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    A Closed and Common Orbit
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    A Closed and Common Orbit
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    A Closed and Common Orbit
    Audiobook11 hours

    A Closed and Common Orbit

    Written by Becky Chambers

    Narrated by Rachel Dulude

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Embark on an exciting, adventurous, and dangerous journey through the galaxy with the motley crew of the spaceship Wayfarer in this fun and heart-warming space opera-the sequel to the acclaimed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.



    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Audio
    Release dateJan 25, 2017
    ISBN9781515986423
    Unavailable
    A Closed and Common Orbit
    Author

    Becky Chambers

    Becky Chambers is a science fiction author based in Northern California. She is best known for her Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series, which currently includes The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit, and Record of a Spaceborn Few. Her books have also been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Locus Award, and the Women's Prize for Fiction, among others. Her most recent work is To Be Taught, If Fortunate, a standalone novella. Becky has a background in performing arts, and grew up in a family heavily involved in space science. She spends her free time playing video and tabletop games, keeping bees, and looking through her telescope. Having hopped around the world a bit, she’s now back in her home state, where she lives with her wife. She hopes to see Earth from orbit one day.  

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    Reviews for A Closed and Common Orbit

    4.5/5

    822 ratings62 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Better than volume one if that's possible? The intertwining stories of the protagonists weave together as we look back in time and forward to what is possible for each. These stories investigate whether and how relationships can move forward, characters develop because of one another when they do not share similar racial/species/gender norms or necessarily hold in common similar expectations and motivations. That's what makes these books unusually fun to read.
    • 4/5
      OMG I cried about a spaceship.
    • 5/5
      It's not very often that the second in a series is better than the first, but this one is. The first was adventure, this is a more traditionally character driven plot though none of the characters is traditional in any way but their basic humanity, even the AI. Both of the main characters try to find out who they are, where they are, how to live where they are, how to get to where they want to be and how to establish relationships on their journey. Both are "good" girls who don't want to disappoint anyone and constantly worry that if they live as they want they will be found out and rejected. I love the varieties of species and sexual relationships and friendships. As a dog lover, I'm a little sad at the way dogs are portrayed, but the rest of the relationships compensate for the loss of canine companionship.
    • 5/5
      Lovelace, the AI that operated on Wayfarer, the ship in Becky Chambers excellent first novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, decided she wanted a different life. A life in an autonomous, human-format body.

      A life that, in the Galactic Commons, is rather inconveniently very, very illegal.

      In this standalone sequel, Lovey has awakened in a new body which very convincingly imitates a human body, after a total system shutdown and reboot, which has left her with no idea why her previous installation wanted this new life with these new and strange limitations (such as not being connected to the Linkings fulltime.)

      Yet here she is, in this new, freer yet more limited form, still learning what it's like to be apparently human, traveling with the rather volatile engineer, Pepper, to Pepper's home to learn who she is in this new form.

      Chambers explores both how Lovey adapts to her new circumstances, surrounded by biological sapients and cities that aren't bounded by walls, and the slow unveiling of Pepper's background, painful past, and loss of the only real family member she ever had.

      There's a lot of excellent character building and world building here. It makes for a layered, textured world, and an even more satisfying reading experience than in the previous book.

      Highly recommended.

      I bought this book.
    • 5/5
      This is a sequel to The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. Well... sort of. Part of it takes place right after that book, and part of it twenty years earlier, with the two (very much connected) stories alternating chapters. And it doesn't feature the same characters, or, rather, it centers on two characters who appeared only briefly in Small Angry Planet. One is an AI who has been downloaded into a very realistic (and very illegal) android body and is passing for human but having a lot of trouble adjusting to her new circumstances. The other is a girl who was created as genetically altered factory slave labor but escaped to freedom, in a very slow, very difficult way.Unlike Small Angry Planet, there's really not even the pretense of a grand over-arching plot. It's very much a character-based novel, a story about found family, about finding or making your own purpose and identity, about learning to feel comfortable in your own skin (synthetic or otherwise), and about figuring out how to be in the world -- complicated, imperfect, wonderful place that it is.It's not exactly fun the way a lot of the previous book was. But much as I loved that one, I think this one is even better. The characters are terrific. The world is big and engaging. And the story is thoughtful and smart and compassionate and sometimes unexpectedly moving. There may have been a moment or three towards the end where I found myself actually getting a little choked up.
    • 5/5
      That was freaking wonderful!
    • 5/5
      Although this book is based in the same universe Becky Chambers first created in [The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet], its focus is entirely different. In the first book, Chambers created a space opera that centered on the diverse members of a deep space ship, while in [a Closed and Common Orbit] she writes a much more focused, personal story, without a lot of space opera elements. This book is, however, still a wonderful read, because Chambers continues to show that she can write convincingly about different species and the way they approach their lives. In this case, it's all about AIs, the artificial intelligences that do so much in the world Chambers has created. What does it mean to be an AI? Are they capable of more than simply following instructions? This is not a horror story about AIs taking over the world. Instead, it is a deeply human story about the need for purpose and acceptance. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      I'm still so mad about consent. so mad.
    • 4/5
      4.5/5 stars

