Becky Chambers: Closed and Common Orbit (2016, HarperCollins Publishers)
English language
Published Nov. 11, 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers.
Once, Lovelace had eyes and ears everywhere. She was a ship's artificial intelligence system - possessing a personality and very human emotions. But when her ship was badly damaged, Lovelace was forced to reboot and reset. Now housed in an illegal synthetic body, she's never felt so isolated. But Lovelace is not alone. Pepper, an engineer who risked her life to reinstall Lovelace's program, has remained by her side and is determined to help her.
Loved the concept, but the story kept hitting the same plot beats. I liked it overall, but it still felt a little disappointing coming off of the first Wayfarer book.
Chambers is a great author and I love immersing myself into her universes.
Hach, was fĂŒr ein wunderbares Buch. đ„°
Der Fokus liegt hier auf den zwei Hauptprotagonistinnen, deren Charakterentwicklung und einen konsistenten Handlungsstrang mit merklich steigendem Spannungsbogen. Somit ist der ErzÀhlstil anders, als in Teil eins, dennoch ist das Buch mindestens genauso gut, wenn nicht sogar besser!
Die Story fand ich wunderschön und die Protagonistinnen und die drei Nebencharaktere durch und durch sympathisch und liebenswert. Auch dieses Mal habe ich wĂ€hrend des Lesens mehrfach in Emotionen geschwelgt. Wie sehr habe ich mit ihnen mitgefiebert, wie sehr mitgefĂŒhlt, wenn sie es schwer hatten, wie sehr ging mir das Herz auf, wenn sie schöne Dinge erlebt hatten. Und letztere sind zum GlĂŒck auch in diesem Teil wieder in der Mehrzahl, auch wenn diesmal ein bisschen hĂ€ufiger auch etwas bedrĂŒckendere Momente stattfinden, was die Bindung an die Charaktere aber umso mehr verstĂ€rkt.
Besonders angetan hat es mir Protagonistin Sidra. Nicht nur, weil ich es interessant âŠ
Hach, was fĂŒr ein wunderbares Buch. đ„°
Der Fokus liegt hier auf den zwei Hauptprotagonistinnen, deren Charakterentwicklung und einen konsistenten Handlungsstrang mit merklich steigendem Spannungsbogen. Somit ist der ErzÀhlstil anders, als in Teil eins, dennoch ist das Buch mindestens genauso gut, wenn nicht sogar besser!
Die Story fand ich wunderschön und die Protagonistinnen und die drei Nebencharaktere durch und durch sympathisch und liebenswert. Auch dieses Mal habe ich wĂ€hrend des Lesens mehrfach in Emotionen geschwelgt. Wie sehr habe ich mit ihnen mitgefiebert, wie sehr mitgefĂŒhlt, wenn sie es schwer hatten, wie sehr ging mir das Herz auf, wenn sie schöne Dinge erlebt hatten. Und letztere sind zum GlĂŒck auch in diesem Teil wieder in der Mehrzahl, auch wenn diesmal ein bisschen hĂ€ufiger auch etwas bedrĂŒckendere Momente stattfinden, was die Bindung an die Charaktere aber umso mehr verstĂ€rkt.
Besonders angetan hat es mir Protagonistin Sidra. Nicht nur, weil ich es interessant fand, einen GroĂteil der Handlung aus der Sicht einer KI zu erleben. Sondern auch, weil ihre Persönlichkeit einfach lieb und herzlich gezeichnet ist. AuĂerdem fand ich es bewegend, mitzuerleben, wie sie sich als empfindungsfĂ€hige KI in einem Bodykit unter Organischen anfangs schwer tut, sich in der Situation entwickelt und dabei liebevolle Freundschaften schlieĂt.
Wie schon Band 1 ein wirklich optimistisches und wohltuendes Buch. đ
i enjoyed A Closed and Common Orbit even more than the prequel one. (which has not enough story to keep up--for my taste at least) i think of it as a kind of double bildungsroman, with two developing characters between which the novel is split.
