You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
4,5/5 stars, rounded down.
Whereas the first book in the series took a bit to really get the story going and get me invested in the main characters, this one immediately took of. I really enjoyed this second part in the series. It's not as high action as Murderbot Diaries, the series It's often compared to, but boy do I love me some AI rage about protecting its humans from outsiders.
In a way this book is more about exploring the way Breq is settling in as not-human, but somehow more humane than actual humans. I loved how we as readers got a glimpse of Breq translating the actions and feelings of her crew through her implants. I wish there was more interaction between Breq and Ship (Mercy) or (Athoek) Station, especially as it became clear she was trying to subtly satisfy theur desires. Especially because I liked the tiny interactions between Breq and (Omaugh Palace) Station and the animosity of it towards her.
Whereas the first book in the series took a bit to really get the story going and get me invested in the main characters, this one immediately took of. I really enjoyed this second part in the series. It's not as high action as Murderbot Diaries, the series It's often compared to, but boy do I love me some AI rage about protecting its humans from outsiders.
In a way this book is more about exploring the way Breq is settling in as not-human, but somehow more humane than actual humans. I loved how we as readers got a glimpse of Breq translating the actions and feelings of her crew through her implants. I wish there was more interaction between Breq and Ship (Mercy) or (Athoek) Station, especially as it became clear she was trying to subtly satisfy theur desires. Especially because I liked the tiny interactions between Breq and (Omaugh Palace) Station and the animosity of it towards her.
Before getting deep into this story, which quickly resolves some concerns about alliances made at the end of the previous book, I read a couple reviews saying that this books lacked the adventure of the previous and seemed to linger on insignificant characters. While in the end I could see this being problematic and I read the scenes in question while waiting for the shoe to drop, only after the revelations of the last few chapters do I think I was truly able to appreciate the politics and intrigue on display by a chessmaster.
That is to say, I feel like Breq is already three moves ahead of everyone else. She might believe herself to be dispassionate, but when things go very, very wrong, she’s the first to react, not necessarily because she’s ‘already thought of that’ but because she’s used to having the mind of a computer, even if she is only a shadow of what she once was.
The personal, more intricate drama depicted here didn’t bother me. I love Breq as narrator and the world Ann Leckie has crafted, and feel this epic, though relatively narrow, storyline is only a chip of the iceberg. The brief, yet darkly hilarious look at the Presgr, the main adversaries to the expansion of the Radch, was like pulling back the corner of a very large window.
In fact, after having let this book sit, and taken my time with this review, I feel as though the first book is the one which is less urgently concerned with the real shadow plot behind everything, not that I’ve figured it out. This book dealt with a ‘Ghost Gate’, a gate beyond which lay an empty system. Notes about the aliens and machinations between factions in a cold civil war seem more relevant than talk of revenge and the death of one lieutenant, but that is of course how this grand adventure got started. Like the death of Ferdinand, I doubt any of the players knew just how much would be triggered by the event. My dreams are filled with thoughts about Ships driven mad millennia ago, and the fate of one empire at the edge of another.
And once again, at the end, Breq made me cry.
Pages: 394
Year: October 7, 2014
Publisher: Orbit Books
Read: 26 November 2016 to 13 February 2017
Stars: 5 (I loved it)
Pre-Review
I'm wearing gloves and sipping tea all the time now. Where can I buy memorial pins for all my dearly departed fictional characters?
That is to say, I feel like Breq is already three moves ahead of everyone else. She might believe herself to be dispassionate, but when things go very, very wrong, she’s the first to react, not necessarily because she’s ‘already thought of that’ but because she’s used to having the mind of a computer, even if she is only a shadow of what she once was.
The personal, more intricate drama depicted here didn’t bother me. I love Breq as narrator and the world Ann Leckie has crafted, and feel this epic, though relatively narrow, storyline is only a chip of the iceberg. The brief, yet darkly hilarious look at the Presgr, the main adversaries to the expansion of the Radch, was like pulling back the corner of a very large window.
In fact, after having let this book sit, and taken my time with this review, I feel as though the first book is the one which is less urgently concerned with the real shadow plot behind everything, not that I’ve figured it out. This book dealt with a ‘Ghost Gate’, a gate beyond which lay an empty system. Notes about the aliens and machinations between factions in a cold civil war seem more relevant than talk of revenge and the death of one lieutenant, but that is of course how this grand adventure got started. Like the death of Ferdinand, I doubt any of the players knew just how much would be triggered by the event. My dreams are filled with thoughts about Ships driven mad millennia ago, and the fate of one empire at the edge of another.
And once again, at the end, Breq made me cry.
Pages: 394
Year: October 7, 2014
Publisher: Orbit Books
Read: 26 November 2016 to 13 February 2017
Stars: 5 (I loved it)
Pre-Review
I'm wearing gloves and sipping tea all the time now. Where can I buy memorial pins for all my dearly departed fictional characters?
I have to admit that I merely liked Ancillary Justice, but I *loved* this. Brilliant and thoughtful world-building.
I don't feel like I have anything particular to say about this book. It was interesting, a good story, and very enjoyable, but I don't think anything stands out. I continue to enjoy the way Leckie deals with gender perceptions in these books. I also laughed out loud at the description of the origin of the Genitalia Festival, and the associated decorations.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd heard from others that this was a little weak and felt like a bridge from the first to the third, but I still enjoyed it. In the second book, our main character, Breq, an AI who was once a ship with many "ancillary" bodies and now with only one, goes to the star system where the surviving relative of a human she cared about lives, in order to offer her help to the relative. The relative rejects her offer, but in the meantime, Breq gets caught up in politics and intrigue on the space station and planet and positions herself for the chaos she knows will develop as word about the problem with the Lord of the Radch spreads. I agree that this wasn't as good as the first novel, but still found it very satisfying.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
me ha cautivado algo menos que el anterior, cuya gracia era la multicorporalidad y que aquí no tenemos
I think Ann Leckie is a genius. How does one think of these worlds, these plots? Loved Ancillary Sword as much as book 1, and looking forward to book 3. Love her work with gender, with individuality, language, morality - as all relative, and sometimes extremely different or not understandable by outsiders. Love that the main character is some one many even in that strange world would not think of as a person.