Today is the final week of our readalong of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.  The readalong has been organised by Lisa at Over The Effing Rainbow and is part of this year’s Sci-Fi Month.

So, to the questions, with a timely reminder before we start that the following may contain spoilers:

1. Let’s start with the Toremi, since we’ve waited this long to get to them! As we’ve been discussing for a while, we do get to learn more about the Toremi, about their culture and how they think and behave. In light of what happens when the Wayfarer reaches Hedra Ka, what’s your take on the Toremi now? Are the GC right to abandon their negotiations or could there have been a chance to make something of it?

At the end of the day the GC didn’t really know enough about the Toremi did they?  Basically their culture and ways are very different and, whilst there’s nothing wrong with being different, I wonder whether they’ll ever be compatible.  I think the GC were too busy thinking of the benefits of this agreement and not enough time on how, or whether, they could make it work.  The motivations were frankly wrong and it all felt a little rushed.  Plus the snapshot we saw of the Toremi before they met with the Wayfarer crew seemed to show that not all of them were content with the agreement with the GC and it seems like their response to disagreement, whether between themselves or others, is violence!  I don’t know, it’s a difficult one, partly because I’m not quite sure what motivated the Toremi to ever want such an agreement in the first place.  Perhaps they could both make it work in the future but for the moment I would say not.  The lack of knowledge and understanding and the risk of causing offence and the resulting bloodshed are too great.

2. A visit to a Solitary Sianat colony in “Heresy” provides a potential cure for Ohan’s illness, but they make it fairly clear they don’t want it – though there may be some debate about whether or not Ohan is in their right mind… Corbin takes matters into his own hands in that respect, and he does it in a crucial moment following the attack on the Wayfarer. Do you think Corbin did the right thing?

Well, yes and no.  Yes, because of the way Ohan responded and acted at the end of the story.  He seemed happy and he wanted to stay with the crew so in that respect I think Corbin’s decision was good.  I suppose you could say that Corbin did this with selfish reasons, keeping Ohan alive because the crew would suffer if another member of their team died – but really, his intent was not bad.  Then again, no, because he took away Ohan’s rights and ability to choose.  Now, I’m going to have a bit of an argument with myself.  Okay, Corbin did take away Ohan’s ability to choose, but, if Ohan’s mental capacity was being affected by the illness wouldn’t that be the right thing to do?  If Ohan couldn’t make the choice due to mental issues then I suppose somebody would have to do that for him.  At the end of the day you wouldn’t just let somebody die if they weren’t able to reasonably make that decision – would you? On the whole I’m going with yes, primarily because if it was me and I wasn’t in the right mind to make the decision I think I’d sooner somebody make that decision and keep me alive!  And now, Ohan is having cooking lessons with Dr Chef – so it’s all good!

3. Ohan survives the attack on the ship, but Lovey (as we know her) doesn’t. Were you at all prepared for what happened to the AI? And in light of all that, do you think Pepper’s offered solution was the right one?

I really didn’t see that coming at all and it really was so sad.  But, I think Pepper’s solution was good and I do think it was the right choice.  Lovey could have stayed on the ship – and Jenks would constantly be reminded of what they had, and maybe even try to recreate it.  But the circumstances that led to Lovey becoming the character she was could never be duplicated, they were unique and all the crew contributed towards the way her character developed.  We do lose people we love and we have to come to terms with it and it would be pretty awful, for example, to think that somebody you loved had died but then the body still lived with a different personality inside – it’s the same thing here, Lovey doesn’t have a body as such, she is part of the ship but once she was reset it was no longer the Lovey that everyone knew but a different personality altogether living inside the ship.  Plus, it felt like it would be a good choice for Lovey to be honest.  Pepper seemed to be making her a really good offer.

4. This one is less of a “thinky” question and more of a “wrap up” one, but I’m curious for your answers – now that we’ve finished the story, what scenes/moments do you remember best as your favourites, if any?

Well, I’m obviously a sucker for the happier moments to be honest and these were thankfully scattered liberally throughout.  I think my favourite parts of the story were the introductions to the crew, watching the dynamics between them all and seeing the relationships grow.  Sissix was undoubtedly my favourite character and I think that’s simply because she was so loving and affectionate – it’s difficult to not like a character with that type of nature.

Thanks to Lisa for organising this readalong and to all the other participants for all the thought provoking discussion.  Stars! It’s been a blast!