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nannahnannah's review against another edition
2.0
This book’s concept is wonderful! I wish the execution matched it, though, because at the end of the day I just didn’t enjoy reading it. I’d give my soul for more books with this kind of diversity, but I still do want them to be … good. I also really thought that this would be the futuristic sci-fi book to not include ableism and actual eugenics disguised as “gene therapy”. Especially going by all the reviews.
Representation:
There are nine main characters …
- four of the five humans are a futuristic mixed human race that aren’t considered white
- one character has dwarfism
- two characters are sapphic and poly
- one character's species changes genders halfway through their lives (he's now male)
- Ohan is discussed in the review below (I believe he is autistic coded)
The Long Way … proves that the journey is indeed more important than the destination. A ragtag, multispecies crew on a spaceship that’s seen better days heads out on a year-long trip to build a wormhole tunnel between the rest of the Galactic Commons (GC) and a small, angry planet that holds much-desired resources. On the crew is
1. Rosemary, a human trying to escape her past;
2. Ashby, a pacifist human captain in an illegal multispecies relationship;
3. Kizzy, a quirky human tech;
4. Jenks, a human tech with dwarfism in love with the ship’s AI;
5. Corbin, a cranky human who works with the ship’s algae fuel;
6. Lovey, the ship’s AI who is considering getting an illegal “body kit”;
7. Sissix, the compassionate reptilian pilot;
8. Dr. Chef, a member of a dying species who serves as the crew’s doctor and … chef;
9. Ohan, the reclusive navigator, able to see the space-time continuum due to a virus called “The Whisperer”.
What plot this book has is very thin, which is okay because that’s not its priority. Instead, the conversations and interactions between the many characters during their long trip is what obviously keeps many people entertained. The story feels very episodic, broken down into sections where a small event happens and wraps up nicely, and then the characters move onto the next one. I do wish that there were more connection between these episodes, though, because it felt as though the slate was wiped clean between them and they could more or less be swapped around.
And I just wish I liked the book more! I do love character-driven stories, but I felt that the characters failed to actually drive anything here, besides the overly preachy and hammered-out point that “prejudice and oppression is bad.” It failed to add anything new to these discussions or add any nuance. Near the end there’s a glimmer of something promising, which I hope will be explored in the next books.
The characters are all overly sweet (save for the token grump), never saying anything wrong or doing anything bad or behaving like flawed, realistic people. The dialogue sounds like it could come from a Marvel movie, and every character’s lines could be switched around and I wouldn’t know who said what; they all speak too similarly for being so different from one another. The one time there’s an opportunity for tension (Rosemary’s secret past is revealed), the author skips over the confrontational scene to mention it in passing as having happened and so-and-so was mad but it’s all better now. I don’t believe conflict is necessary for all stories (see the 4-act structure), but these things feel like cop-outs.
eugenics mention below
But the worst offense here is the book’s ableism, and I’m livid that very few other reviewers have been talking about it. I can’t even tell you how disappointed I am that this book has eugenics disguised as “gene therapy”. Jenks only has dwarfism because his mother didn’t undergo prenatal therapy. It’s implied no one has dwarfism or bad eyesight, etc. because of this. And then the author has the gall to have her characters shake a fist at Jenk’s mother’s old people who actively believe that leaving behind and/or killing disabled people and children would strengthen the human race.
end of eugenics mention
Then there’s Ohan, who’s infected with The Whisperer, a virus that gives him wonderful abilities (he can see through space and time) but also a dramatically shortened lifespan. It’s revealed that his people, who all become infected as children, die when they’re around thirty years old, which makes Ohan about to die himself. In the last three-quarters of the book, the crew needs to stop planetside to get something for the ship, and the nearest planet is inhabited only by members of Ohan’s species who have “broken” from their virus--and therefore survived past thirty. These people give the crew a cure, and the crew offers the cure to Ohan, who refuses it. Ohan knows everything, that they could survive without The Whisperer, that they could still navigate, and they still refuse it. What happens? The cure is forced upon them without their consent, and the author spins the narrative to make this a good thing.
