The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Originally published via a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014 and then by Hodder & Stoughton in 2016, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is Becky Chambers’ debut novel set in her fictional universe, the Galactic Commons. The novel is a science-fiction space opera concerned with the crew of the Wayfarer, a ship that bores wormholes between systems. Much of the plot serves as a backdrop for exploration of the emotional connections between the crew members.

Plot Summary

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet opens with the arrival of Rosemary Harper to the Wayfarer as it makes its way to its next job. Onboard, she meets the crew: Ashby Santoso, the captain; Sissix, the pilot; Dr. Chef, the doctor and cook; Ohan, the navigator (a Sianat Pair, therefore plural pronouns are used); the two techs, Kizzy Shao and Jenks; the ship’s AI, Lovelace (Lovey); and the algaeist Artis Corbin. Rosemary has fled her old life as the daughter of a disgraced businessman and forged her identification and qualifications. Despite her fear that she will reveal her lack of experience, she quickly settles into her new role as ship’s clerk. The Wayfarer is making its way to the endpoint of a new wormhole that the ship will punch. As they travel, Rosemary gets to know the other crew better, learns the existing dynamics between them, and adapts to spaceborne life. During the journey, Jenks and Lovey discuss the possibility of finding her a body kit to transfer her consciousness into. They both like the idea of it, but body kits are highly illegal.

When a job posting looking for a ship of their size to punch the first tunnel to the Galactic Common’s newest member species appears, Ashby leaps at it. The Wayfarer is awarded the contract, and the crew decides to accept it. Before leaving for their new job, the crew stops at Port Coriol to do some shopping. There, Sissix, Kizzy, and Rosemary are accosted by a human-purist fanatic; Jenks asks a friend about finding a body kit; and Ashby meets with his Aeluon lover, Pei. Shortly after leaving Port Coriol, the ship is boarded by Akarak raiders, an impoverished avian race reliant on plunder to survive. Rosemary successfully negotiates a compromise that will provide the Akaraks with what they need while allowing the Wayfarer to make it to the nearest port. They almost decide to kidnap Ohan—Sianat navigators fetch a high price—but do not once Dr. Chef reveals that Ohan are dying. After the Akaraks depart, Jenks receives a letter that his friend has found him a body kit.

The crew next travels to Cricket, an anarchic colony of radical body modders. There, they meet Kizzy’s friends, who help them install a defensive shield on the Wayfarer. The news that night features a story about a Martian businessman wanted for treason, and Rosemary reveals to Jenks that he is her father. Back on the ship, Rosemary talks with Dr. Chef who tells her the history of both himself and his race, trying to convince her that she is not defined by where she comes from. The Wayfarer receives a distress call from Pei’s ship and docks with it. Kizzy finds the other ship laced with mines and, overcoming her fear, disarms them. Next, the ship reaches Hashkath, an Aandrisk world and Sissix’s birthplace. Sissix can socialize with her family in a way that is natural to her. After the crew leaves, Rosemary acknowledges her attraction to Sissix, and the two begin a relationship.

While in Quelin space, the ship is boarded for inspection. A blood scan reveals that Corbin is a clone, and the Quelin take him into custody. Rosemary finds a legal trick to get Corbin back, but Corbin’s inhumane treatment makes Jenks and Lovey reconsider using the body kit. The ship needs a part and happens upon a rogue planet sustained by advanced tech. They discover that it is inhabited by Solitary Sianats who have made themselves outcasts by curing the Whisperer. The Solitaries give the crew the needed part and provide a dose of the cure for Ohan who refuse to take it.

On Hedra Ka, the ship’s destination, dissent is brewing. Some Toremi doubt their leader’s decision to open their society to the GC. One of these, Toum, attacks the Wayfarer just as it is beginning its punch. The damaged ship barely makes it through subspace alive, and Lovey’s existing memory is destroyed. In his distress, Jenks flings himself into an escape pod and must be chased down. Corbin decides that the crew cannot take another loss and forces the cure for the Whisperer onto Ohan. Pepper, Jenks’ friend who got the body kit, offers the newly reborn Lovey the opportunity to transfer into it and come work for her. Ashby is summoned to the GC Parliament to give testimony about the Toremi attack. He reprimands the representatives for their cavalier attitude and recklessness. Shortly thereafter, he hears that the GC has dissolved the alliance with the Toremi. With the crew all back on the Wayfarer, Ohan adjusts to his new condition while Rosemary and Sissix take a spacewalk together.