The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
arinheck's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief, Terminal illness, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Violence, Racial slurs, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Colonisation, Drug use, and Alcohol
mxawprince's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
I'll probably read something more recent from this author to see if it gets better.
Graphic: Ableism, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Genocide, Racism, and War
Minor: Chronic illness, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Gun violence, and Fatphobia
anni_swanilda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Confinement, Violence, Vomit, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Medical content and Blood
Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, and War
plume_de_renarde's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Drug use, and Terminal illness
Minor: Racism and Ableism
amphibianwitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Sin embargo, sĂ hay cosas que no puedo pasar por alto. Durante la lectura no me estaba dando la sensaciĂłn de que el libro fuese muy trans-friendly ni nb-friendly, pero no estaba segura de ello. Desde luego no me ha parecido nada ace ni aro-friendly, y de hecho no se lo recomendarĂa a una persona arromĂĄntica ni asexual. Pero lo que me ha terminado de cabrear es una cosa que pasa casi al final y que se analiza en este artĂculo (en inglĂ©s) mejor de lo que lo podrĂa explicar yo. Me ha parecido dañino y me es completamente imposible reconciliarme con esta lectura tras ello. Una pena.
Graphic: Death, Ableism, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Terminal illness, War, Drug use, and Alcohol
nannahnannah's review against another edition
2.0
Representation:
There are nine main characters âŠ
- four of the five humans are a futuristic mixed human race that arenât considered white
- one character has dwarfism
- two characters are sapphic and poly
- one character's species changes genders halfway through their lives (he's now male)
- Ohan is discussed in the review below (I believe he is autistic coded)
The Long Way ⊠proves that the journey is indeed more important than the destination. A ragtag, multispecies crew on a spaceship thatâs seen better days heads out on a year-long trip to build a wormhole tunnel between the rest of the Galactic Commons (GC) and a small, angry planet that holds much-desired resources. On the crew is
1. Rosemary, a human trying to escape her past;
2. Ashby, a pacifist human captain in an illegal multispecies relationship;
3. Kizzy, a quirky human tech;
4. Jenks, a human tech with dwarfism in love with the shipâs AI;
5. Corbin, a cranky human who works with the shipâs algae fuel;
6. Lovey, the shipâs AI who is considering getting an illegal âbody kitâ;
7. Sissix, the compassionate reptilian pilot;
8. Dr. Chef, a member of a dying species who serves as the crewâs doctor and ⊠chef;
9. Ohan, the reclusive navigator, able to see the space-time continuum due to a virus called âThe Whispererâ.
What plot this book has is very thin, which is okay because thatâs not its priority. Instead, the conversations and interactions between the many characters during their long trip is what obviously keeps many people entertained. The story feels very episodic, broken down into sections where a small event happens and wraps up nicely, and then the characters move onto the next one. I do wish that there were more connection between these episodes, though, because it felt as though the slate was wiped clean between them and they could more or less be swapped around.
And I just wish I liked the book more! I do love character-driven stories, but I felt that the characters failed to actually drive anything here, besides the overly preachy and hammered-out point that âprejudice and oppression is bad.â It failed to add anything new to these discussions or add any nuance. Near the end thereâs a glimmer of something promising, which I hope will be explored in the next books.
The characters are all overly sweet (save for the token grump), never saying anything wrong or doing anything bad or behaving like flawed, realistic people. The dialogue sounds like it could come from a Marvel movie, and every characterâs lines could be switched around and I wouldnât know who said what; they all speak too similarly for being so different from one another. The one time thereâs an opportunity for tension (Rosemaryâs secret past is revealed), the author skips over the confrontational scene to mention it in passing as having happened and so-and-so was mad but itâs all better now. I donât believe conflict is necessary for all stories (see the 4-act structure), but these things feel like cop-outs.
eugenics mention below
But the worst offense here is the bookâs ableism, and Iâm livid that very few other reviewers have been talking about it. I canât even tell you how disappointed I am that this book has eugenics disguised as âgene therapyâ. Jenks only has dwarfism because his mother didnât undergo prenatal therapy. Itâs implied no one has dwarfism or bad eyesight, etc. because of this. And then the author has the gall to have her characters shake a fist at Jenkâs motherâs old people who actively believe that leaving behind and/or killing disabled people and children would strengthen the human race.
end of eugenics mention
Then thereâs Ohan, whoâs infected with The Whisperer, a virus that gives him wonderful abilities (he can see through space and time) but also a dramatically shortened lifespan. Itâs revealed that his people, who all become infected as children, die when theyâre around thirty years old, which makes Ohan about to die himself. In the last three-quarters of the book,
But the problem is that weâre not just observing this within the context of the story. I have autism. My autism gives me gifts in the form of hyperfixiation, which allows me to finish projects quickly, it allows me to focus on details, and autism can give others many gifts in the arts, in math, etc. Itâs also possible autism will shorten my lifespan; you can look up why if you really want to, because I wonât link all the studies here. At one point, Ohan mentions that they donât know what they would be like without The Whisperer, something many neurodivergent people can relate to. Ohan is a social recluse ⊠they donât like to be touched ⊠do you see where Iâm drawing this comparison from? To read Ohan have a cure forced upon them even though they refused it with all the knowledge given to them is a kick to the gut in a world that still has Autism Speaks scrambling to âcureâ autism. But the worst is having Ohan, cured Ohan, happy to be social, happy to be touched, and having all the chapters surrounding the crew finding the cure, even to events after Ohan being cured in POVs of everyone besides Ohan. At no point do we ever see how Ohan actually feels about any of this.
I know thereâs also a scene with a strongly autistic-coded character, where Sissix makes a point to say everyone deserves love, but it isnât actually necessary to the story ⊠itâs just there to make a moral point. As an autistic person, reading this scene where an autistic-coded character is homeless, without a family, being made fun of by passersby, etc. all because of being "different", when all sexualities and genders are accepted feels cruel.Â
Do I think that Becky Chambers did all this out of malice? Definitely not, she seems like a really cool person, honestly. And this series is obviously very well loved; it just wasn't for me. I only spent so long talking about the ableism because I didn't see others here do it yet. I probably wonât read on in this series, but I will check out what Becky Chambers writes next.
Graphic: Ableism
also: implied eugenics mentionsacredgayometry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Classism, Gun violence, Ableism, Animal death, Death, and Kidnapping
Minor: Xenophobia, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Ableism, Bullying, Alcohol, Animal death, Terminal illness, Cursing, Murder, and War
There are some challenging themes especially near the end of the book surrounding war, conflict, colonialism and xenophobia. There is challenging content surrounding death and grief as well as memory loss. Cultural misunderstandings and cultural differences are central to the book, and I felt were generally approached very respectfully. Otherwise a lighthearted read.rgraham's review against another edition
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Ableism
maeverose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
-
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: War, Gore, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Xenophobia, Ableism, Cursing, Death, and Sexual content
lipstickitotheman's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Car accident, Confinement, Colonisation, Ableism, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, and Violence