Tag: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

Top 5 Books I Read in 2020

Ryan2 Comments

Well, 2020 has officially finished happening. I’m of two minds about people personifying years too much, but 2020 was such an eventful one that it’s hard to give people too much flak for it. We’re not quite out of the woods yet, but it was nice to have books during it all and going forward. I didn’t read as many as I have in previous years, but I’ve still got a nice bunch of them finished in 2020.

Without further ado, I’d like to present my top five books I read in 2020, in no particular order as per usual. These are simply my five favourite reads of the year.Read More »

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Book Review – The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Ryan3 Comments

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a science fiction novel by Becky Chambers, the first in the author’s Wayfarers series. Rosemary Harper is a young woman with a troubled past that she is all too eager to get away from. She finds the escape she’s looking for aboard the Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that’s seen better days. The crew have an important job, however, as the ship can create the hyperspace tunnels that make long-distance space travel safer and time-saving. As the ship’s new clerk, she seems to find exactly the peace and quiet she was looking for, albeit alongside the Wayfarer’s chaotic yet affable crew made up of a mishmash of different species. Their relative comfort in close quarters is put to the test, however, as they take on a riskier, more lucrative job: creating the first tunnel to a distant planet. They’ll have to take the long way to get there first, however, contending with each other’s secrets and whatever the galaxy can throw at them along the way.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – September 2, 2020

Ryan14 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’m just over 40% of the way through Kong Unbound, a collection of essays by a number of writers. Have you ever started reading a book and just known in your heart that you have zero desire to review it? It’s rare for me, but I feel it so strongly with this book. It’s interesting enough, but it’s a lot of fluff. Perhaps it’s easy to see why, since this book came out specifically in time for Peter Jackson’s King Kong back in 2005. It even has an emblem that says “Official Movie Merchandise” on the cover. As a result, it has amounted to a lot of repeated information between the different essayists, really just talking about why they like the original film so much. It’s fine, but it doesn’t inspire critical assessment.

Recently Finished

Last week I finished reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. I continued to enjoy this novel a lot, though I must admit that it could have used a stronger plot thread throughout. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I guess it comes down to wanting a continual sense of conflict; that something concrete and apparent throughout the book need be resolved. That’s not to say there weren’t some great story branches with their own unique tribulations, but something underlining it all, you know? I’ll get more in depth with this when I review it, I’m sure. The character stuff was absolutely golden, though. So much so, that I actually reread that section I gushed a little about last week. I never do that, which says a lot.

Reading Next

To keep up properly with at least some of my goals for the year, I need to finish a Discworld novel before this quarter of the year is over. So, I will be reading Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett next. Looking at this being the 17th novel in the series it’s just sunk in how many of these I have read. Goodness. It’s been a while since a book has featured the wizard Rincewind as well, and even longer since it was a full-length novel. I’m excited to see if and how his return from almost certain death back in Sourcery will be addressed.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – August 26, 2020

Ryan13 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’ve made a lot of nice progress in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers since last week; I’m 69% of the way through. I was hoping to have it done, but aren’t I always? The novel is really character driven, almost to a fault sometimes with how much time Chambers spends building people and places instead of plot, but I’m really enjoying the almost episodic travails of the crew as they make their journey. Evidently all of Chambers’s hard work has paid off too, as last night two crew members became involved with one another, which I had foreseen to an extent, yet I was embarrassingly flustered and giddy about it. I wouldn’t mind a stronger plot, but goodness am I invested in these people.

Recently Finished

Over the weekend I read through Venus in the Blind Spot by Junji Ito, which you can read my full review for here. I’m always excited to dive into a newly released Ito collection, but I was regrettably a little disappointed with this one. It didn’t exactly live up to its claim of being a “best of”, though it certainly does include one of my favourite stories of his. It did have the odd effect of having me utterly fixate on one story that didn’t resonate with me the way I’d hoped, though. I just couldn’t stop trying to puzzle it out after the fact. It even became a major focus in my review, as both a point of criticism and praise. Worth checking out, at any rate, just not among my favourites.

Reading Next

I expect I’ll be finished with The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet soon, so I suppose I ought to have my next book lined up and ready, which I of course do not as I write this. So, eyeballing my to-read list to see what jumps out at me, I have settled on Kong Unbound, which is a collection of essays from a plethora of writers about the iconic behemoth of the silver screen. I’ve owned this book for many years, having bought it at an HMV for about $3, so it’s high time I actually read it. I’m hoping I can plough through it relatively quickly so I can strike yet another book from my list soon too—I’m still sweating about getting that done.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – August 19, 2020

Ryan7 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Long Way to a Small Angry PlanetRegretfully, I haven’t read much more of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers since last week. Not a big week for reading overall, really. A lot of energy was being put into my review of Into the Unbounded Night, which took longer than I thought. Nevertheless, what I did read of Chambers’s book continued to be enjoyable; I got a firsthand account of what creating a tunnel in space is like, which sounds like a trippy and horrifying non-Euclidean experience. I also got to meet the last crew member finally, who seemed surprisingly mellow considering the unique way their brain works. As a final aside, the way the food is described in this book continually makes me hungry for the strange space delicacies described. It’s not fair.

Recently Finished

Nothing this week, I’m afraid. See above. Also, new WP editor is the devil.

