The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Rosemary Harper is a Martian-born human who is trying to escape her past. She reinvents herself and lands a job on the Wayfarer, a spaceship charged with the mission of drilling worm-holes through space and time to establish more efficient travel routes. This story follows the Wayfarer’s quirky crew as they embark on a dangerous mission to bore a new tunnel in a war-torn region of space.

 

Chambers creates a fantasy universe called the GC, short for Galactic Commons. The crew of the Wayfarer is very diverse and she does a great job of developing the characters. This includes describing the cultural backgrounds of the various lifeforms that work aboard the ship. Although there is some action in this story, the plot primarily focuses on the relationship between the crew members and their backstories. By the end of the book, readers will grow fond of the colorful characters. I also think it has crossover appeal to readers who are not necessarily fans of the speculative fiction genre. It is the first installment in a series.