Chambers connects her scifi(-world) convincingly and smoothly with the problems most of us are facing and can relate to. it's how scifi should comment the present. and although the focus is always on the personalities, there are also a lot of social themes and thoughts.
a lot of readers mention the caring characters throughout the story, which make it so satisfactional to follow. I can support that! but it would be sad to think, it's just another form of escapism, a tweak to the genre. this is a shortcoming of understanding the themes Chambers is working on.
the real impact makes Chambers skill in building âŠ
i enjoyed A Closed and Common Orbit even more than the prequel one. (which has not enough story to keep up--for my taste at least) i think of it as a kind of double bildungsroman, with two developing characters between which the novel is split.
Chambers connects her scifi(-world) convincingly and smoothly with the problems most of us are facing and can relate to. it's how scifi should comment the present. and although the focus is always on the personalities, there are also a lot of social themes and thoughts.
a lot of readers mention the caring characters throughout the story, which make it so satisfactional to follow. I can support that! but it would be sad to think, it's just another form of escapism, a tweak to the genre. this is a shortcoming of understanding the themes Chambers is working on.
the real impact makes Chambers skill in building up and writing emotional scenes. and because i was listening to the audiobook: R. Dulude did a great job on this one (too).
More feel-good scifi. (No spoilers:) It's Pepper backstory, and another minor character from A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. I think this one benefits a lot from taking it slowly and focussing on just two characters.
I absolutely adored this book. I realise that part of this is that it was a perfect little escape while I was stuck at home with covid, but I do also think it's really wonderful.
It has some similar strengths to the first in the series, in that it's mostly about the relationships between a few outcast characters that become a chosen family and just happen to be in space. But if anything I think it's better written (I guess Chambers getting into her stride with book 2), and benefits from being a more focussed story of a smaller number of characters. And has some weightier things to say about embodiment, the tension between fitting in and freedom, and loyalty & reciprocity.
I am excited about the rest of the series.
Becky Chambers' approach to sci-fi has ruined me. No longer will I accept grungy and dystopian worlds that don't have redeeming character arcs filled with friendship, love, and care. This book is just so good.
I found this much more emotional of a read than I expected. The questions about what makes a person a person, and a home a home, and a family a family, not to mention what is the relationship between ourselves and our physical bodiesâ itâs a lot to handle! And the book does is so gently even as itâs really fierce on valuing lives and loves. Anyway. Sheâs so good, Becky Chambers.
How amazing was this book? I had put this one off for a while, because I like plot-heavy books, and as I stated in my review of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, I had my issues because there was no plot as such in there. Instead it had a huge ensemble cast of characters and their stories. A Closed and Common Orbit follows the events of the first book, but it's not a return to the crew of the Wayfarer at all. Instead this book has a very tight focus on two characters: Sidra and Pepper. Sidra, the AI formerly known as Lovelace, was installed in a body kit at the end of the previous book, and she starts over a new life on Port Coriol with the aid of Pepper. The latter is a friend of Jenks from the first book, a tech with a repair âŠ
How amazing was this book? I had put this one off for a while, because I like plot-heavy books, and as I stated in my review of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, I had my issues because there was no plot as such in there. Instead it had a huge ensemble cast of characters and their stories. A Closed and Common Orbit follows the events of the first book, but it's not a return to the crew of the Wayfarer at all. Instead this book has a very tight focus on two characters: Sidra and Pepper. Sidra, the AI formerly known as Lovelace, was installed in a body kit at the end of the previous book, and she starts over a new life on Port Coriol with the aid of Pepper. The latter is a friend of Jenks from the first book, a tech with a repair shop on Port Coriol. With a different PoV in each chapter, we learn about Sidra's struggle to adjust to life in a body, and learn Pepper's quite heartbreaking backstory of why she is so fond of AIs.
You still have all the hallmarks from the first book, with diversity oozing from every page. I loved every moment of this.
Besser als der erste Teil.
A wonderful sequel
This book went an entirely different direction from the first in the series, yet it was just as enjoyable. My favorite part of the book was the structure in which the two stories were told in parallel, coming together into a great finish. Can't wait for the third one!
