In an effort to read more science fiction, which I hadn’t really done for a while, I asked for recommendations, and got Becky Chambers. Fun, character-driven space opera; a little different from me, but the emphasis on character really drew me in. I’m always up for a book by Peter Cameron. His 2012 novel, Coral Glynn came in at #6 for that year’s list. I really loved the stylized manner in which he wrote this newest dark, surreal novel.
#8 – The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
The plot of Becky Chambers’ science fiction novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is fairly thin, but that’s not really the point. Instead, Chambers creates a thoroughly entertaining story about a ragtag, interspecies crew of The Wayfarer, a space ship that bores tunnels through space to allow for interstellar travel. Our entry into this tight knit merry band is Rosemary, a young woman hired to be the clerk, and keep their paperwork in order. Rosemary has a family secret in her past that she keeps from the crew, but as they welcome into their family, and we learn about each of the diverse characters, she gradually lets her guard down and secrets are revealed. Yet while Rosemary is terrified that her secret will turn her newfound colleagues against her, instead she learns what real family is.
I love the way Chambers explores each member of the crew, sprinkling in just enough tension and danger to keep the book engaging, all the while creating a beautifully moving character study of disparate characters who prove to each other, and the reader, that family isn’t about who you’re related to by blood, but by who you choose to spend your lives with. I could definitely read more books about this fascinating batch of characters, all of whom come from fascinating and imaginative backgrounds.
#7 – What Happens at Night by Peter Cameron
Mysterious and inscrutable… much like life. Peter Cameron’s What Happens at Night tells the story of a couple traveling to a far off European city in order to adopt a baby. The woman is dying of cancer, and this will most likely be their last act together… the retrieval of a child for the man to continue on with as a family. They arrive at this tiny, northern European town as a dark, forbidding winter descends and every day that passes seems like part of one long, endless night. Things happen that are unexplainable, aggravating, wondrous, perplexing, hateful… things that neither would do during the light of day, but what happens at night… well that’s another matter.
Cameron writes with stylish grace, creating a mood from the very first page that establishes everything you need to know about setting, time, tone, which is not a whole lot. Yet, the journey taken by the reader, while not as harrowing personally, is the one taken by these two lost people, and our hope is only that when morning comes again, they will no longer be lost. It’s beautiful and unsettling, and unique. Filled with bizarre supporting characters, and a simple story that is complicated by the things that make us human, What Happens at Night is a journey worth taking.