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.

Lovelace is learning to navigate to her body kit, something that she doesn’t consider part of her ‘self”, since she is really a program running inside of it. She is getting used to her new home with Pepper and Blue and they are getting used to having her, as they’ve had to make many changes to keep her comfortable. Lovelace doesn’t understand why Pepper is so adamant that she can survive in a kit; She feels like it’s not possible due to the way she was programmed specifically for a ship. She has no idea how Pepper grew up and what AI’s were in her life from a young age. Slowly, Lovelace learns to function in her new world and Pepper opens up about her dark upbringing. I’ve loved Becky Chambers since I got through the first 10 pages of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet last year. The way she creates and describes alien cultures is so real. Honestly, it makes you feel like these species have been around your whole life, not that you’re just learning about them now. In her last book, I loved the way Becky Chambers played around with gender. Some of the alien creatures she describes change genders throughout different periods of their lives. This also means that their pronouns change many times in the book. A Closed and Common Orbit was no different. Tak, one of Lovelace’s friends, changes from female to male. No one questions it or struggles with the pronoun change. Tak just is Tak and everyone adjusts to the way their identity changes. I think Chambers does an amazing job showing that gender is a social construct and, also, that it is completely different from sex. In addition, everyone is assigned gender-neutral pronouns until they indicate their gender or pronoun preferences. This kind of trans-inclusive language is key for transgender folx to feel safe and respected, and it really makes the reader think about the preconceptions we hold about people before getting to know them in our own society. Becky Chambers completely has the sci-fi formula down pat. She includes everything you need in a well written, page turning, science fiction novel. Some of these ingredients include a system of unique planets that house different species, space travel, artificial intelligence, alien cultures, and alien relationships. I have yet to come across another author who completes their sci-fi formula so efficiently. I swear, I could give A Closed and Common Orbit to anyone, even those who don’t enjoy classic science fiction novels, and they’d enjoy it. She really knows what she’s doing. Lastly, I want to point out the way Lovelace is treated– as a character. Yes, she’s a spaceship program loaded into a body kit. Yes, she’s not considered a full human in her world and is technically committing a crime by merely existing. Despite all this, Chambers treats her like a ‘real’ person and gives her the same existence as everyone else in the book. I know AI’s aren’t really part of diverse reading, but it was comparable, in my mind. Giving someone, who society considers a less-than, the same opportunities in a story as the rest of the characters is what queer characters, characters of color, and characters suffering from chronic illnesses want to see in literature. I know it’s not the same, but I felt really good reading A Closed and Common Orbit for this reason (and many others outlined in this review!). Just as I expected, I absolutely loved this book. It’s definitely different from her first book, considering most of the plot takes place on a planet and not space, but that’s not a bad thing in the slightest. I will continue to support Becky Chambers throughout all of her works, as I recognize the importance of the way she treats gender, in addition to the extraordinary way she describes alien species and their behaviors. If you’re looking for an outstanding science fiction novel, this is it.

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