Review: Closed and Common Orbit

The Blurb:

Lovelace was once merely a ship's artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in a new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who's determined to help her learn and grow. Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet introduced readers to the incredible world of Rosemary Harper, a young woman with a restless soul and secrets to keep. When she joined the crew of the Wayfarer, an intergalactic ship, she got more than she bargained for - and learned to live with, and love, her rag-tag collection of crewmates.

By Becky Chambers. Published by Hodder & Stoughton.

The Book:

Set in the same universe as Chamber’s first novel, The Long Way to A Small Angry Planet, this book explores ideas of humanity, xenophobia, sexuality and what it means to be.

The Thoughts:

Really, I can’t be too objective about this book, considering that Chamber’s first book is my favourite book of all time. Despite approaching A Closed and Common Orbit with caution – weary of a second book always being weaker than the first – I found myself engage with it so well. Although it was marketed as a sequel, it’s not really; it follows the separate story of two characters we met in The Long Way to A Small Angry Planet, so if you were hoping to find out what happened to the crew of The Wayfarer, you’re not going to find that. I’ll admit, I had that misconception, finding myself momentarily disappointed before being impressed and sucked in.

This book was so much more than I had expected; it was full of warmth and friendship, and dealt with ideas of humanity, xenophobia and sexuality in a sensitive yet complex way. When Lovely, the AI of the Wayfarer, wakes up in an (illegal) human body kit, she has to learn how to negotiate the universe. Luckily, she’s got Pepper and Blue to help her. The book swaps between the point of view of Lovely and Pepper – between Lovely trying to navigate the world in an unknown and restricted body in present tense, and Pepper’s life as a child in past tense. The swap between the present and past was well defined and did not create any confusion; it was so well done that although intellectually I knew that the two were building to a combination, you could feel it too. Although Pepper’s story was set roughly 10-20 years before Lovely’s, they are as strong and engaging as each other.

Like TLWTASAP, ACACO is character driven with a believable and well-constructed universe. For me, this is what a good piece of science fiction should be – well constructed and full of diverse, complex characters. And it is not without its romance; through the chapters of Lovely, we see the loving relationship between Pepper and Blue, and through Pepper’s chapters, we watch them fall in love.

The Verdict:

When I finished TLWTASAP, it immediately became my favourite. I honestly didn't think I would come across another book I loved as much –  A Closed and Common Orbit not only made a liar of past-me, but firmly planted itself into my annual-read shelf.

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