![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/ClosedCommonOrbitCvr.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1\")
Harper Voyager, \u00a9 2016\nISBN 9780062569400
\nPrint length 384 pages, $16.99\n
<\/p>Harper Voyager, \u00a9 2016
\nISBN 9780062569400
\nPrint length 384 pages, $16.99\n
This stand-alone sequel to Becky Chambers\u2019 debut novel, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, <\/em>begins 28 minutes after a sentient AI personality has been transferred from the body of a ship to a human-like body. Nothing could have prepared her for such a drastic change\u2014where she used to have wide-ranging vision and sensory input all through and outside the ship, now she is limited to input provided by her smaller body, her visual range reduced to a \u201ccone\u201d of visible space directly in front of her face. Not only is she completely unprepared for the adaptation and totally na\u00efve in the ways of the world, she\u2019s on the run from the authorities. Encasing an AI in a body kit is highly illegal. She has no idea how to navigate as a human through the colonial settlements without giving herself away, which could make things problematic. Except for her friend Pepper, she would never survive. At Pepper\u2019s direction, she takes a human name (Sidra) and a job (working in Pepper\u2019s junk shop), and begins learning what it means to be human.<\/p>\n In a second storyline, we meet Jane 23, a young slave child in a factory run by the Mothers, anonymous robots who keep the girl slaves in line and see that the quotas are met each day. 23\u2019s simple thoughts range into dangerous territory, wondering about esoteric questions like the world beyond the factory until one night she finds herself outside the building and, when the Mothers discover her escape, running for her life. But 23 doesn\u2019t know how to survive on her own. She\u2019s hungry and cold and in fear of the wild dogs that roam in packs until she stumbles onto an old downed spacecraft whose AI, Owl, still functions. Together, Owl and 23 survive the harsh conditions on the planet until they can find a way out together.<\/p>\n Seemingly two separate tales, these stories collide in ways both subtle and direct. Chambers once again nails the interpersonal relationships in an intimate way that stirs the imagination and the heart equally. Rather than focus on war or crime or violence, the plot in both Chambers\u2019 novels centers on the characters; but Closed and Common Orbit <\/em>gets even closer to shine a warm light on their most vulnerable moments.<\/p>\n The story is told through the eyes of Sidra and Jane as each navigates her way toward salvation, contentment and safety. Though not directly connected to the initial book in the Wayfarer<\/em> series, Common Orbit<\/em> is set in the same universe and shares many details. If you loved the interaction with other species so prevalent in Long <\/em>Way, you\u2019ll find plenty more here. Sidra\u2019s home with Pepper and Blue centers on an interplanetary market, of sorts, which is introduced in book one. It\u2019s a place where almost anything can be bought.<\/p>\n Through Jane and Sidra, Chambers explores prejudice, personal rights, sentience, and what it means to be human. Once again, there\u2019s no specific antagonist; instead the enemies are the Mothers, the dogs, failing equipment, the laws that would separate Sidra from her body and penalize Pepper for daring to help her in the first place. Sidra\u2019s predicament forces others around her to see in new ways, and to realize that one\u2019s own perspective is not so easily or comfortably thrust on another without consequences.<\/p>\n Common Orbit<\/em> continues the feeling of Long Way<\/em> in that it\u2019s a moving, inspirational tale that takes an honest look at interpersonal relationships and challenges our authenticity\u2014to ourselves and to each other. It was truly an enjoyable and uplifting read.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Harper Voyager, \u00a9 2016 ISBN 9780062569400 Print length 384 pages, $16.99 This stand-alone sequel to Becky Chambers\u2019 debut novel, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, begins 28 minutes after a sentient AI personality has been transferred from the body of a ship to a human-like body. Nothing could have prepared her for such…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-2h","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":118,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/18\/the-long-way-to-a-small-angry-planet-by-becky-chambers\/","url_meta":{"origin":141,"position":0},"title":"The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"February 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"HarperCollins Publishers, LLC, \u00a9 2014 ISBN 9780062444134 Print length 467 pages, $10.81 When Rosemary\u2019s feet leave Mars for the first time, it\u2019s to take a cramped pod shuttle to rendezvous with her new employer, Captain Ashby Santoso, aboard the Wayfarer, a tunneling ship that digs passages through space, shortcuts for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/LongWayCvr.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3822,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/09\/the-wayfarer-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":141,"position":1},"title":"The Wayfarer Series","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"February 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet ISBN-13: 978-0062444134 Kindle Version, file size 3004 KB; \u00a9 2015 Paperback, 464 pages; \u00a9 2016 A Closed and Common Orbit ISBN-13: 978-0062569400 Kindle Version, file size 1251 KB; \u00a9 2016 Paperback, 384 pages; \u00a9 2017 Record of a Spaceborn Few ISBN-13: 978-0062699220\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Wayfarer-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3486,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/24\/monk-and-robot-books\/","url_meta":{"origin":141,"position":2},"title":"Monk and Robot Books","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"August 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A Psalm for the Wild-Built By Becky Chambers \u00a9 2021 TorDotCom ASIN: B08H831J18 Kindle version; file size 3476 KB Paperback, 151 pages. 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