A Closed and Common Orbit: A Heartwarming Space Opera of Friendship, Discovery, and Unlikely Bonds Across the Galaxy (Wayfarers, 2)

Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Wayfarers series. There are four books in this series. I bought a copy of this ebook from my Kindle. Thoughts: This was another wonderful installment in this series. I was a bit sad to leave the Wayfarer crew behind and be stuck planet-side for this book, but it was still an excellent story. This story follows Lovey (Lovelace, the Wayfarer's AI) as she adjusts to her new (illegal) human-like body. Pepper is helping Lovey navigate her new situation. The story alternates between present-day with Pepper/Lovey/Blue and the past where we follow a character named Jane, who we quickly find out is actually Pepper as a kid. There are heavy themes about artificial intelligence again, which is a theme Chambers really likes to explore (I also just finished reading the most recent Monk & Robot book, that whole series is very focused on AI). This is very much more a space opera type of book than a sci-fi adventure one. I missed the Wayfarer crew and their adventures through space. This story is about what it means to be human; it is thought-provoking and heart-breaking at times. The characters are incredibly well done and I loved all the different alien cultures. We spend a lot of time watching Pepper get some closure and watching Lovey figure out what it means to have a body and will of her own. The writing here is incredibly easy to read and well done. I love Chambers' writing style; it's very engaging and personable. I did miss the broader more action-packed plot that was present in the first book. This story is isolated to one location and is a very personal story for Lovey and Pepper; there really aren't politics, adventure, or any action scenes involved. So, while I adored this story, it was much different from what I was expecting going in. My Summary (4.5/5): Overall this story ended up being a lot different from what I was expecting but I still really loved it. Chambers is an amazing writer and creates such believable characters. I enjoyed the alien races and discussion about what makes a race sentient. There is a lot of discussion about AI as well, which is always interesting. I would recommend this series to those who enjoy the more intelligent and softer side of sci-fi; there is a lot of food for thought here and the characters are incredibly engaging. I am eager to read the third book in the series, "Record of a Spaceborn Few".

This book is less of a sequel to A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and more of a spin off, as Pepper is the only character from the original books in the series. Like many of Chambers' stories, it's definitely a slow burn and I found myself struggling to get through the first quarter of the book due to how slow the pacing was (this is the only problem I have with the book). However, like many of Chambers' stories, the rest of the story is fantastic and finding the themes and metaphors in the story is almost as fun as the world building that Chambers makes in her story. The themes in this book are autism and trauma. The chapters switch between the perspective of two of the characters, Pepper and Sidra. Sidra is the AI from the first book who had their memory wiped. The AI was put into a "kit", which is a machine resembling a human body. Reading the emotions that Sidra was experiencing and it was easy to tell that the AI was exhibiting autism symptoms. Pepper's story I found to be more entertaining. Her childhood story starts with her as an enslaved person in a factory who escapes and finds a ship with an AI named Owl. Pepper spends years fixing the ship to make her escape. The true beauty of Chambers' works is almost always in her ability to describe the world around the characters. It's often more fascinating than the plot itself.

A Closed and Common Orbit is the sequel to Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I read it right on the heels of its predecessor (Wayfarers #1), and am grateful that I did. Had I not, I don’t know that the transformation in the narrative would have been as stark to me. Where Long Way told the story of a group of characters (a team, a family, a what-have-you), Closed and Common is essentially two stories – each of one person. This allows the narrative to blossom, changing the shape of the story to better suit its purpose. Much as Orson Scott Card’s Speaker for the Dead evolved the narrative that Ender’s Game began, so too does Closed and Common stand as an evolution of the story Long Way started. Many of the things I praised Becky Chambers for in Long Way are not present in this book; here she doesn’t make space feel so wide open and dangerous and beautiful, but instead makes cities and planets feel small and special and homey. Similarly, she doesn’t spread her attention equally among a cast of characters as she so expertly did in her first book, but keeps us near to two women whose paired stories illuminate the universe held within Closed and Common. This isn’t to say that this sequel showcased none of the same qualities as the first. As in Long Way, Closed and Common features a diverse cast of alien characters and as before Chambers wastes little time in the clumsy or drawn-out introductions that so often plague science fiction stories. She makes them clear to us, at once thoroughly understandable and completely alien. And as in book #1, Chambers mixes lighthearted humor with dread and fear and heartbreak and all manner of loves, so that her book is as thrilling and entertaining and emotionally restorative as it is illuminating. If I’m being dramatic (as I so often am about science fiction) this book is proof that the kind of science fiction that serves to examine what it is to be human is alive, is well, is thriving. It would not be exaggerating to say that in reading Chambers’ A Closed and Common Orbit I came to a better understanding of myself and the place I choose for myself in society. I literally stopped and took notes – not for this review but for myself, for later, for living. In short, Becky Chambers writes with an earnest voice and tells stories full of complexity, transcending taste and style and allowing her characters, her stories, and her messages to speak to readers all over. If you have even a passing interest, this book is worth the read.

