid tomatoes flying towards my head*). Honestly, I'm not a hard-core Star Wars fan (yet) because I haven't read/watched/consumed everything-Star-Wars (BOOOO! *barely had time to duck to avoid a TV flying towards my head.*) (Calm down! Calm down! I'll get to it!) But both are really different. If you're looking for a fast-paced, thrilling read filled with space wars and theatrical adventures, this isn't it. The closest action in this book was at the end when they finally reached the "angry planet". And even then, it was still kind of mellow and slowed down. Even then, the book still centered on the Wayfarer and its crew. The story focused more on the characters, so I really can't say anything bad about character development because Chambers gave that a lot of thought and perspective.

It took me a while to actually love the book. I absolutely loved the world Chambers built, but at times, I found myself wondering where the story is headed, so I took breaks (this is why it took me close to 3 weeks to finish it). I fell in love with it slowly but surely; I only realized that I loved it towards the end.

The book's underlying score was slightly political. It gave a unique view on different (fictional) cultures--how different species interacted with each other in light of their histories and discoveries. It made me wonder how us humans belonging to the same species are so intolerable of one another, and how imperfect we still are on how we interact with other species (animals). Few of the main protagonists in this book are Humans. Given the amount of science and fictional species in this book, making the crew predominantly human made identifying with the entire crew easier. Despite being the weaker species in this book, Chambers successfully delivered a fresh perspective on Human's weaknesses and strengths in the context of a galaxy. The unique characters and their own philosophical musings delivered a fresh perspective on life and conflict.

I wish I could dive more into this universe. I want to know more about the culture of the Grums and Sianats. I want to see the evolutionary explanation behind the beauty and power of the Aeulons. I want to learn how an Aandrisk can regard their children as 'non-people yet' but display an uninhibited physicality towards who they see as people. I want this universe expanded. I'm craving for mooooore, Ms. Chambers. I can just see this as a pop-culture phenomenon.

My favorite character would be Dr. Chef because of his impressive cultural sensitivity. Second favorite would be Kizzy because she is who she is--funny and a fiercely loyal friend.

I would've given this 5 stars if there were more action. But overall, the book is still great and I'd say it's worth a re-read in the future. :)

(Random thoughts:
* I would looooove to try a smoky bun <3
* I will now start referring to gingers as spicy potatoes! HAHAHAHAHA.)

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Disclaimer: Excerpts below are from the book. Copyright © 2014 by Becky Chambers:

"Time was a curious equalizer."

"Fear. Such a throwback emotion, meant to spur primitive life-forms away from potential predators. Life's universal constant. Every fear of rejection, of criticism, of failure, of loss--these were all caused by that same archaic survival reflex."

"But you know what I realized? It doesn't matter what I think. Jenks thinks something different, and his pain is very real right now. Me knowing how stupid this whole thing is doesn't make mhim hurt any less."

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