I don’t think I’ll ever get over the Wayfarers Series. I have recommended it to so many people and have bought multiple people copies. It’s fantastic, thought-provoking, and emotional. Tears were shed while listening to this audiobook.
Summary
Lovelace was once merely a ship’s artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who’s determined to help her learn and grow.
Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet introduced readers to the incredible world of Rosemary Harper, a young woman with a restless soul and secrets to keep. When she joined the crew of the Wayfarer, an intergalactic ship, she got more than she bargained for – and learned to live with, and love, her rag-tag collection of crewmates.
Review
I think everyone can remember how much I loved A Long Way. I didn’t think I could love it even more than this, but I was wrong. A Closed and Common Orbit took everything I loved about A Long Way, added more to it, and it was amazing. This book revolved around Lovelace and Pepper. There were so many clever ways that this book wrapped in on itself. I can barely even describe it without spoiling a lot of this book, but I do not think that this book disappoints at all.
A Closed and Common is so inventive. Lovelace’s story was the piece of the puzzle I wanted to read more. But what really kept me was Pepper. We are able to find out so much about Pepper’s past, and by the end I was finding excuses to listen to this audiobook – that never happens! The stories interlock, dock, and dance with each of the branches – Pepper’s past and Sidra’s current challenges.
Chambers really excels at making us hum, cry, and laugh with our characters. We feel their jubilation, their anguish, and their relief. This is where she hooked me with the first book and this is where I am, still hooked! I love that different time periods because it displays the clever way the writing explores new sections of the current story. The story comes to a head, a climax, that you didn’t know you’d been working towards. I love getting to know Jane, Pepper, and Sidra – how they are all unique and different. All these portrayals of fabulous women who are dealing with issues of agency and freedom. At the same time, Chambers asks us how we form families and make our way, how do we determine our desires and grow up – it’s a story about growing up. Find A Closed and Common Orbit on Goodreads.
I enjoyed this one less than the first one, maybe cause I couldn’t quite relate to the characters as much. Haven’t heard back from Edelweiss about the newest review copy T_T so curious about the third book! Becky Chambers indeed writes such realistic, lifelike characters. I can still not forget the first crew. I don’t think I ever will!
Yeah! I saw your review on Goodreads, but I’ll have to see how the next one is! Such gems really! (and you’re right the OG crew is so good!)