While I loved the first book of the series tremendously, I cannot say the same about this one. That however does not mean this one is bad. It is just not on the same level as the first one. But, by all counts, this is still a very nice book. This moves further away from science fiction (not science) and treads into the bleak territory of growing up, pain, acceptance, understanding our limitations, coming to terms with them, friendships. More or less the same themes as the first one dealt with, but in a setting that is a little more bleak and tangibly darker than the first one. This book moves into a parallel story line that simultaneously deals with the aftermath of the 'Lovelace situation' (no spoilers for those who are yet to read the first book), while, surprisingly, delving into the making of Pepper, who was a passing character in the first one. There is little mention of the characters in the first book. This book is dedicated to Lovelace, and Pepper. Each chapter moving between the present (Lovelace) and the past (Pepper). The quality of writing is just as good. The book keeps was wanting to know more about what would happen next and despite the alternating timelines (one chapter deals with the past while the next one deals with the present) and characters (Lovelace and Pepper) there is always a sense of continuity. Yes, there are very tiny plot holes. While they are fairly covered, a keen reader might still spot them. They, however do not disturb the book, or the progression of the story in anyway. If you feel invested in the lovelace situation I have mentioned from the previous book, you will definitely want to read more and know where this goes and Pepper's story is definitely an interesting tale. Should you read it? My answer would be a slightly conditional yes.

What can I say about this author that hasn't been said already? This is a wonderful series of three novels that take place in an alternate universe setting. They're wonderful to read, entertaining and hopeful with all the Sci-Fi elements that a fan would want in a book. It reminds me of the ancillary Justice series. You won't regret reading this book or the others in this series.

I really enjoyed this book - the characters were complex and developed at a great pace. This universe has more to offer I’m sure.

‘A Closed and Common Orbit’ is a stand-alone sequel to Becky Chamber excellent debut ‘The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet’. It takes the series in a completely different direction than I was expecting, but is all the more delightful for that. delightful. Having created a wonderful, expansive universe in the first book, along with a brilliant cast of characters in the crew of The Wayfarer, one might have expected Chambers to give them another intergalactic adventure. Instead she jettisons most of the characters completely, focussing in on 3 relatively minor ones, and delivers a much more tightly focussed book than the broad sweep of ‘Small, Angry Planet’. Like many great sci fi novels (and I’d argue that this is a great book), the author takes simple questions and runs with them. In this case there are two, which intertwine into a brilliant treatise on sentience: what would happen if an artificial intelligence was given a body? and, what would happen if an artificial intelligence raised a child? Chambers explores these questions through dual narratives (one which follows on from the timeline of the previous book and one which takes place some years earlier) with the same imagination, sensitivity and sense of fun that infused every page of her previous book. The two stories concern Sidra, an AI in a body for the first time, learning how to live in society; and Jane, a ten year old girl whose only companion is Owl, a shipboard computer. Both stories are gripping, moving and packed with insight, and the interplay between them in the alternating chapters is beautifully done. As in the first book, Chambers’ ability to create living characters on the page gives every incident added impact. I came to really care about every one of them and am not ashamed to admit I almost shed a tear at the book’s emotional climax. The world building here is great, although perhaps subtler than in the first book. What struck me strongly whilst reading is that the universe Chambers has created is in no way a human-centric one. Unlike so many fictional worlds where the aliens almost feel like an afterthought, humans are very much just another species in the Wayfarers universe, and the book is gloriously rich with the detail of what a mixed species society might be like. ‘‘Why don’t different species sit together?’ she asked. Segregated transit cars didn’t mesh with what she’d read of the Port’s famed egalitarianism. ‘Different species,’ Blue said, ‘different butts.’ He nodded toward the rows of high-backed, rounded seats, unsuitable for Aandrisk tails or Harmagian carts. In fact, none of the characters in this book are what we would recognise as human (the closest being Pepper and Blue, two genetically engineered characters), and yet all of the main cast, be they computers, aliens or something else, are full of what we recognise as humanity. It’s that heart that lifts these books head and shoulders above so much SF, they are unashamedly concerned with emotion and relationships as well as science and imagination, making for a reading experience that is rich and life affirming and accessible to readers who wouldn’t normally pick up this kind of book. I can’t think of a series I’m enjoying more at the moment and I’m diving straight into book three.

Absolutely loved this book and the series. The writing is very fluid, but the ideas very vast and clever. I also just love a science fiction story where the characters love and support each other, and feel so genuine. Looking forward to more by Becky Chambers