Reviews with content warning for Animal death - A Closed and Common Orbit

Sidra having her moment of "I've changed and what I want has changed too" and like. Just really wanting to sit on the floor with her friends is beautiful. The power of the Floor should not be underestimated. And when the chapter POV changes to Pepper instead of Jane? That's good shit right there.

There's just so much hope and emotion in what Becky Chambers writes.

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weareinheritors's review

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Really great story about found-family and figuring out exactly who you are when you were sort of born into an expected role.

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moonknitter's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Before I read this I was disappointed that the same characters of the first book would not really be in the second one but Becky Chambers has done it again. Even tho I was sad to not hear more about sissix & rosemary and even tho the whole Jenks & Lovelace storyline didn’t really appeal to me in the first book, the way this explored AI rights and genetic modification and both the utopian and dystopian aspects of both was just incredible, wholesome in some ways, and very inspiring! I’ve sometimes really hated books that go back n forth between 2. Characters or time periods but this one did it so incredibly well and I think the book would have not been as good if they’d been separate or only 1 together. When I got tired of sidra complaining about being in a body, the chapter ended and I got a glimpse of Jane working hard to survive. When I got tired of hearing the horrible parts of janes story, the chapter ended and I could learn about sidra experience something new for the first time. I’ve also been really terrified about the future of AI over the next few years just based on our society, and this book gave me a different perspective to all that. The Owl and Jane storyline was a big part of that for me. However, the ending was sort of confusing for me. I didn’t totally understand exactly what happened it was like tech jargon and it went over my head. On a basic level I kind of get it but it wasn’t super clear. I also think one thing this book did similar to the last one was that it was much more character based than plot based. The climax/ ending came fast and in the last 60 pages or so. Which was fine with me because I liked getting to understand these different worlds and seeing things for the first time through an AI perspective as well as Jane’s. Becky chambers also does a really great job of writing different voices. Janes voice as a 10 year old made it very easy to put yourself in her shoes, as did janes narration voice as a teenager (as she learned how to cuss and starts to be annoyed with Owl, as all teens do). This is a small thing but also the voice of Blue with his speech impediment is just a small thing that many authors wouldn’t think to do. Each character truly had a voice through her writing. The other thing I noticed as soon as janes story began is that it is very much Plato’s allegory of a cave and I think that allegory speaks to the parallels between both Sidra and Janes story.

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cjblandford's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this one a little more than The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. This was a smaller, more contained story that focused on two main characters and flipped between two timelines to tell their stories. It continues the story of Lovelace, the AI who was given a body at the end of the first novel and how she learns and adapts to a different body and environment while trying to keep herself safe from the authorities there are laws against sentient AI having sapient bodies. The other story is about Pepper and how she was raised as a child slave in a scrap sorting factory and after her escape, how she survived thanks to an AI on a derelict ship. The novel is largely about the power of found families, and ends on a rather hopeful note. Despite some pretty heavy subject matter, the novel focuses more on hope and love than wallowing in the despair.

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hanz's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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fahyhallowell's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Loved the story line with Jane 23, Owl and

Spoiler

Blue

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sarasreading's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I liked this one even more than the first book. I really enjoyed focusing on two characters and Pepper's journey especially. There are some upsetting things that happen to her, but even with that, I found this book to be really comforting and hopeful. And it makes me more excited for the next one in the series.

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solarmuser's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, but I found myself much more interested and hooked by this second book. The first book felt like a collection of stories, almost episodic in nature. It felt like watching star trek, every chapter a new adventure, with some character plot woven into the background. In this book, the two plots progress fully, and blend together well. I was on the edge of my seat reading Jane's/Pepper's story, and could barely put the book down. It was tense, exciting, and powerful. Sidra's plot was based more in emotion in contrast, but was fascinating and thought provoking in it's own right. The themes of the book regarding AI and sentiance push you to think deeply, and the conclusions presented by the end feel worth the journey. I haven't been brought to tears by reading in quite some time, but this book led me there. Im excited to see what other stories exist in this universe.

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