But the problem is that we’re not just observing this within the context of the story. I have autism. My autism gives me gifts in the form of hyperfixiation, which allows me to finish projects quickly, it allows me to focus on details, and autism can give others many gifts in the arts, in math, etc. It’s also possible autism will shorten my lifespan; you can look up why if you really want to, because I won’t link all the studies here. At one point, Ohan mentions that they don’t know what they would be like without The Whisperer, something many neurodivergent people can relate to. Ohan is a social recluse … they don’t like to be touched … do you see where I’m drawing this comparison from? To read Ohan have a cure forced upon them even though they refused it with all the knowledge given to them is a kick to the gut in a world that still has Autism Speaks scrambling to “cure” autism. But the worst is having Ohan, cured Ohan, happy to be social, happy to be touched, and having all the chapters surrounding the crew finding the cure, even to events after Ohan being cured in POVs of everyone besides Ohan. At no point do we ever see how Ohan actually feels about any of this.
I know there’s also a scene with a strongly autistic-coded character, where Sissix makes a point to say everyone deserves love, but it isn’t actually necessary to the story … it’s just there to make a moral point. As an autistic person, reading this scene where an autistic-coded character is homeless, without a family, being made fun of by passersby, etc. all because of being "different", when all sexualities and genders are accepted feels cruel.
Do I think that Becky Chambers did all this out of malice? Definitely not, she seems like a really cool person, honestly. And this series is obviously very well loved; it just wasn't for me. I only spent so long talking about the ableism because I didn't see others here do it yet. I probably won’t read on in this series, but I will check out what Becky Chambers writes next.
Representation:
There are nine main characters …
- four of the five humans are a futuristic mixed human race that aren’t considered white
- one character has dwarfism
- two characters are sapphic and poly
- one character's species changes genders halfway through their lives (he's now male)
- Ohan is discussed in the review below (I believe he is autistic coded)
The Long Way … proves that the journey is indeed more important than the destination. A ragtag, multispecies crew on a spaceship that’s seen better days heads out on a year-long trip to build a wormhole tunnel between the rest of the Galactic Commons (GC) and a small, angry planet that holds much-desired resources. On the crew is
1. Rosemary, a human trying to escape her past;
2. Ashby, a pacifist human captain in an illegal multispecies relationship;
3. Kizzy, a quirky human tech;
4. Jenks, a human tech with dwarfism in love with the ship’s AI;
5. Corbin, a cranky human who works with the ship’s algae fuel;
6. Lovey, the ship’s AI who is considering getting an illegal “body kit”;
7. Sissix, the compassionate reptilian pilot;
8. Dr. Chef, a member of a dying species who serves as the crew’s doctor and … chef;
9. Ohan, the reclusive navigator, able to see the space-time continuum due to a virus called “The Whisperer”.
What plot this book has is very thin, which is okay because that’s not its priority. Instead, the conversations and interactions between the many characters during their long trip is what obviously keeps many people entertained. The story feels very episodic, broken down into sections where a small event happens and wraps up nicely, and then the characters move onto the next one. I do wish that there were more connection between these episodes, though, because it felt as though the slate was wiped clean between them and they could more or less be swapped around.
And I just wish I liked the book more! I do love character-driven stories, but I felt that the characters failed to actually drive anything here, besides the overly preachy and hammered-out point that “prejudice and oppression is bad.” It failed to add anything new to these discussions or add any nuance. Near the end there’s a glimmer of something promising, which I hope will be explored in the next books.
The characters are all overly sweet (save for the token grump), never saying anything wrong or doing anything bad or behaving like flawed, realistic people. The dialogue sounds like it could come from a Marvel movie, and every character’s lines could be switched around and I wouldn’t know who said what; they all speak too similarly for being so different from one another. The one time there’s an opportunity for tension (Rosemary’s secret past is revealed), the author skips over the confrontational scene to mention it in passing as having happened and so-and-so was mad but it’s all better now. I don’t believe conflict is necessary for all stories (see the 4-act structure), but these things feel like cop-outs.
eugenics mention below
But the worst offense here is the book’s ableism, and I’m livid that very few other reviewers have been talking about it. I can’t even tell you how disappointed I am that this book has eugenics disguised as “gene therapy”. Jenks only has dwarfism because his mother didn’t undergo prenatal therapy. It’s implied no one has dwarfism or bad eyesight, etc. because of this. And then the author has the gall to have her characters shake a fist at Jenk’s mother’s old people who actively believe that leaving behind and/or killing disabled people and children would strengthen the human race.
