Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch 1)

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Average customer rating 5 (4 comments)

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This book was so much fun to read. "Breq" is on a quest for vengeance--but can't stop herself from trying to save one of her former lieutenants (once she didn't even like!) along the way, which might just get her killed. Not to mention she's throwing herself into a conflict that divides a civilization right at the heart, on a very personal level. I really loved how the ship Justice of Toren's dozens of ancillary bodies allowed her to see from multiple points of view at once. This allowed Leckie to combine the immediacy of a first-person narrative with some of the wider range of third person. The ancillaries' habit of singing together is a delightful detail, and the cruel irony of the lone survivor being the body with a lousy voice was both funny and heartbreaking. Leckie used the device of multiple bodies to question just how unified any person's identity really is (you'll never hear the phrase "of two minds" the same way again), while still maintaining a fun pace with plenty of action and hints of mystery.

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First off, this is a great scifi book, and it does what the best science fiction does: makes you really think about the world we're in now, and our perceptions and prejudices. The language and culture of the main character is not one that differentiates between genders, leading her to refer to everyone by female pronouns as a general rule. I was surprised, delighted, and occasionally shocked how much my perceptions of different characters changed in the story upon having someone else point out that a given character was male. It was a wonderful play on my preconceptions, without getting preachy or pointed. It was a lovely bit of world building, and made the main character's POV appropriately interesting and foreign while still allowing a lot of sympathy from the reader. I can't recommend it enough.

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Easily one of the finest political and sociological science fiction books in recent history, this has one several awards already and deserves them all. If you like classic writers like Ursula k le guin and Iain banks you will surely enjoy!

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This is my favorite sci-fi book I've read this year. I was immediately drawn in by the disaggregated AI of the ship. The protagonist's capabilities are highlighted and you wonder what the protagonist is doing on such an out of the way planet. As the story unfolds and more information is presented, new novel questions are raised. The continues to be stimulate your curiosity without the feeling that it's hiding the ball. If Ms. Leckie's other work is this good, then I'm going to be a big fan of her work.