      I really, really loved this book. I loved how we just delved into the characters. The main characters, Sidra, and Pepper, were written so well. I really liked Pepper's backstory and reading about how she got to where she was. I also liked reading from Sidra's perspective, and her struggle to fit in and feel comfortable in her body and with who she can be.

      There wasn't a whole lot of plot, but I didn't care. The story is more about the characters and how they adjust to the new situation they are in.

      The world was just as good as in the long way to a small angry planet, there wasn't too much world building other than Sidra's new community and Port Coriol and the scrapyard, but it was done quite well. I loved the mosaiq of cultures on Port Coriol and how we got to see the different species again, even if not totally up close like in the previous book.

      Overall, I really enjoyed this and had a hard time putting it down to go to work.
    • 4/5
      This was probably closer to 3.5 stars for me. I preferred the first book by a lot. It was just a style thing. I felt like the book took forever to get going and while I loved the characters I never became as invested in the story.
    • 5/5
      I was so surprised to realize that there was a sequel to A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. I loved this book as much, or possibly more, even.Purpose is a central theme of this book. We are born without a specific purpose, yet, we all seek for purpose and find meaning through that search.This particular book focuses on the back stories of Pepper, and of the AI forthwith known as Lovecraft. The stories are intertwined in the most lovely and lively way.I desperately wanted to reach the end of the book to know what happened, while also dragging it being over.
    • 4/5
      I waited for the print version.... still not an ebook fan (and I'm looking at a computer screen WAY too much with school). This was a reward for work well done...
      And I loved it as much as the first Wayfarers.
      Many say they like it better - and I understand that, the story is wonderful - but I think A Long Way has the edge for me.
      Still, definite 5 stars, top 10, etc!

