The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet opens with an introduction to Rosemary Harper, the newest recruit to the long-haul tunnelling ship The Wayfarer, but Rosemary is running from her past, will she be able to keep her identity from the rest of her crew, and leave her family’s war-mongering legacy behind?

Nope, this book isn’t about Rosemary at all, she’s barely a main character, and when her secret is revealed nobody really cares. Nor is it about the epic wars between fighting galactic species, nor the geo-politics of a new alliance to a secluded but fuel-rich clan.

It’s chiefly about camaraderie and friendship, and accepting peoples’ differences. A little twee, but it is a fun ride and unexpectedly heart-warming. I just wish it stopped trying to position itself as if it were about all those other things at the same time.