Review: A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

The good

• Cute story with fun characters.
• Interesting exploration of a number of topics: AI, body autonomy, slavery, gender.
• A master-class in empathy, friendship, and acceptance.

The not-so-good

• I wish people were nearly as nice and accepting as the way this book portrays it… But living in the Trump era of racism, misogyny, bigotry, and hate, it’s sometimes a bit hard to swallow. As weird as it is to say, the story would be more believable with a few more assholes in it.

• This book solely follows two of the characters of the first book. All the others and the entire plot line from the first story are gone. A bit jarring and disappointing.

Rating: 4 stars