      Now, must wait for #3
    • 4/5
      I love the way Chambers makes an interspecies society feel real and complex, everyone with their own cultures and histories. The exploration of Pepper's own story was wonderful, and makes her attitudes about Sidra/Lovelace clearer. Sidra's coming to grips with her body and acceptance of her role/purpose was also fun to read.
    • 5/5
      Very good, hated to have it end. This works as a stand alone book as well as a sequel. Especially liked how Pepper's story and Sidra's stories worked together and the thoughtful depictions of AI characters.
    • 4/5
      I wanted to get back to the set of characters in The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and so had trouble committing to the story line, but eventually started enjoying the story in front of me which had some interesting discussion on the issues of existence as an AI in a non-target body.
    • 4/5
      This is a sequel of sorts to the first book, A Closed and Common Orbit. It takes place immediately after the first book, but with a completely different focus.It follows Lovelace, the newly awakened AI, as she traverses the world of sentient beings without letting anyone know she's an AI. The story alternates with another view, Pepper, who is a technician extraordinaire.There is a character driven story. Not a whole lot happens, outside of conversation and day to day events until the last few chapters. And even then, its done quietly, with character always leading over action.Themes of belonging, finding your space, and discovering your purpose are big with this book. The ending felt a bit tacked on - it took too long to get to that point, and then the sudden resolution was a bit too abrupt.Also, this is a book full of positive people, people who are actually friendly to each other and want to help. At times, this was bit too sweet. At other times, it was perfect. However, I wish more it felt more real... it wasn't really explained how Pepper could afford all the tech, including her space ship. Her small business doesn't seem like it could generate enough credits. Over all, a cute book, but a bit more "edge" would have made a much better novel.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved the first book in Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series, The Long Way to Small, Angry Planet, and therefore when I started this book, I was sat that it completely leaves behind the Wayfarer and all of the main characters from the first book. But while this book does not take place, for the most part, in space, it has all of the most important qualities that made the first book so good. It is so warm, funny, sweet, charming, lovely. That makes it sound light and fluffy and maybe saccharine, but it really is not at all. The word that keeps coming to mind when I think about these books, especially when compared to other science fiction (a genre, by the way, that I love), is "humane," although that's obviously a complicated and inaccurate word for what's going on in these books. By "humane," I don't mean "like humans," but rather, the things and qualities that we would ideally associate with being human, which unfortunately are not qualities we mostly practice: love, decency, kindness, understanding. There are terrible things that the characters go through in these books, and they deal with the very complicated, core existential questions that most of us want to avoid really facing. So these are not fluffy or light books, but they give you a warm, light feeling, if that makes any sense. Chambers' books have real emotional depth, and they are moving, poignant and yes, even sweet, but never saccharine or cliche. There are no real bad guys here, no adversaries. That alone makes this strange for science fiction. But that doesn't mean that these books aren't exiting and riveting: they are definitely page-turners. This book alternates between the present and the past, both sections centering in part around Pepper, who we meet briefly in the first book. The narrative is interesting and propulsive because you want to know how Pepper survived as a child, and how she gets to where she is in the present. These books are both at their core really just about relationships and making connections with others. They are so lovely.One caveat: I do take serious issue with what appears to be Chambers' bizarre obsession with talking about killing and eating dogs. I am not exaggerating when I say that killing, butchering, screaming obscenities at, cooking, and eating dogs is mentioned on every other page. I understand that this is part of survival in this story, but it was jarringly inconsistent with the world building and the love-everybody, sweet tone of the book. Almost no other recognizable species exist or are named in these books, and at the very least, if they seem like animals that actually exist, they are given different names, so it felt weird and excessive and stood out that Chambers even uses the word "dog," let alone uses them in the way she does in this boo. The descriptions of the merciless killing, butchering, and eating of the dogs was unnecessarily graphic and gratuitously cruel and gross, almost as if Chambers was reveling in describing it. Needless to say, Chambers is not a dog person. It's so strange, given that the book is clearly all about love and friendship and kindness and being humane to everyone and everything. I know it sounds like I am being hyper sensitive and taking these things too seriously, but sorry, it was gross and totally unnecessary to the narrative, and actually counter productive to it.
    • 5/5
      As a companion to The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet,this second novel expands the Wayfarer universe, characters and ethics admirably. Chambers deepens many of the aliens, especially the Aurelans who show their emotions on their face patches and introduces new ones. Artificial Intelligence and "Enhanced" humans are given voice through Lovelace/Sidra and Jane/Pepper. Like disenfranchised and minorities in our own world, these beings are often treated disrespectfully, cruelly and inhumanely in the Wayfarer universe. Chambers uses her characters, their feelings, hopes, fears, friendships, and angers to enlighten our own times. She also writes with humor, feeling and understanding, creating characters that readers can identify with and admire, while realistically exploring culture and politics. An introspective novel rather than an adventurous one, readers will be compelled by Sidra's and Jane's trials and hopes. I look forward to more of Chambers' creative and thought-provoking novels.
    • 5/5
      I liked this sequel a lot. I'd wanted to read more about the crew of the Wayfarer, but Sidra's and Pepper's story is actually really compelling. The gradual reveal of what happened to Pepper worked really well. And the ending / what Sidra decides to do was satisfying and heartwarming.
    • 5/5
      The Long Way... is probably my favourite science fiction novel, so I had high hopes for this sort-of sequel - and it didn't disappoint.It's definitely a different sort of book to the first one, focusing on the history of one character and the present day for another. However, Becky Chambers' immersive style of writing and knack for getting into the heads of fascinating characters is still very much in existence. She has a real flair for exploring what makes us human from the point of view of characters of all kinds of species without being boring about it and through a compelling plot.I heard the day before I finished this that the third Wayfarers book is coming out in June 2018 - if it's anything like the first two then we'll all be in for a treat!
    • 4/5
      A lovely sequel. calm quiet and pleasing. Little happens at all, and that which does is flashback recollections of the past, so there's no drama at all, but its still a wonderful character portrait and introspection about being human. the story starts shortly after the finish of Small Angry Planet with the new Lovelace AI installed in an illegal bodykit, and being taken home by Pepper and Blue, two of Jenks's alternative lifestyle modder friends. Her first task is to choose a name, and adapt to the restrictions of one physical location. But Pepper is willing to take care of her, because, as we learn through a series of flashbacks she was raised from childhood by an AI. This is unusual even in the wider galactic community. I'm not a big fan of flashbacks as a writing style, and don't really think the vast jumps in Pepper's growing up were that useful. It was only slightly more interesting at the end of the series when she reached the Galactic commons, and I'd have preferred more of this. Ditto that she spent a very long time on her own apart from the AI. As such there could have been much more made of her eventual human interactions.Sidra's story however is much more interesting and carried the book very well. The assumed position is that the AI is a fully sentient being, and as such has thoughts and desires - motivational drives from code based databases. However unlike a human she can edit them. But learning the boundary differences between a ship and entire room/city full of people causes some conflict. TBH I wasn't completely convinced. There was a failure to explain how she would experience the anger and frustration that were displayed when Pepper disagreed with her. Unlike the somewhat brilliant mechanism used to convey sensory experiences whereby new tastes triggered a bank of hidden imagery, which was very clever. Overall it's just an engaging and enjoyable comfy read. Cosy SF if you will (cf cosy mysteries). New and none the worse for it.
    • 4/5
      I ordered this book from the library the minute I finished A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. While I also enjoyed this book, I did love the first book more. This book is about two characters from the first book and consists of alternating chapters from the POV of Lovelace, an AI who has been installed to a human type body and Pepper, the human woman helping her. It's kind of funny but I found the chapters about Pepper's childhood up to present time completely involving. The Lovelace chapters, which I thought would be more interesting didn't hold my interest as well. Not that they weren't good, but they didn't keep me reading like Pepper's chapters did. Still, if you liked A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, you will definitely like this book as well.
    • 5/5
      Chambers succeeds in making a second book loosely related to the first 'angry planet' with a similarly positive, kind and compassionate mood. No space opera, no utopia or dystopia, but intensely 'human' future with not just humans.
    • 5/5
      Becky Chambers has done it again. She's written another cozy yet deep scifi novel that isn't about people saving the galaxy or taking on some big bad guy. No, her books are about people being people, even if they happen to be AIs. Despite the lack of major stakes, these books are not boring in the slightest--they are tense, gripping, and emotional.A Closed and Common Orbit would work as a complete stand-alone book. It follows an AI, Lovelace, as she learns to navigate a not-so-legal humanoid body. It also delves into the back story of Pepper, a minor character from the first book. Much of Pepper's story takes place in the past, but it's still horribly intense because you want her to be okay. You want to find out how she ended up where she is. And the end... it's beautiful. I had tears in my eyes. I'm getting teary again just thinking about it. The book creates a surprising love letter to fandom and its transformative power in people's lives--indeed, how it can keep us alive.
    • 5/5
      A companion volume rather than sequel, this is moving and humane, proving that space opera doesn't have to be about space battles or galactic intrigue. An AI in need of a purpose, trying to adapt to an environment she was never designed for. A young woman trying to escape the circumstances she was designed to serve in. Friendship, found family, identity, personhood, self-determination, privilege, prejudice, paying things forward and more all wrapped up with care, respect and consideration. How can you fit so many FEELINGS in one book?
    • 5/5

