A Closed and Common Orbit

Becky Chambers

May 2019 · Wayfarers Book 2 · HarperAudio · Narrated by Rachel Dulude

About this audiobook

Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Series!

A Publishers Weekly ""Best Books of 2017"" pick!

Nominated for the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel!

Shortlisted for the 2017 Arthur C. Clarke Award!

Winner of the Prix Julia-Verlanger!

Embark on an exciting, adventurous, and dangerous journey through the galaxy with the motley crew of the spaceship Wayfarer in this fun and heart-warming space opera—the sequel to the acclaimed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.

Lovelace was once merely a ship’s artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in a new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who’s determined to help her learn and grow.

Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet introduced listeners to the incredible world of Rosemary Harper, a young woman with a restless soul and secrets to keep. When she joined the crew of the Wayfarer, an intergalactic ship, she got more than she bargained for—and learned to live with, and love, her rag-tag collection of crewmates.

A Closed and Common Orbit is the stand-alone sequel to that beloved debut novel, and is perfect for fans of Firefly, Joss Whedon, Mass Effect, and Star Wars.

Ratings and reviews

A low 4-⭐. This book needed to be longer. It jumped through some time periods I'd have been very interested to have filled in. Also when it gets to the climax, it jumps and comes into it in a strange way IMO. We never get to learn some key pieces of info because of that. So maybe I should subtract a star, but the idea for the book was solid and it was an enjoyable listen. So feeling generous this evening.

Great follow on story. I was a little confused about where it was going, and just wasn't sure I wanted to continue it, but I'm so glad I did. The characters and story are great.

Seemingly unrelated to the first book as a whole, this next book in the series continues with the amazing theme of the unknowns in space and adventure.

About the author

Becky Chambers is a science fiction author based in Northern California. She is best known for her Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series, which currently includes The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit, and Record of a Spaceborn Few. Her books have also been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Locus Award, and the Women's Prize for Fiction, among others. Her most recent work is To Be Taught, If Fortunate, a standalone novella.Becky has a background in performing arts, and grew up in a family heavily involved in space science. She spends her free time playing video and tabletop games, keeping bees, and looking through her telescope. Having hopped around the world a bit, she’s now back in her home state, where she lives with her wife. She hopes to see Earth from orbit one day.