A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers) (vuoden 2017 painos)

This is the second book in the Wayfarers Series (although it could be read as a stand alone). I am pleased to see that not only is there a third book but the fourth is going to come out imminently. This book was quite a bit different from The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet although two of the characters from that book carried over. I am interested to see where the others take us.

In the final scenes of the first book Lovelace, the AI for the ship in that book, had to be put into a constructed body. This is a necessary but frustrating solution and the AI hates not being able to see everywhere and not being tapped into the Linkings knowledge system. Lovelace who changes her name to Sidra for use in the body goes with Pepper to the planet of Coriol where Pepper lives with her companion Blue. The plan is that Sidra will be Pepper's assistant in her tech repair shop. She is able to do that physically but emotionally and mentally she finds it challenging. Pepper wants to help her; after all, she herself reinvented herself and thinks she knows how to help Sidra. We learn Pepper's back story along with seeing how Sidra copes as the book goes along. Pepper, who was Jane 23 was a clone who worked in a scrap yard on another planet. When an explosion blew a hole in the building where Jane 23 and the other clones worked she saw the sky for the first time in her life. That night together with her bunkmate, Jane 64, she went to explore and she stepped outside. Jane 64 stayed within the confines of the building and was captured when one of the Mothers (the AIs that mind the girls) turned up. She yelled at Jane 23 to run and so she did. Jane 23 was saved from certain death by a pack of wild dogs when the AI of a junked commuter ship opened the ship's hatch and called her in. Owl, as the AI said she was named, could only be seen in the screens around the ship but with Jane 23 as a pair of hands they managed to survive. The story of how Jane 23 became Pepper was wonderfully told although I couldn't identify with Sidra's challenges as much. Perhaps that is because I am just an ordinary human living in a body with all the limitations that Sidra finds so frustrating. Nevertheless the book concludes satisfactorily and I hope to read installment 3 soon. ( )

4.5 ish. It has its own charm. ( )

This is a stand-alone sequel to [b:The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet|25786523|The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)|Becky Chambers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435140741s/25786523.jpg|42270825] (see my review here), but it's best to have read the latter to have a better understanding of what's going on in this second book, or rather, how Lovelace aka Lovey (aka Sidra) is trying to lead an independent life, as a human(oid).

In this new story we follow two story-lines (through alternating chapters): Lovey's (sorry, Sidra's, as she had to pick a new name, something that wouldn't arouse suspicion in the world she would be living in) and Pepper's (formerly known as Jane - strangely enough, Chambers didn't mention how Jane became Pepper, or I must have overlooked that part).

A bit of spoilering:
Sidra's story is relatively easy: she comes from the Wayfarer, wanted (or was "pushed") to lead a new life (especially after the problems this AI experienced in the Wayfarer) in a body-kit. So, she has to learn to use the kit and its various functions. It's only when, driven by curiosity, that her secret is found out: setting a tattoo on the body-kit has a negative impact on the kit, as the bots aren't compatible. While everyone's worried (because the Galactic Commons doesn't allow AI's to walk among the other species), it does lead to a friendship between Tak (the Aeluon setting the tattoo) and Sidra. Actually, it was a philosophical conversation that laid the basis for the two to build the friendship. Sidra also has to learn to do as if she's eating, drinking, etc. She also has to learn to show emotions via the kit's functions. And last but not least, interact with others (humans and other species, like Aandriks).

Jane grows up in a tight regime, where she's instructed to clean, repair, ... old technological material. But she's not the only Jane: each such-named girl gets a number. Jane got 23 and shared a bunk with no. 64. There were also other girls names, again each with their own numbers. Days were filled with the same routine of sleeping, eating, working. Everything was provided for, the girls only needed to execute. They were under the strict control of the Mothers, robots keeping an eye on everyone, intervening for the smallest misbehaviour. Woe unto the girl who didn't comply and obey.

At some point, Jane 23 decides to flee, free herself from the hard regime, especially after she discovered there was more than just following orders and working hard. There was a behind-the-scenes, which convinced her there was more to life and the world she was brought up in. She was ten at that time.

