The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Can't say enough good things about this

Many reviewers have commented that this book seems to be plotless. I disagree. Though yes, it certainly focuses more on the characters and their relationships rather than the traditional plot, it still has a beginning, middle and end and is incredible. I never wanted to press the pause button. The performance was great as well, and I was at first glad to see she reads the next book, a closed and common orbit. I just pray audible gets the rites to sell it in Canada, because I very much want to read it and would rather not read the IBook. I fact I don't think I will.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Good little sci-fi book, more about relationships

Good little sci-fi book that deals more with the relationships between people (and species) than with space battles or even space travel. While yes, it all happens in space and is about space travel, it was a really interesting look into how a crew of very mixed characters would get along and make it through challenges together. The narrator for this book was also a major factor of me rating it this high. She did the human voices exactly as I'd imagine them and the alien ones were funny and strange, just like sci-fi should be. One good thing about the book was it made me compare the situations in the plot to the real world I live in, which is what good sci-fi should do. There were a lot of easily-identifiable situations, relationships and choices. But there were also things that, when you read deeper, were great insights into life. Lots of things I could see related to Trump, or to the racial struggles around the world, to politics and economics. All in all a good listen, kept me entertained and even had me thinking at times!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

loved it

I read this book a while ago and used the audiobook to refresh my mind before digging into the second one. I love it the first read through and I think I now live it even more.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Best Sci Fi I have read in Ages

Where does The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is everything I hope for in a sci fi book. Bizarrely I would call this a cross between Firefly, Mass Effect (as noted by the publishers) and Sophie's World. Big questions and speculative science interlaced with great characters and humour. I have read countless sci fi and this ranks in my Top Ten for characterisation and philosophy

Who was your favorite character and why?

That is really hard to decide - the whole novel is structured around getting pretty equal insights into each of the characters and you become attached to each in different ways. If pushed I would say 'Doctor- Chief'

What about Patricia Rodriguez’s performance did you like?

She did an excellent job with all the different acents and candience. Moving easily between sexes, races and species.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Nothing particularly extreme but being along with The Wayfarer was just so much fun. The fate of The Navigator was especially touching.

Any additional comments?

Thank you so much to the people who crowd funded this novel - well worth it. This WON'T appeal to Hard Science fans (Peter Hamilton etc) but a safe fun bet for everyone else.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

An amazing breath of fresh air - sci-fi @ its best

Who should buy this book:
If you like Firefly buy this!
If you like Arthur C Clarke, buy this,
If you like Kim Stanley Robinson buy this.
If you are sick of reading Sci-fi books geared towards 14 year boys who want to read about soldiers in big bad space ships going pew pew pew all the time and flexing their male organs then you will love this.

Who should not buy this book:
If you are a 14 year old boy(or one trapped in the body of a man) that wants to read about space soldiers in big bad ships flexing their male organs while going pew pew pew, then you probably should skip this one and buy Columbus Day instead

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Beautiful!

The first audiobook I never wanted to pause. Non-operatic storytelling, a real universe, excellent narration.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Just lovely

The book is excellent, wonderfully modern sci-fi set in an engaging and well-constructed new universe. The characters are memorable and lively.

The performance is also fantastic, and I will absolutely be seeking out more of Patricia Rodriguez's work. Her narration is excellent, and she does a great job making the character voices distinct and recognizable.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

very enjoyable, many good ideas

It took a little while for me to get into it but then I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not too geeky on the tech but the future the author describes is well thought through and makes good sense. I particularly enjoyed the theme of inter cultural/inter species communication / interaction as well as the way the author looks at us humans and our peculiar ways through the eyes of other species. This book was entertaining, sometimes funny, sometimes moving and often thought provoking.

A beautiful story

Very well worth the credit. A lovely story about a crew of people traveling through space and the relationships they form while having adventures. The genre needs more stories like this.

compassionate space drama

This book is great. It's as if the crew of Firefly was multi-species instead of just human and lived in something like the Star Trek universe but populated by aliens as diverse and creatively done as those in Star Wars.

The aliens here are portrayed well. Each species is distinct and not just a human analog. The world comparison to the Star Trek universe is only in the broadest most general sense; this book definitely does it's own thing as far as showing new ideas on what a galactic alliance of intelligent species might look like. For starters, humans are not the dominant species, which was interesting and refreshing.

The characters are very enjoyable and well developed. I haven't liked a group of characters this much in awhile. The writer really does a good job at bringing out their identities and struggles and the dynamics of the crew that the story follows.

Since the focus is more on the characters and their journeys instead of any overall struggle or universe shattering plot some may find the book slow but I found the writing was so fun and there were so many interesting ideas and spending time with this crew was so enjoyable that the lack of a "save the galaxy" story was in no way a loss. I am very much looking forward to the sequel and seeing where the writer takes things next.