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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
better than the first one, which is saying something. also makes me feel like such a nerd but it’s so good
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
the ending made me cry I fucking love this series so much
reread June 16 2025:
this book is so beautiful and so very sad. I love you Ann Leckie
reread June 16 2025:
this book is so beautiful and so very sad. I love you Ann Leckie
All those rewievs saying that this book is every bit as good as the first one? They're not lying.
I really, really, REALLY wanted to like this. I thoroughly enjoyed Ancillary Justice. Particularly, I loved its revenge quest plotline and the character development of the two main characters.
This book strips absolutely all of that away.
What we are left with is a bit of a directionless investigation of the injustices that occur under the thumb of an expansionist empire. Who are truly "one of us", and to what does that entitle them to? These are interesting questions, but the way they are written in the book is far from compelling. When the author abandons the main throughlines of the original book in favor of wrestling with ethics, one would expect her to do so via thorny questions that create a true sense of tension in the story. Instead, Leckie poses question to which there are obvious answers—like "is indentured servitude under inhumane conditions good or bad?"
There is some value in those questions being posed, and there are some interesting discussions with/development of minor characters. But the main things that made the first book so compelling are almost entirely absent here. It lacks tension, suspense, or mystery.
But it does contain some hint at a payoff in the finale of the series. I just hope the author doesn't discard it like she did with the narratives of the previous book.
This book strips absolutely all of that away.
What we are left with is a bit of a directionless investigation of the injustices that occur under the thumb of an expansionist empire. Who are truly "one of us", and to what does that entitle them to? These are interesting questions, but the way they are written in the book is far from compelling. When the author abandons the main throughlines of the original book in favor of wrestling with ethics, one would expect her to do so via thorny questions that create a true sense of tension in the story. Instead, Leckie poses question to which there are obvious answers—like "is indentured servitude under inhumane conditions good or bad?"
There is some value in those questions being posed, and there are some interesting discussions with/development of minor characters. But the main things that made the first book so compelling are almost entirely absent here. It lacks tension, suspense, or mystery.
But it does contain some hint at a payoff in the finale of the series. I just hope the author doesn't discard it like she did with the narratives of the previous book.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow, I enjoyed this book even more than the first one. Loved it, in fact. Several reasons for this:
* The plot happens linearly, so it felt a lot smoother, tighter, and easier to follow.
* The single/non-gendered pronoun language was used to even greater effect in this volume, and I love how it played with my expectations. The most interesting bit was the subplot about domestic violence and coerced sex - without other clues to the genders of the victim and perpetrator, I assumed the victim female and the perpetrator to be male. Once it's made clear that a second victim is male...it made it perpetrator's gender seem more uncertain. Not that males can't also be victims, of course. I just like having my assumptions interrogated.
* Another interesting plot about class and racial inequalities, well done and meaningful without seeming particularly preachy.
Can't wait to read the third.
Reread notes: I actually found this harder to follow the second time! Partially because I was super-distracted during the reread, but also I think because there are a ton of different characters and there are so many unspoken interactions/connections/inferences to be made as the plot moves forward. I have to remember what all the relationships are so that I know why things are important. The author makes the reader do a fair amount of work in this regard, which makes the book better, but makes it harder to follow (especially since only a few characters get detailed physical descriptions). Anyway. Looking forward to the third, which I still haven't read! I do have it checked out from the library though....
* The plot happens linearly, so it felt a lot smoother, tighter, and easier to follow.
* The single/non-gendered pronoun language was used to even greater effect in this volume, and I love how it played with my expectations. The most interesting bit was the subplot about domestic violence and coerced sex - without other clues to the genders of the victim and perpetrator, I assumed the victim female and the perpetrator to be male. Once it's made clear that a second victim is male...it made it perpetrator's gender seem more uncertain. Not that males can't also be victims, of course. I just like having my assumptions interrogated.
* Another interesting plot about class and racial inequalities, well done and meaningful without seeming particularly preachy.
Can't wait to read the third.
Reread notes: I actually found this harder to follow the second time! Partially because I was super-distracted during the reread, but also I think because there are a ton of different characters and there are so many unspoken interactions/connections/inferences to be made as the plot moves forward. I have to remember what all the relationships are so that I know why things are important. The author makes the reader do a fair amount of work in this regard, which makes the book better, but makes it harder to follow (especially since only a few characters get detailed physical descriptions). Anyway. Looking forward to the third, which I still haven't read! I do have it checked out from the library though....
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
You know, I wasn't sure how one would handle this trilogy--the setups and checks filled out by Ancillary Justice were huge, and for the most part, they cashed out in that same book. So what does the middle part of a trilogy really lift except all the gravity of the third? Good news--this book isn't really interested in that. This is a very deliberate and very intimate character study of state class warfare, a careful dismantling of colonial ideology, and an espionage tale that uses all of the science fiction stuff we've come to love from Justice in new, fascinating, and deeply sad ways. I would have never guessed that we would take an entire book to go in this direction, but I have also never been more glad for it.
I do think that some of the writing is not as sharp or efficient as in Justice, and Leckie uses some dialogue tags that got very tiresome by the end. This is also a much slower, and geographically confined book than its predecessor, so I don't rate it *quite* as highly even though I do still consider this a very qualified entry in one of the greatest space operas I've ever come across.
I do think that some of the writing is not as sharp or efficient as in Justice, and Leckie uses some dialogue tags that got very tiresome by the end. This is also a much slower, and geographically confined book than its predecessor, so I don't rate it *quite* as highly even though I do still consider this a very qualified entry in one of the greatest space operas I've ever come across.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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