Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

80 reviews

kassidyreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

Content Warnings

mxawprince's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

I know this book was written in 3014, and that it's a first novel, but (amongst many other similar things) there's an autistic-coded character that in the end gets "cured". Blegh.
I'll probably read something more recent from this author to see if it gets better.

Content Warnings

kj468's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-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? No

5.0

This book is stunning. It's so wonderfully crafted, and the worldbuilding is truly outstanding -- Becky Chambers paid attention to the small details when creating this future world, and it shows. This was not a quick read for me -- it took me 3 weeks to finish and I read a bit almost every day. Because the world is so richly constructed, my brain needed frequent digesting breaks, which isn't a bad thing (and also might not be true for other people!).

This was definitely a 5-star read for me, & here are a few of the (non-spoilery) reasons why:

All of the interspecies dynamics were AMAZING. It really added to the world-building how individual species had different views on major topics in the book (e.g., politics, interspecies relations/relationships/friendships) and their own cultural customs (e.g., greetings, communication of emotions and thoughts, personal space). Also, the childlike wonder of seeing someone from a completely new species was so pure and so sweet.
I really like that of all the species in the Galactic Commons, humans are pretty low in the ranks, even considered refugees because they were almost wiped out entirely. It's humbling and a good commentary on the flaws of humanity to read a book full of diverse species where humans aren't the most evolved or mature.
The plot is so well interconnected. Seemingly small happenings from one chapter show up several chapters later in important ways -- I imagine it would make for excellent rereading!
Such thorough characterization! Each of the characters on the Wayfarer has such a robust personality, and their actions & thoughts are so consistently in character. This book is chock full of characters, and in the hands of a less talented author, it would easily overwhelm me. But because Becky Chambers has fleshed out all the main (and even many of the side) characters so well, I was able to keep them all straight and never confused their backstories or opinions.
I really liked the actual structure of the book. There's definitely an overarching plot, and information slowly gets revealed about it leading up to the significant conflict, and most chapters serve the overarching plot in some way. But at the same time, it reads like interconnected short stories or a tv show, with each (often fairly long) chapter having its own rise and fall of action with a resolution to whatever the presented conflict was. As someone with anxiety, I really loved having the assurance that the "side quest" type conflicts would be resolved and (relatively) contained to their chapter -- I didn't have to worry as much about all the things that could go wrong, and could just enjoy the ride more.

---------
pov: third person // #pov: ...8? every main character and a couple side characters take the reins at some point
---------
rep: sapphic relationship, cross-species relationships, chosen family
---------
ratings: adventure: 5 // worldbuilding: 5,000 // funny: 3.5 // romance: 3 // plot: 5 // ease: 2.5 // total: 5

Content Warnings

novella42's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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 love this book too much to do it justice with a review.

Content Warnings

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful 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? No

5.0

This is just as wonderful as everyone says it is. This sort of slice-of-life thing in a Sci-Fi setting really works for me, but it's the characters are really that shine here. If you love a big cast you can emotionally invest in, this is the book for you. I can see why some might find it a bit boring, but for me it was damn near perfect.

Content Warnings

savvylit's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

My dislike of this book is solely based on the fact that I think the "cozy sci-fi" genre is not for me. This is a fun and wholesome book. The characters are loveable. Ultimately, though, I found the plot to be shallow. Not only that, but the primary antagonists, the Toremi, were severely under-explained. Why did they attack the Wayfarer? It seemed like the Toremi were just bad for the sake of being bad and to add a little drama to the otherwise almost-boring positivity that this story exudes.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was a frustrating read. It put me in a slump. I debated just not finishing but I felt like all the rave reviews and accolades that this book received meant that I should give it a fair try and finish. Regardless, I now know that I am just not going to be a cozy sci-fi enjoyer.

Content Warnings