      This book made me cry a little for all the right reasons.
    • 5/5
      It was like like I was reading a warm hug
    • 5/5
      This is the 2nd book read by this author, Becky Chambers. I can't wait for the 3rd book in the Wayfarer series to come out.
      This one tells the story of Jane 23, a clone who made it outside of the factory she worked in, through her bravery, when she was 10 years old. An AI in a broken-down shuttle rescued her from being eaten by wild dogs, and raised her. In return, Jane rebuilt the shuttle.
      It's also the story of Sidra, who was Lovelace the AI on the Wayfarer, But now she resides in a human kit.
      Though Chambers' books take place in space and on unknown planets, you know the author is a person you'd like to meet and know, because the characters have a warmth and depth to them, and they accept the differences in gender and species of the beings around them.
    • 4/5
      This is comfort science fiction! Love Becky Chambers's books as a bit of relief from the military sci-fi that's so prevalent.
    • 5/5
      A 2016 novel, book 2 in the Wayfarers series.An AI adapts to life as a robot, and a girl escapes from a dystopian planet.A (Great).I liked it a lot more than I thought I would when I learned that it would be a quasi-dystopian novel (not a genre I usually like). It doesn't have the emotional impact of the first book, but it does have some effective big Feelings moments. And like the first book, it's a novel story of the sort that only sci-fi can do.(Apr. 2023)