# A Closed and Common Orbit Author: [[Becky Chambers]] ## Review This story continues on from [[A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet]] by following some of its peripheral characters: Lovelace the AI, Pepper the tech guru, and her companion Blue. The first book in the series introduces the Universe and its societal dynamics. It presents a discussion on tolerance and diversity by amplifying differences in sentient beings, through a comparison of the universe's organic species. Each species followed an evolutionary path on its home planet that gave it unique characteristics. With all discovering space travel, they must learn to understand (and tolerate) each other in order to live harmoniously as a unified (galactic) society. Yet, all these species have organic origins. They evolved 'naturally' from biological organism to sentient being. What happens if a sentient being comes about another way? The most advanced AI technology is indistinguishable from sentient beings but they are not considered equal. This topic was explored in the first book through the story line of a techie who wanted to (illegally) give his AI a body kit. We go deeper into this theme by narrowing our focus on the feelings and thoughts of a sentient AI in a body kit, and her relationships with others. The macro-dynamics of the universe are unimportant to the story allowing it to stand on its own, but having the context of the societal dynamics described in book 1 makes the story much more interesting. The book started out slow for me and I was not enjoying the shift in attention to the inner world of the AI. The story and its themes really came together for me at the end, especially as the two distinct story lines merge. It really does make you wonder what it means to be sentient, and how our purpose, or lack thereof, makes us human/sentient. If you like the universe then this could be worth reading. Some of the themes were interesting but overall it was not a spectacular read. ## Key Ideas ## Related