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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
Hard to review after Ancillary Justice. The writing and the world building are still top notch, but the story is much more straight forward and to put it bluntly smaller. The story in Ancillary Sword is much like the story told in the flashbacks in Ancillary Justice minus the shocking reveals greater sweeping saga regarding the fate of the Empire. Ann Leckie is still a brilliant writer and I will absolutely read the next book in the series (assuming there is one) but I am wondering where this is going and why any of the story in this book is significant.
The best part is the intricate view into a society of colonizers. Ann Leckie pulls no punches when revealing the flaws from Breq's point of view. Flaws that are hard to see unless you are an outsider. Even Breq who often points out she isn't really Radch is often blind to the ironies of the society the promises to 'civilize' at the point of a gun.
The best part is the intricate view into a society of colonizers. Ann Leckie pulls no punches when revealing the flaws from Breq's point of view. Flaws that are hard to see unless you are an outsider. Even Breq who often points out she isn't really Radch is often blind to the ironies of the society the promises to 'civilize' at the point of a gun.
This series has some great themes, even if they are a bit dark.
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:
No
Everyone I know loved the first book in this series, but it left me cold. I really liked the one, though. Maybe because I was already familiar with the world it was more accessible, but I liked the cultural details and all the relationships n this book, and how unique the universe is.
While I liked the first book in this series quite a bit, the second has a very different feel to it. Rather than discovering the expansiveness of the universe's system and a rich scifi history of Breq, we get a much more narrowly focused book on a planet with lots of inequities, and how Breq solves those issues, or not. While these issues tie back to the universe, their importance to the universe at large are either 1: not focused on in much detail (e.g., the gate), or 2. Do focus on details, but the details aren't that important at the universe scale.
I found most of the characterizations in the first book to be just serviceable, except I liked Breq. Here she seems to conveniently solve most problems just by being blunt in her delivery and actions in nearly everything, rather than the typical backstabbing you with a pleasant face tactic that seems the norm in this universe.
For some reason I also found the dialogue much harder to follow, of how they got from this point of the conversation to another.
I found most of the characterizations in the first book to be just serviceable, except I liked Breq. Here she seems to conveniently solve most problems just by being blunt in her delivery and actions in nearly everything, rather than the typical backstabbing you with a pleasant face tactic that seems the norm in this universe.
For some reason I also found the dialogue much harder to follow, of how they got from this point of the conversation to another.
A fantastic follow up to Ancillary Justice. Unexpectedly more intimate, rather than sprawling out the way you might have thought after the events of book 1. So excited to see where the final book of the series goes.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
Ann Leckie continues to build the expansive world of the Radch empire in this book. I loved getting to know Breq's crew and the Mercy of Kalr. The Athoek station was so richly developed, I loved the Undergarden and the people there. More tense mysteries and political moves in this book as Breq tries to figure out who she can trust on the station and the planet of Athoek. Excited to see the consequences of the events in Ancillary Sword play out in Ancillary Mercy.
A great sequel to an excellent book. The scale does get localized, however, in the plot becomes even more of a template for arguing philosophical ideas. Not quite as subtle as the first book, but a worthy successor.