Reading Next

Venus in the Blind Spot

I’ve procrastinated reading any Star Wars comic books this past week, and they’re likely going to have to wait a little longer, because Venus in the Blind Spot by Junji Ito has come out this week. It’s finally another English collection of his short stories, and I expect to be picking up my copy later today. I’m not sure which stories are included in this collection, except for “The Enigma of Amigara Fault”, which was included in Gyo. I’m really excited to get this book read and reviewed soon. Maybe I’ll squeeze in some Star Wars after all too, to make up for a lackluster week.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – August 12, 2020

Ryan10 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Long Way to a Small Angry PlanetYesterday I started reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers; as of writing I’m about 60 pages in. It’s been a pretty good introduction to the motely crew of the Wayfarer. I’m enjoying it so far, though it has felt like a bit of a lengthy introduction. There’s a decent handful of crew members on the ship the protagonist, Rosemary, is starting her new job on, and Chambers lovingly introduces all of them. One of them is from a reptilian species, which is an immediate plus for me. I love the detail she has put into making a multi-species crew feel diverse in terms of biological needs and capabilities. I understand the need to world-build, and she’s doing a good job, but all the same I’m ready for some forward movement in the plot now.

Recently Finished

Into the Unbounded NightMonday I finished reading Into the Unbounded Night by Michell James Kaplan, officially finishing my first ARC. I was hoping to have a review up before now, but I took a little longer to finish it than I was expecting, and I wanted some time to ruminate on it too, so I should have one up by the end of the week instead. Nevertheless happy to report that I did enjoy the novel quite a bit. I’ve not had many forays into historical fiction, and this was quite the journey. It made a period of history that felt so distant and abstract to me before now (with the exception of the Roman aspects) feel so much more alive and relatable. There are a few things I have some mixed feelings on, but I will hash them out in greater detail in my review.

Reading Next

Doctor Aphra Unspeakable Rebel SuperweaponWith The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet only just getting started, I’m really not sure what book I’ll pick up next. I still need to shift into a higher gear if I intend to actually finish my personal to-read list to for the year, so I better make up my mind quick. Goodness, I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record. In the meantime, I’m sure there’s a Star Wars comic or two I will read over the next week. Probably the next Doctor Aphra book; I really need to see what that lovable rogue is up to, especially since I’m just now remembering I prematurely read an epilogue to that series in Star Wars: Rogues and Rebels. That needs fixing.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – August 5, 2020

Ryan10 Comments
www_wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Into the Unbounded NightI started Into the Unbounded Night by Mitchell James Kaplan over the weekend, getting 31% into the book. I’m enjoying it so far, and I’m surprised at how widespread and numerous the perspectives are considering it’s less than 300 pages long. They’re fairly diverse too, particularly in terms of religious beliefs, so far following a young woman living in and native to Albion (Britain) during the Roman invasion, a Roman general leading part of the invasion, a Roman soldier disgraced from his Legion, and a Jewish boy in Jerusalem learning to become a priest. I wonder if these stories will only intersect thematically, Roman occupation being a common thread between them so far, or if the characters will all come within proximity of each other by the end.

Recently Finished

Immortal Hulk We Believe in Bruce BannerLast week I just couldn’t resist finishing up the volumes available to me, so before starting to read any new novels I read through The Immortal Hulk: We Believe in Bruce Banner by Al Ewing et al. This volume starts to take a step back from the more cosmic horror and moves toward what Banner and the “Devil” Hulk personality want to do to help change the world. Namely, they declare war on an evil, massive corporation. This corporation, Roxxon, is headed by a literal Minotaur named Dario Agger, who is making for a great scheming, capitalistic villain despite his own hulking appearance. I preferred the horror angle, but I’m still enjoying the stark, often grim, political shift the story has taken. It hits a lot closer to reality, as Hulk is trying to fight against systems that are wreaking havoc on the environment around the globe.

Reading Next

The Long Way to a Small Angry PlanetI still intend to start The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers soon, I’ve just decided to keep my focus on Into the Unbounded Night instead of reading them in tandem. That way, I should have Kaplan’s book finished well before next week, if I can keep myself on track.

In terms of graphic novels, I’ll likely dip back into the mountain of Star Wars volumes I’ve still got waiting for me. I might continue on with Doctor Aphra before starting any of the “Age of…” books.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – July 29, 2020

Ryan5 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Nothing! I’m currently between books.

Recently Finished

Different SeasonsVery early on Monday I finished reading Different Seasons by Stephen King. I posted a full review yesterday. While it still took me most of July to read through, I’m happy I was able to get through a nearly 700-page book in about three weeks. That’s pretty fast for me. The last two stories I enjoyed quite a bit. “The Body” was a wonderfully poignant and nostalgic coming-of-age story that seemed more like autobiographical fiction on King’s part that I’d been expecting. The final story, “The Breathing Method”, held the most surprises for me as, unlike the other stories, I had no idea what it was about. One notably fun thing about it was it marked the only other return of a mysterious club in New York where members share stories with each other. This served as a narrative frame in a story in Skeleton Crew, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it again here.

Immortal Hulk Breaker of WorldsLast night I also read through The Immortal Hulk: Breaker of Worlds by Al Ewing et al, the fifth volume in the series. I continue to love this series and its horrifying interpretation of the Hulk. Over the last few volumes the Hulk has been contending with a shadowy military organization hellbent on putting him down for good, and this volume has it all coming to a head in a way that brings about an end to this phase of the story. Toward the end of the volume Ewing doubles down on some of the literally cosmic horror stuff in a way that’s got me intrigued, though it was initially a little jarring. I’m excited to see where this series goes next, but am also starting to get a sense that the story’s direction may be getting predictable.

Reading Next

The Long Way to a Small Angry PlanetI still have every intention of starting Into the Unbounded Night by Mitchell James Kaplan soon, I just wanted a bit of a buffer between books to read The Immortal Hulk. I’ve also decided to start reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, which I’ve been wanting to check out for a while now. Hopefully reading books in tandem works out for me. I’ve come to understand it takes a lot of inspiration from Star Wars, which is always a plus for me. I also just love the tone that the title suggests. Why are the people on this planet so mad? I’ll have to wait and see.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.