A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers)

I loved book one, but book two is rather difficult to get through. The alternating character development stories are interesting in a manner, only one character is truly interesting. That said, not a horrible read, just rather boring and repetitive and almost predicable, at least for one of the characters. I wrote this to not give away any points of the story because I do believe you should read it and generate your own opinion. The book is not a waste of time or money.

Interesting characters. Seems well edited. Author has a good sense of style and can tell an interesting story. I was in the mood for a positive ending so this novel was enjoyable for me on that level too. Lots of poorly written science fiction out there right now. Closed and Common Orbit is a good one.

Enjoyed the continuation of the Galactic Commons story thread. Development of Pepper's backstory was very good, and liked the way Sidra the AI's development tied in nicely with Pepper's storyline. Will continue reading Ms. Chambers' space opera series.

Not as "space opera" as Small Angry Planet, but another lovely look at people dealing with changes to themselves and those around them, while coping with those changes in the face of social stigmas.

It should be noted that this book does not feature the crew of the Wayfarer, but is a direct extension of the events of that book. That bothered me at first, but like Small Angry Planet I quickly fell in love with the characters in this book as well.

I finished the first book yesterday, I started the second book last night and finished it today and I want more! The next book hasn't been released yet and I can't wait! The two books don't really share characters but the world building and characters overcoming challenges are the same. The characters are not all human, but the humanity and acceptance of diverse lifestyles is clear in all of them. I really enjoyed this book, like all the best sci-fi it tells a good story and reveals core human truths.

While the universe is compelling, the best aspect of the book is coming to know and love the cast and locations. Personality oozes from the dialogue without seeming forced or flowery. The book's chapters put me in mind of a novelization of a season of a TV show; every chapter wraps up fairly nicely with a continuous narrative arc.

Very imaginative and well thought out. The prospect of an AI obtaining emotional responses is a very interesting idea. The technology in the story is far beyond our current understanding of physics. But still, an imaginative and well written Science Fiction story. I am not an expert reviewer of prose, but I did like this offer from the author.

Mostly abandons the characters we grew to care about in the first book. Plodding pace and predictable twist. Weird shoehorning in of as many transgender aliens as possible. Injured my eyes from rolling them so hard at the xer xym xys pronouns.

Very character oriented, but with lots of little offhand touches that show that the author really put some thought into the sci-fi world. Its very emotionally stirring in a real-world not-over-the-top sort of way.

While there might not be non stop battles and evil aliens to fight the story still pulls you in and won't let go. It makes you think how it would apply to someone else. I really hope she writes more books and we get to visit them again.

I can't say enough about how incredible this story is. A story of survival, family, and what it means to be human. A love story between a parent and child, between friends, and learning to love one's self. I'll be recommending and rereading this one!

Well crafted Sci-Fi. An integrated and varied universe. Engaging characters with a lot of heart. Organized like a screenplay and, if any producers are reading this, this would be a good little franchise to mail down NOW!

Becky Chambers' book and its predecessor are about diverse people being good to each other. Circumstances might be tough but friendship is magic. I really enjoy that sort of thing. If you liked Katharine Addison's "The Goblin Emperor," which was about a good person doing the right thing and having it work out, you will probably also enjoy this.

These novels are cozy, for space opera. This one in particular involves a very small cast and no universe-shattering problems.

I didn't have a good memory of the previous book and I felt like there were character motivations and relationships I should have understood but weren't entirely clear, but it wasn't enough to seriously detract from the story.

Recommended!

Really good novel of individual growth & development. This book is set in the same the author's Wayfarers universe (first introduced in her breakout first novel: "The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet"). A well written, entertaining take at the comming of age novel.

Loved this and loved its predecessor. Much more about people and relationships than action it still had suspense throughout. Kept me reading and kept me caring. Caring is a word that keeps coming up when I try to review these two books. The characters care about each other and the reader cares about them. A good feeling. I recommend them and look forward to more.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers), and A Closed and Common Orbit more than lived up to it. It follows the story of a couple characters who were side characters in the first novel, both forward from where the first novel ends and slowly revealing their history. You could read and follow this story without having read the first one, but the world will be richer if you have - details about how different aliens species/societies work isn't generally re-explained.

Over all this is a brilliant story about friendship, understanding and overcoming differences, and finding oneself in a world where you don't fit with societal expectations. I eagerly await the next story in this universe!

Quite different in style and substance than the first book, but still utterly captivating, delightful, and intimate. Even though the story is truly focused on the characters, the author still does a superb job of producing a grade A scifi universe that feels every bit as real and lived in as Star Trek and other greats.

At first I was disappointed that this story follows just two characters from the first book, and I wished to know more of the Wayfarer. However, I was quickly hooked and now can't wait for her next book, no matter the content!

I loved this book! Every quality I loved about "The Long Way" returned full-force in this second novel, without requiring any knowledge of the prior book to make sense of this one. Chambers writes characters beautifully, and while the cast of "A Closed and Common Orbit" is noticeably smaller, the book uses two simultaneous narratives to weave a complex, surprising story. I definitely recommend reading it twice, just to make sure you get the full attention to detail Becky Chambers pays.

I was expecting the second book in the series but got a completely new book with a few common characters. The story was fun and interesting and the main characters were well developed. I was left wondering about what happened to one of the main characters. Maybe book three.

In this book, Becky Chambers has continued the trail of a very special AI which becomes an accessory to a sort of "passion play" between mixed species. The style it is written in keeps the reader absorbed in and involved with the evolution of a multi-species and spatial development of friendships and cooperation.

