The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambersby Becky Chambers
Shares rank 88 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Warm, character-driven science fiction that people call lovely and a top young author in the genre; some find it less technical and space-themed than expected.
Warm, character-driven science fiction that people call lovely and a top young author in the genre; some find it less technical and space-themed than expected.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Top young author in genre
“Becky Chambers is probably the single best young author working in this genre today”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Writing a better reality: The case for optimistic sci-fi (2022)” “Becky Chambers, the long way to a small angry planet (very good)”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Lovely, heartwarming, makes readers smile
“all of them are certainly lovely”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “nonetheless made me smile”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Less technical, not purely light reading
“less technical and space themed so maybe not fitting just a fun easy read”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Project Hail Mary – Stellar Navigation Chart”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planetby Becky ChambersThis page | 5 | 1 | 83% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
7 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“nonetheless made me smile”
“all of them are certainly lovely”
“Becky Chambers, the long way to a small angry planet (very good)”
“Becky Chambers is probably the single best young author working in this genre today”
“less technical and space themed so maybe not fitting just a fun easy read”
“there's not that much of an overarching plot”
“Similar to me books: Bobiverse, Long Way To A Small Angry Planet”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.