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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

the most hopeful, charming and cosy novel to curl up with

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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

By: Becky Chambers
Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez Rodriguez
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About this listen

 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILEY'S WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION

'A quietly profound, humane tour de force' Guardian

The beloved debut novel that will restore your faith in humanity

#SmallAngryPlanet

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past.

But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants.

Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years... if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful.

But Rosemary isn't the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed.

PRAISE FOR THE WAYFARERS

'Never less than deeply involving' DAILY MAIL

'Explores the quieter side of sci-fi while still wowing us with daring leaps of imagination' iBOOKS

'So much fun to read' HEAT

'Chambers is simply an exceptional talent, quietly and beautifully redefining the space opera' TOR.COM

'The most fun that I've had with a novel in a long, long time' iO9©2014 Becky Chambers Adventure Science Fiction Space Opera Fiction Interstellar

Critic Reviews

An action-adventure space opera . . . It is a quietly profound, humane tour de force that tackles politics and gender issues with refreshing optimism
A real treat to read . . . Easily the most fun that I've had with a novel in a long, long time. This is space opera that's not to be missed
A joyous, optimistic space opera . . . A heart-warming debut novel that will restore your faith in science fiction (specifically) and humanity (in general)
One of the most enjoyable, brilliantly realised spacey SF novels I've read in ages.
By far the best sci-fi I've read in a long time: something genuinely different, inclusive and compassionate
One of the most delightful novels science-fiction that I've read in recent years
A huge amount of space-opera-y fun, with some interestingly nuanced perspectives on gender woven into the whole
The Long Way is, very simply, an extremely good book, a seemingly effortless demonstration of how progressive and enjoyable science fiction can be
Becky Chambers writes aliens like no one else ... the only flaw in this series is you'll wish you could spend more time with all of them
It's easy to dip into and weirdly comforting - a feel-good space novel, if you will
All stars
Most relevant
An engaging, thoughtful and thoroughly enjoyable romp through space where I found my soul nourished. A must read (or listen) for fans of Firefly with a dash of Farscape. This novel has heart, humour, eclectic characters and a solid backstory explained in snippets that left me satisfied and eager to read more from Becky Chambers.

Want something to fill the void left by Firefly?

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It was a pleasure to spend time getting to know this world and it's people. Becky Chambers has created a fascinating place, and it's enjoyable to spend a gentle day in that world. The narration is brilliant, really bringing the characters to life.

Warm, wonderful world and characters

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not a bad story but I kept thinking the characters were a bit too close to those of Firefly/Serenity. and it was a bit predictable. i found the narrator's high pitched voice difficult to enjoy.

Firefly derivative.

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well written, descriptive story in a well crafted universe. I read the book and listened to the audiobook, both were fantastic. the performance in the audiobook was tremendous.

Beautifully Written Science Fiction.

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At first, I felt this was a really long book; however, I soon fell in love with the story as I got to know the characters. It tackles love, identity and found family. I love how it feels so realistic for a Space Opera Sci-Fi book. It is set in an imperfect world with imperfect government; bad things happen, but our principal cast are good people, and for the most part, most people are.

Great Story - Great Characters

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