Everyone has
their touchstones when it comes to recommending Sci-Fi, and
particularly spacefaring Sci-Fi. Mostly we gravitate toward the
classics. We mention Star Trek, Star Wars, Dune, Ringworld and The
Culture, often all in the same breath. What piqued my interest in the
fantastically titled The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet; was that
most of the buzz around the book mentioned none of these. Instead,
the most common phrase attached to it was ‘It’s a bit like
Firefly’.
And it is, but it
also kind of mis-sells the book a bit.
Small Angry
Planet does share Firefly’s scrappy attitude and excellently
realised characters. The influence is particularly visible in the
Wayfarer’s brilliantly dizzy engineer, Kizzy. A whirlwind of a
woman who would give Firefly’s Kaylee a real run for her money if
they ever found themselves in the same engine bay.
Strangely, what I
found myself comparing Small Angry Planet with most was 20th
Century Fox’s half-forgotten animated Sci-Fi; Titan AE. As they are
in that film, humanity in Small Angry Planet is for the most part a
homeless nomadic people, held in fairly low regard by the rest of the
galactic community. And just like in Titan AE, the universe of Small
Angry Planet is a mess of alien cultures, conflict, and grimy cobbled
together tech, with underground markets and dodgy dealings galore.
It’s refreshing to read something that doesn’t put humanity in
the centre of its universe.
But what of the
story?
Well, as its
title suggests, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is a spaceborne
road novel, but it’s the relationships the novel’s characters
develop over the course of the story’s journey that are the real
heart of it. Small Angry Planet follows the crew of the Wayfarer on
the contract of a lifetime to tunnel a shipping lane through space
from galactic commission territory to the titular small angry planet.
The catch is they have to start from the destination. Cue an epic,
horizon expanding journey across the galaxy for protagonist
Rosemarie.
What I like most
about Small Angry Planet is that it’s a novel in vignettes. Each
chapter tends to focus on the events surrounding one character at
that particular moment in the journey. We jump to an event, the
spotlight shines on a person and the rest of the cast take on
supporting roles. As we read on, we learn more about that character’s
past and background, which we then weave into the overarching web of
our own understanding of the crew and their place in the universe.
It’s a really interesting way of building a story, and by the end
of it I had real affection for even the less likable members of the
cast.
And what a cast.
I’ve already mentioned Rosemarie, the sheltered and fresh-faced new
recruit, but there’s also Ashby, the ship’s human captain,
reptilian pilot Sissix, many handed Dr Chef, furry but not at all
cuddly Ohan the navigator, gifted human engineers Kizzy and Jenks,
grumpy and introverted Corbin who handles the fuel, and Lovey the
ships AI, as alive as any other organic crew member. They’re as
diverse a crew as you could ever hope to meet, and whilst some may
grumble about diversity for diversity’s sake, Small Angry Planet is
all the better for it.
Perhaps the best
thing I can say about Small Angry Planet is that like all of the very
best Sci-Fi you could take the science away from the fiction and the
story would still have the same impact. It’s just that good. I’m
really looking forward to where Becky Chambers takes these characters
in the future.
Read it.
