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A Closed and Common Orbit

A Closed and Common Orbit

Wayfarers 2
Science FictionSpace Opera
Pages
384
Published
2016
Language
English

Synopsis

Lovelace, once a ship's AI with a full range of human emotions, finds herself in a new, illegal synthetic body after a disaster. Isolated and grappling with her new existence, she finds an unexpected ally in Pepper, the engineer who saved her. Together, they navigate a world where Lovelace must hide her true nature.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

HopefulHeartwarmingEmotionalThought-Provoking
Fish Out of WaterSecret IdentityFound FamilyDual TimelineSurvival

Genres

Science Fiction Space Opera

About the author

B
Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers (born Rebecca Marie Chambers, May 3, 1985, in Los Angeles County, California) is an American science fiction author. She is best known for the Wayfarers series, which began with her 2014 self-published debut The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and for the Monk & Robot novellas, starting with A Psalm for the Wild-Built (2021). Her character-driven, hopeful approach to speculative fiction has been credited with helping define the "hopepunk" genre. She has won two Hugo Awards and...

Characters

Lovelace/SidraProtagonist

A ship's AI who transfers into an illegal humanoid body and takes the name Sidra, hiding her true nature while learning to live in the world.

Pepper (Wayfarers)Protagonist

An engineer who helps Sidra adapt to her new body; her own childhood as an enslaved clone, "Jane 23," is told in parallel flashbacks.

Blue (Wayfarers)Supporting

A tattoo artist with a stammer, Pepper's partner, whose kindness helps Sidra open up.

Owl (Wayfarers)Supporting

The ship AI who raised Pepper after she escaped the factory as a child.

Tak (Wayfarers)Supporting

An Aeluon who becomes friends with Sidra.

All characters in A Closed and Common Orbit

Frequently asked questions

  • Has A Closed and Common Orbit won any awards?

    A Closed and Common Orbit won the 2017 Prix Julia-Verlanger. It was also a finalist for the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel and the 2017 BSFA Award for Best Novel, and was shortlisted for the 2017 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the 2017 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

  • Do I need to read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet before this book?

    Not strictly. A Closed and Common Orbit is a direct sequel and follows two characters introduced in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, but reviewers note it also works as a standalone story with its own self-contained plot.

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