end of eugenics mention
Then there’s Ohan, who’s infected with The Whisperer, a virus that gives him wonderful abilities (he can see through space and time) but also a dramatically shortened lifespan. It’s revealed that his people, who all become infected as children, die when they’re around thirty years old, which makes Ohan about to die himself. In the last three-quarters of the book,
But the problem is that we’re not just observing this within the context of the story. I have autism. My autism gives me gifts in the form of hyperfixiation, which allows me to finish projects quickly, it allows me to focus on details, and autism can give others many gifts in the arts, in math, etc. It’s also possible autism will shorten my lifespan; you can look up why if you really want to, because I won’t link all the studies here. At one point, Ohan mentions that they don’t know what they would be like without The Whisperer, something many neurodivergent people can relate to. Ohan is a social recluse … they don’t like to be touched … do you see where I’m drawing this comparison from? To read Ohan have a cure forced upon them even though they refused it with all the knowledge given to them is a kick to the gut in a world that still has Autism Speaks scrambling to “cure” autism. But the worst is having Ohan, cured Ohan, happy to be social, happy to be touched, and having all the chapters surrounding the crew finding the cure, even to events after Ohan being cured in POVs of everyone besides Ohan. At no point do we ever see how Ohan actually feels about any of this.
I know there’s also a scene with a strongly autistic-coded character, where Sissix makes a point to say everyone deserves love, but it isn’t actually necessary to the story … it’s just there to make a moral point. As an autistic person, reading this scene where an autistic-coded character is homeless, without a family, being made fun of by passersby, etc. all because of being "different", when all sexualities and genders are accepted feels cruel.
Do I think that Becky Chambers did all this out of malice? Definitely not, she seems like a really cool person, honestly. And this series is obviously very well loved; it just wasn't for me. I only spent so long talking about the ableism because I didn't see others here do it yet. I probably won’t read on in this series, but I will check out what Becky Chambers writes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
also: implied eugenics mentionsacredgayometry's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is one of my favorite books I have ever read, and one of the best sci-fi novels of all time in my opinion. The story is compelling but the found family relationships are the real draw of the book. You will become attached to characters you didn’t expect to, and feel like part of the family yourself as the reader. The world building is fantastic and I felt like a tourist learning about strange and beautiful new places at times. I love this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Gun violence, Ableism, Animal death, Death, and Kidnapping
Minor: Xenophobia, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Ableism, Bullying, Alcohol, Animal death, Terminal illness, Cursing, Murder, and War
There are some challenging themes especially near the end of the book surrounding war, conflict, colonialism and xenophobia. There is challenging content surrounding death and grief as well as memory loss. Cultural misunderstandings and cultural differences are central to the book, and I felt were generally approached very respectfully. Otherwise a lighthearted read.rgraham's review against another edition
The racism amd ableism was constant and disgusting
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Ableism
maeverose's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
TL;DR: It was okay. Most of the focus is on the characters and worldbuilding, which I liked, but I still wished there was more plot.
Tropes/Themes:
-ragtag group of friends
-space adventures
-found family
-alien cultures/worldbuilding
Things I liked:
-The characters and their group dynamic/friendships. It took me a while to get attached to them, but by the end I felt really connected to their friendship with each other. (Kind of a guardians of the galaxy dynamic)
-I did actually enjoy the worldbuilding. I found it really interesting to learn about the different alien cultures, histories and locations they visited.
Things I didn't like:
-sounds like a silly complaint, but there's a brief moment in the beginning where Corbin's clammy hands are essentially described as gross, and as someone with hyperhidrosis it doesn't feel good reading that. Especially when I was hoping this would be another comfort read, coming from ‘a psalm for the wild built’. It just kinda put a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book. I wish authors would stop describing a character’s physical traits as something that adds to their bad attitude or whatever. It’s offensive and often ableist.
-I wish there'd have been a little more focus on the story. I kept getting confused about how much time had passed and how far along they were on their journey, because each chapter felt like a side quest or filler episode of a tv show or something. Which I didn't totally mind, but as I said a little confusing as to where they were on their journey. It felt a little disjointed. I also felt like some of the times they got into trouble during the trip they moved on from it really quickly. Like the tone was a bit all over the place, going from tense and kinda dark to happy fun times with friends a bit suddenly.
