A Closed and Common Orbit, published in 2016, is the second book in the Wayfarers series written by Becky Chambers. It was nominated for an Hugo Award in 2017.
I (Chris) really enjoyed this simple story that is focused on self-awareness and nuanced emotions, without an overly dramatic plot and a dystopic world. It is a change from the usual stories based on royalty, fantastic machines/beasts, and/or super heroic/villainous characters. I will say a bit more about the story later without spoiler.
Enjoy a space-y tune by my favorite French electronic music maestro. Click ▶ to play.
I discovered the Wayfarer series when it was recommended as a “readalike” of the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells which is discussed in an earlier post on this blog. The TV rights of the Murderbot Diaries has been picked up by Apple and the series will be released in 2024.
Up until recently, whenever I found time to read for leisure, I had been consuming mostly hard science fiction. This subgenre tends to base the story on science and technology, focusing on the what’s and how’s. Seveneves (2015) by Neal Stephenson is an example of hard sci-fi. The Martian by Andy Weir is another example, which had been made into a movie starring Matt Damon.
Having more free time now, I started reading soft science fiction as the Wayfarers and Murderbots series would be classified. Genre classification can become quite academic; just look up Science Fiction on Wikipedia to see what I mean. Subgenres overlap and can be confusing, but it helps readers follow their interests.
The broad subgenre of soft sci-fi is concerned with how science and technology has affected individuals, and the societies around them. The stories are driven by sentient characters, their interactions, psychology and philosophy while the science and technology in the story world is seldom explained.
Space opera is a sub-subgenre within soft sci-fi which emphasizes melodramatic conflicts, adventures and romances within an epic story arc. While science and technology may be used as a plot device, it is often totally unrealistic. Heroes and villains are often well defined and easily understood by the reader. Dune and Star Wars are prime examples of this subgenre. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, a British favorite from the 80’s with its distinctive irreverent comedic tone, is another example.
There are four books in the Wayfarer series and the series won the Hugo Award in 2019. I(Chris) have finished the first book in the series – The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, the second book – A Closed and Common Orbit, and have started on the third book – Record of a Spaceborn Few. The last book in the series, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, was published in 2021.
The four books in the Wayfarer series tell the stories of different characters in the same universe but they are not strictly prequel and sequel to each other. The author indicated that the fourth book – A Galaxy and The Ground Within – will be the last in the Wayfarer series.
In The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, the protagonist is a human woman with a secret past who joined a crew of human and sentient aliens on a ship that builds space highway. There are a lot of interest in the potential stories about this crew and the author has not ruled out the possibility of writing more, but there is no plan at this time.
The author published a sci-fi novella in 2019 – To Be Taught If Fortunate. While the story is not set in the Wayfarer universe, it received great reviews, and had been nominated for the Hugo Award for novella in 2020.
Back to the book that I just finished – the second book in the Wayfarer series, A Closed and Common Orbit, tells two stories in parallel, which join up to form the finale. Both stories are centered around the interactions of sentient beings and artificial intelligence (AI) and portray how they help each other survive in a physically hostile and socially alienating world.
The plot is simple, but the characters are fully formed and nuanced, even the AI. The world-building is masterful and allows the reader to appreciate heartfeltly what the characters experience in their circumstances.
Becky Chambers has become one of my favorite authors in this genre.
A highly recommended series, indeed.