First Lines of Becky Chambers' "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet"

 "As she woke up in the pod, she remembered three things. First, she was traveling through open space. Second, she was about to start a new job, one she could not screw up. Third, she had bribed a government official into giving her a new identity file. None of this information was new, but it wasn't pleasant to wake up to."

- Becky Chambers, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Fun SciFi novel about the close-knit inter-species crew of the Wayfinder who has signed up for a dangerous but lucrative shipping gig. Succeed, and they'll have sufficient funds to live comfortably. Fail and they'll find themselves in a politically fraught situation with no clear way out.

Chambers is playing a long game here - the main plot plays out over a series of multiple novels, which makes this a relaxed entry into her world. I appreciated the time she took to introduce the characters, providing all of them with varied backstories and motivations. It was a fun read, mainly because the characters are (with one notable brooding exception) refreshingly pleasant and get along with each other.  There's an easy optimism and refined species relations that reminded me of the original Star Trek. However, the crew's easy comradery prevented me from taking their struggles too seriously - there was a lack of edge to the character dynamics. It didn't help that the book reads less like a novel and a collection of interconnected short stories - like the first series of a long Netflix series. 

Regardless, I felt like The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is an excellent beach read: entertaining and interesting but not too challenging. I enjoyed it and am curious to see if this impression changes as the series progresses.