After having escaped - "Run, Forrest, run!", Jane 64 screamed (well, not those exact words, obviously) - Jane 23 arrived at an abandoned ship, where the AI (named Owl) apparently still functioned. Jane 23 changed her name to Jane (suggested by Owl, and since she was the only Jane around) and spent about 10 years (during which she's gets an attitude) of her life in the ship, learning new words, cleaning and repairing the installations in order to survive (water, fuel, ...), hunting for food (mainly dog meat and a kind of mushrooms; resources were limited). Owl guided and comforted her to the best of her AI-abilities.

Towards the end of her stay and since the ship was more or less ready to travel again, Jane had got the company of a certain Laurian, also prisoner (sort of) of the Mothers. Upon arrival in the modern world, both she and Laurian end up in hospital and the ship's confiscated, as it didn't comply with the safety and other standards. Ultimately, Jane flees again, this time to Port Coriol, by accepting a shitty, tough job for her and Laurian, of whom we never hear again. Or could it be that Laurian = Blue? This too isn't explained, but needs to be read between the lines.

Anyhow, Lovey/Sidra's and Jane/Pepper's story-lines come together, as Pepper takes care of Sidra. When news arrives that the ship is found, the end justifies the means: Tak's unfinished eduction allows him/her (yes, Tak changes sex every now and then) to enter the museum for a so-called historical project for which he hired the expertise of a few technicians. Pepper wants to rescue the AI Owl from the ship - although it's against the law and rules to do anything of the sort -, but it's Sidra who'll come up with a way to do so, of course without Pepper and Blue knowing about it.

And, as you can guess, otherwise it would be a bad story: all's well that ends well. Although I found the ending itself rather weak.

One final thing about Sidra's and Jane's lives: Both go from a very structured environment, without too many external influences, and where they doesn't have to think for themselves, to an environment with a plethora of external influences and boundaries. They have to make their own decisions, based on the incoming information and experiences. And of course, both experience(d) severe adaptation problems.

That's what makes this book interesting: the philosophical (and psychological) elements weaved throughout the story. The world is still populate by different species, who have to share the same space and get along. Each has his/her differences. But we still haven't learned to create a world that's right for everyone.
Also, each has a purpose: by having a job (doctor, construction worker, mechanic, administrator, manager, artist [music, drawing, ...], etc.), for example. Or being part of a NGO or other organisations (voluntarily or paid). Or through one's hobbies. See, for example, pages 326 (see quote) and 350-351 (about purpose, too long to quote ;-)).

So, with that - the thought behind the story (as it was for the first book) - in mind, it's a good story. If I don't take the deeper layer into account, I have to admit that I found this story less attractive than the first book. There were some parts that just didn't speak to me, didn't appeal to me.
( )

Couldn't really be bothered finishing this to start with, but i had nothing else to do so I read a bit more and then it became wonderful. Heaped full of feelings.
Really quite lovely.

I can't really remember the first book apart from remembering it was fairly decent. So I didn't have any expectations to be fulfilled or denied. ( )

A Closed and Common Orbit is the second book in Becky Chambers' Wayfarer series. I absolutely loved the first book (A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet), but I was lukewarm about its sequel.

This book follows technician Pepper, and an AI unit from the Wayfarer ship whose name is Sidra. The book goes back and forth in time: in one chapter we are reading about Pepper (then known as Jane) from her tenth year to her nineteenth, and in the next chapter we follow Sidra as she struggles to get used to her human-like appearance and to understand how life and social interaction works in Port Coriol. The changes of time and character are well-marked and caused me no confusion.

The first half, approximately, of the book was really absorbing and fun. I don't know when it stopped being enjoyable and turned into just a random book I was reading. I do know that I was dissatisfied with the ending of the book, and with some of the decisions that the characters made in the chapters leading up to the finale. I thought that the characters acted in ways that would not be typical for them, and although their choices could be construed as bravery, I saw it as an attempt to find roles for all the main characters in the denoument. I had to read the last two chapters two times apiece to try to sort out what the various parties were doing.

Reading the book wasn't a waste of my time, and I am curious to find out where Chambers goes next in her writing. There is a sequel available, which I plan to read. I hope it is more satisfying than this installment was. ( )