Didn't read the first book in the series (yet) so this read as a stand-alone for me, and I loved it.

Re-reading the series 2023 and still loving it. ( )

I quite enjoyed the first Wayfarer's entry, A Long Way to An Angry Planet, especially the large cast of well-drawn out and distinctive characters. Common Orbit draws out two minor characters from Book 1. I was initially saddened to realize I wouldn't spend time with any of the main crew from the first series installment, but in the end, I was impressed by what Chambers did with fewer characters "at home" versus a big group of beings making their way across the universe. Chambers delivers again, as long as you're not expecting conventional storytelling where, which is also true of Angry Planet. Her books are very much in the slice-of-life vein, with the journey granted more importance than the destination. However, while Angry Planet was positioned amidst a "road trip", Common Orbit's journeys are primarily interior ones rooted in survival and resilience. In both books, Chambers expresses a diversity of gender, sexuality, and cultural or societal norms in a matter-of-fact way that bucks the tradition of violence and denunciation that dominates headlines. All in all, I find it refreshing to spend time in the world's Chambers has created. There's a reason some have taken to describing her books as "comfort" or "cozy" sci fi, even if sometimes meant disparagingly. Readers who prefer to be discomfited or seeking something less character driven should look elsewhere. ( )

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/pKMV6JYCJX8

Enjoy! ( )

A Closed and Common Orbit is the second book in Becky Chambers' Wayfarer series. I absolutely loved the first book (A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet), but I was lukewarm about its sequel.

This book follows technician Pepper, and an AI unit from the Wayfarer ship whose name is Sidra. The book goes back and forth in time: in one chapter we are reading about Pepper (then known as Jane) from her tenth year to her nineteenth, and in the next chapter we follow Sidra as she struggles to get used to her human-like appearance and to understand how life and social interaction works in Port Coriol. The changes of time and character are well-marked and caused me no confusion.

The first half, approximately, of the book was really absorbing and fun. I don't know when it stopped being enjoyable and turned into just a random book I was reading. I do know that I was dissatisfied with the ending of the book, and with some of the decisions that the characters made in the chapters leading up to the finale. I thought that the characters acted in ways that would not be typical for them, and although their choices could be construed as bravery, I saw it as an attempt to find roles for all the main characters in the denoument. I had to read the last two chapters two times apiece to try to sort out what the various parties were doing.

Reading the book wasn't a waste of my time, and I am curious to find out where Chambers goes next in her writing. There is a sequel available, which I plan to read. I hope it is more satisfying than this installment was. ( )

An "equel" (not prequel or sequel) to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Focuses on a secondary character that makes a brief appearance in the first book and none of the main characters.

This is a quiet, well-written novel tracking the earlier lives of two characters (in flashback) after they have met. It is one of the better books I have read that models how we would navigate tolerance of/coexistence with other (alien) races. Doesn't delve much into what it means to be "a person" as I would have expected. ( )