This book went an entirely different direction from the first in the series, yet it was just as enjoyable. My favorite part of the book was the structure in which the two stories were told in parallel, coming together into a great finish. Can't wait for the third one!

Excellent AI tale of adjusting from Ship AI with unlimited access to ships net to a human form with it's data access and storage limits. Not an easy transition. During her journey you learn of Pepper's tale of escape as a clone and her life with AI Owl and eventually saving Owl from life in a museum.

This author has brought character driven sci fi back. I began this book with resistance, because how much I enjoyed the first book's cast. But the author made me love the characters in this book even more. I hope she has a long and successful and fulfilling career telling stories in and about the GC.

Highly, highly recommend

Well written, thoughtful, and timeless despite a science fiction setting. It has great character development and a wonderful pace. It isn't strictly necessary to read the previous book but it helps to set the stage.

Very much worth your time.

"A Closed and Common Orbit" works through well-travelled ground of a clone (Jane) and an AI (Sidra) who both want to be something they're not. Although set in the same enchanting milieu as "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet", this second instalment lacks the spark and novelty of its predecessor. It's more about conversations and angst this time rather than clever exposition and adventure. There are no fast moving moments, nor even an end goal for the main characters until late in the book. A lot like the difference between "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine", good space opera ultimately needs a fast space ship and its journeys, rather than a sprawling space station and its interpersonal interactions.

I absolutely adored the first book and right after finishing it I bought this one. You don't have to read the first book to read this one but I'm glad I did. This book was full of adventure and emotion. It further expanded on the universe set up in the first book and the reader gets to explore even more characters that weren't really elaborated on in the first book. It was so well written and I hope we'll get more of this universe soon.

While perhaps not as good as its predecessor, A Closed and Common Orbit is still worth your time. New readers would do well to read the first of Chambers's books, The Long Journey to a Small and Angry Planet, but this second installment in the 'verse would stand on its own quite well.
The book goes between present day Sidra's point of view, and past Pepper's. While a bit different, this choice was very effective. You know where Pepper ends up, but her journey in getting there makes for an intense read. Sidra's point of view was tied in with well-written parallels. However, despite the danger she faces, it never felt very... Imminent. Her most interesting points were due to her character traits. Preferring corners, wanting tattoos, tasting things, so on.
Chambers blew me out of the water once again when it came to her world-building. Not only do non-mammilian aliens not have breasts, the aliens that take up a good portion of this book, once again, aren't necessarily binary-gendered. Bless Chambers for throwing a genderfluid character into the main cast... I just wish she would do so with a human character too...
It is also important that I mention the nuanced and well-placed discussions of ethics. Fans of her last book would probably recognize the interesting stance on AI, cloning, and other "future" issues. The anonymous forums were a great way to discuss the AI issues in particular.

The book intimately follows the storylines of an AI as well as a human conceived as a genetically perfect factory worker. While reading the book you get to see the world through their respective eyes and how they discover the world around them. The story gives the reader some interesting perspectives on the implications of creating a GAI (general artificial intelligence).

Becky Chambers is a wonderful storyteller and I would recommend this book to anyone even if you do not generally read science fiction.

The author wrestles with tough ideas: does one have to be a biological organism to be sentient, what duty is owes to any sentient being

The author writes well. None of the contemplation gets boring or preachy

Hope to see more from this author

A wonderfully engaging tale with a well-defined and colorful universe and sympathetic characters. An original view into new alien life forms which come fully alive and even relatable in this author's creative hands. Bravo!!

Excellent writing backed with a very entertaining plot. As I was reading it, I found out my mother had just read it and loved it. This book has so many facets to it's story that different people looking for different things from their books can enjoy it.

Great story, original, different from Book 1 in the Wayfarers series. Doesn't continue with the original crew from Book 1, only Pepper and Lovelace. The only thing I didn't like is the profanity which seemed unnecessary.

Chambers pares the number of characters back from the many in her previous book. However we come to know the universe and these fewer characters better. I was impressed by Chambers' consistency with Jane's developing vocabulary and sophistication.

I had hoped of more deep space adventures, only to discover that this book would focus on two minor characters from the first book. These two characters were not crew.
It took a while to allow myself to care about these characters.
I am so glad that I stayed to the finish.

Beautiful book. I read and enjoyed her "The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet", but she's getting better and better. Technically, I suppose, this is hard sci-fi, dealing with the question of whether AI personalities are people, but it's utterly character driven, by people you come to care about and root for. No action to speak of, but not without suspense, and is a page-turner nonetheless. Really charming book. To level set - I'm a huge consumer of hard sci-fi space opera, and miss Iain Banks every day.

This is a great original fun science fiction series. I really liked both this and its proceeding novel. I am looking forward to more offerings in this series. Original and compelling without speaking down to the reader. Happy reading.

I really loved this book- switching between the Jane and Sidra narratives kept things interesting- but I really was expecting more of a climax at the end. Also, the hopeless romantic side of me kept waiting for Jenks to show up so he and Lovey 2.0 could reconnect...

Interesting but a bit cloistered, examining the experiences of an AI liberated from a ship to a human form cyborg.
Follow a character thread from a previous novel but not a follow on story of the previous plot.

A very strong character study with puzzles to solve and a few narrative weaves with tears as the tale goes to sad places.

Expands and compliments the previous great story in same universe. Very recommended.

A startlingly original and masterfully inventive telling of two closely interlocking tales which unfold together like the opening of a Bird of Paradise flower. Wonderful character development that fully realizes the promise of A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, but with with a more driven plot. Highly recommended.