 Hello, my darling extraterrestrials, I am Kim, this is Dustmoats and Velikor, and Becky Chambers might actually be a goddess. Her sci-fi epic, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, is a manifesto masquerading as a novel. If you asked me what happens in the book, I'd have to tell you. They take The Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet. But if you ask me what it's about, I can tell you it's about a hugely diverse crew of spaceship that tunnels wormholes for the intergalactic government, which itself is an amalgamation of a half dozen or so different sapient species, all with their own languages and cultures. It's about how different alien species might develop, and the trials of a young civilization, cough humanity cough, has to go through in order to earn a seat at the big kids table. It's about pacifism and warmongering. It's about how the choices we make for ourselves don't always compute with other people. It's about a man in an AI who fall in love. It's about a woman and her lizard girlfriend. It's about changing your whole life to escape something that wasn't even your fault in the first place, and finding yourself and your family along the way. And that's a long list, and it's not even the half of it. Now, if you've read the comic series Saga, there's a novel in there called A Nighttime Smoke, which reads like a boring romance novel, except the whole time it is trying to convince people that the war they're fighting is not only wrong, but pointless, and peace is possible and pacifism does not equal stupidity. This book does the same thing, but you know it actually exists. Under the thin veneer of a sci-fi epic, this book is feminist propaganda, and I'm so here for it. How do I even talk about this book? I already told you about the woman and her lizard girlfriend, which was a huge selling point for me, like if I'm being honest. You start off the book with the introduction of Rosemary, the new ship's clerk, to the rest of the ship's crew, and later the ship's captain, Ashby. And you think, well, that's going to be that. New person plus group leader equals insta-relationship. But that doesn't happen. And it just keeps not happening until you eventually forget about it. And then boom, expectations subverted, Rosemary likes ladies. Her sexuality isn't labeled, but there's never the pressure to define yourself with an isolated word or phrase. And that's awesome. And then there's Ashby, who has a full emotional life and ethical conflicts, despite being the prototype for the brooding hero. He struggles with missing his girlfriend, and he talks over potentially risky business opportunities with his best friend, the lizard lady. Her name is Sissix, by the way. I love her. She's also the pilot. And he makes hard choices based on his ethics, choices that occasionally offend and astound other people, including his crew. The previously mentioned Sissix is a tall reptilian woman, who is of a species that I always read as Adirandask, but I'm probably pronouncing that wrong. But also, it's not a real thing, so I don't feel as bad. She's a long way from her people, and she tries not to let it affect her. And she's got a huge beef with Corbin, who is the asshole that's in charge of growing the algae that's part of their fuel. He is disagreeable, pessimistic, and exacting. But he's really good at his job, so they keep him around. Kizzy, human, is the mech tech, the nuts and bolts of the equation. With a personality so bright and bouncy and uninhibited, she seems like she must be younger than she is. Very frequently says things that she shouldn't, but never with an intent to harm. She and Janks, the comp tech, are best friends, and they work together like one human being, with multiple arms and brains. Which in this universe, that actually wouldn't be surprising. Janks is human and a little person in a world of genetically tweaked people, and he's covered in tattoos, and he's totally in love with the ship's AI called Levy. That's possibly my favorite subplot, but they're all pretty good. Ohan are a cyanide pair using they, them pronouns. Single body, infected with a disease that they and their people consider a god, called the Whisperer. The Whisperer helps them see the multiple dimensions of space all at the same time. They're the ship's navigator, and they are absolutely necessary to the ship's function of punching wormholes through space. They're the ones in charge of, you know, not ending up inside a planet. They are rather reclusive, preferring to stare out the window and contemplate the vastness of space. I kind of see the Whisperer as a metaphor for internalized homophobia and other versions of self-hate. How you can't really know yourself until you step away from your self-imposed prison. There's a more simplistic metaphor that you can draw from Ohan's plotline, which is you can't really be a person until you step away from the duality of they, them pronouns. But honestly, given the tone of the rest of the book, I don't really think that was what Becky Chambers was going for. Did I forget anyone? Rosemary. Rosemary is the new ship's clerk, and she's never been in open space before. She's a little naive and she's got a secret, but that doesn't stop her from coming into her own on their long haul to a small angry planet. Many thanks to Rebecca. Your Goodreads review made me put this book on hold of the library, and I will be forever grateful for that. The second book in the Wayfarer series is called A Closed and Common Orbit, which is on its way to my library as we speak. And the third book comes out on July 26th, and it's called Record of a Spaceborn Few. Can I just say Becky Chambers is really good at titling things. What do you think? Should I add this series to my mini library, you know, once I have money again? Thumbs up for yes and thumbs up for no. Sorry, that was that was mean. Thumbs up for yes. And how about you just don't say anything if you think I shouldn't, because I'm gonna. Guys, the list of books that I will buy once I have money again is getting so long, it's ridiculous. Does anybody else have a list like that, or is it just me? Anyway, come talk to me about books and don't forget to subscribe.