-In this book they/them pronouns are treated exclusively as plural pronouns. I know this was written a few years ago now and in ‘a psalm for the wild-built’ Dex uses they/them pronouns, and even in this book neopronouns are used here and there, so I know the author understands that they/them isn't only plural and understands non binary identities, but just a heads up that that’s in this book. There also aren't any actual non binary characters in this book, only alien species that change sexes throughout their life as part of their biology. But that isn’t trans rep. Sex does not equal gender, and this series doesn’t seem to get that.
-I didn’t really buy the romance between Rosemary and Sissix. They didn’t feel like they had any romantic chemistry up until right before Rosemary made her move, and even then Sissix didn’t seem to have any feelings for Rosemary. Even after that scene their relationship wasn’t really explored or shown hardly at all.
-
-Lastly, even though he's an ass, I wish we got more of Corbin's perspective throughout the book. I felt like he was a bit neglected until the very end, whereas every other character had a lot more focus. Except Ohan, I guess, but they still had more than Corbin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: War, Gore, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Xenophobia, Ableism, Cursing, Death, and Sexual content
lipstickitotheman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Confinement, Colonisation, Ableism, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, and Violence
emzhay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I really enjoyed reading this book! I was looking for some lighthearted sci-fi and it definitely delivered. It’s a slice of life type story so there’s no main plot at the forefront, which I personally really enjoyed, but may not be for everyone.
I did have some issues with how race was portrayed among humans. It seems like the author went with the route of humans all being ambiguously brown (though no one is mentioned as being darker than “tan”) thus ending racism among ourselves since we all look the same now. It came off as a pretty lazy writing ploy to me given how much the book pushed embracing differences among species.
And why are we so far into the future and to be fully accepting of neopronouns, but it’s still ”confusing” to use singular they? or in this case it actually is a plural they. It’s great to see neopronouns used so casual, but as someone who uses they/them pronouns and was told this book had great trans rep, it was really off putting.
I also really disliked how Ohan’s bodily autonomy was violated with seemingly no consequence. They were cured with zero input on their part and it just gets glossed over
I did have some issues with how race was portrayed among humans. It seems like the author went with the route of humans all being ambiguously brown (though no one is mentioned as being darker than “tan”) thus ending racism among ourselves since we all look the same now. It came off as a pretty lazy writing ploy to me given how much the book pushed embracing differences among species.
And why are we so far into the future and to be fully accepting of neopronouns, but it’s still ”confusing” to use singular they?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism and War
corriejn's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This is a 5-star book not because it's some wildly innovative book, or the kind that is so all-absorbing that it leaves you with a "book hangover." But it is just a thoroughly enjoyable read. (All the CWs noted are fairly moderate-- that is, not super graphic content, and in general relate to specific events in the story.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Death, and Terminal illness
Minor: Racism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Violence, Confinement, Alcohol, Drug use, Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Pregnancy
krrksch's review against another edition
I stopped reading because of the constantly reoccurring neuronormativity in the way a few characters were portrayed in general and talked about by other characters. Some scenes were very uncomfortable to read through as a neurodivergent person.
The book participates in upholding harmful neuronormative notions, there's also an ableist cure narrative. (this is a content warning, so I didn't use spoilers)
I would have wanted to like the book more, but I'm really unable to. This is a strong not-recommendation.
The book participates in upholding harmful neuronormative notions, there's also an ableist cure narrative. (this is a content warning, so I didn't use spoilers)
I would have wanted to like the book more, but I'm really unable to. This is a strong not-recommendation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
sealfeathers's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
What a fucking sugar-coated piece of shit. A preachy, insipid, boring, bloated, claustrophobic, toothless, hypocritical, ableist piece of shit. Lives by the motto of 'why Show when you can Tell in very bad infodumps and condescending monologues'. Newsflash: 'cosy fun space slice of life with loveable characters' requires 'fun' and 'loveable characters', not some turgid, poorly-written, painfully flat cardboard cutouts who are either obnoxious or bland (and the few tolerable characters get traumatised/forcibly converted into it by the end). Don't get me started on how hostile this book is to neurodivergence.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, and Police brutality
it's not 'character driven' bc that implies the characters have depth or agency. there is technically some diversity but it feels very tacked-on and noncommittal.emmy_award's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Ableism, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Genocide
Ableism description: