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yourbookishbff's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved every moment of this conclusion to the Imperial Radch trilogy. Where the second book focused primarily on the political and cultural implications of colonialism, and, generally, felt more externally focused, this was deeply personal and intimate. After an entire book where Breq seemingly couldn't lose, she finally reaches the limits of her physical, mental and emotional abilities, and has to face difficult truths about herself, Ship, Seivarden, and her crew as a whole. I was levelled by the emotional conversations between Breq, Ship and Seivarden in particular.
I also felt like the pacing in this installment worked really well, making it a quick and compelling read. We pick up right where we left off at the end of book two, with significant action and emotional revelation before 50% and an extended resolution to the conflict that felt exactly right for the series and our characters.
And the Presger translator! The levity the Presger bring is excellent, and I was laughing out loud every time the translator entered the conversation.
Ultimately, this conclusion brought all the sentient ship moments I love - the developing self-awareness, the deep and unwavering loyalty, the stubborn insistence on respect, the passive aggressive rebuffs, the new emotional revelations. God I loved this.
"...And maybe it isn't that ships don't love other ships, it's that ships love people who could be Captains."
I also felt like the pacing in this installment worked really well, making it a quick and compelling read. We pick up right where we left off at the end of book two, with significant action and emotional revelation before 50% and an extended resolution to the conflict that felt exactly right for the series and our characters.
And the Presger translator! The levity the Presger bring is excellent, and I was laughing out loud every time the translator entered the conversation.
Ultimately, this conclusion brought all the sentient ship moments I love - the developing self-awareness, the deep and unwavering loyalty, the stubborn insistence on respect, the passive aggressive rebuffs, the new emotional revelations. God I loved this.
"...And maybe it isn't that ships don't love other ships, it's that ships love people who could be Captains."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Vomit, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gun violence, War, and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual content
violerwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.0
I wish this book was a better ending to a series I love. Unfortunately, I felt the dialogue was odd and stripped away a good deal of the interesting characterization of Breq, Sieverdan, Tsirawet, and Mercy of Kalr. Leckie isn’t as deft at handling characters confronting their emotions rather than avoiding them, and it especially shows when they openly discuss their relationships. Not to mention, the focus on neatly wrapping up a lot of big picture plotlines leaves this story without a lot of time to develop the complexity and nuances I love in the first two books. The new characters these plotlines introduce take a lot of pages away from the relationships, characters, and themes that the first two books spend so much time establishing. I’d have much preferred some open-ended lingering questions about the Ghost Gate and the Presger, but the book seems more concerned with tying up loose ends than telling an impactful story. I’m still excited to read Leckie’s other books, and hope they can capture the magic of Ancillary Justice and Ancillary Sword.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, War, Medical content, Body horror, Addiction, Blood, and Cursing
Moderate: Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Death
booksthatburn's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ANCILLARY MERCY is an excellent conclusion to the Imperial Radch trilogy, with Breq solving a series of issues and helping out other people, but not framing her as some big damn hero able to fix every problem in the empire. She can't and she's not trying to do so. She can't fix the way that Anaander Mianaai is it war with herself, or the way that Breq doesn't know which Anaander Mianaai has which goal. This was an immensely satisfying ending, building on many things from the first two books, especially ANCILLARY SWORD, as this relates to Athoek Station pretty directly even though the previous book ended with them leaving the station.
ANCILLARY MERCY wraps up many details which were left hanging, almost everything I consciously noticed as being unresolved by the end of ANCILLARY SWORD gets handled in some way by ANCILLARY MERCY. There's an almost new story related to the Presger Empire, bringing in one of the most refreshing and delightful characters I've read in a long while. The translator is in a category all her own, and I would not expect any other of my favorite characters to compete with her. I found myself deeply relating to a lot of the ways that she expresses identity, especially for myself as a nonbinary trans person. There's a moment where someone asks whether she did a particular thing as a child and she replies something to the effect that she's never been a child, yes this body was a child at one point, but she wasn't the one in it at the time. I really like much of how she (and Breq) discuss identity. The Presger seemed to have something rather more suddenly shaped by names than any kind of directly human analog could encompass under most circumstances, but it reminds me of other transgender people I know for whom choosing a new name allowed them to embrace a new self in a way that hasn't been part of my own transition. I also like Breq's change in understanding about Ship, and the implications this has for all the various beings that the Radch constructed and consider to be tools.
This would not be a good place for a new reader to start, as it's the conclusion of a trilogy, but much of the story could make sense to someone who persisted in doing so. It's excellent from start to finish, though it greatly benefits from the context and characterization of the first two books in order to let the reader fully appreciate the more unusual ways that they get into conversations of identity.
The whole trilogy is great and I'm very happy with ANCILLARY MERCY as the conclusion.
ANCILLARY MERCY wraps up many details which were left hanging, almost everything I consciously noticed as being unresolved by the end of ANCILLARY SWORD gets handled in some way by ANCILLARY MERCY. There's an almost new story related to the Presger Empire, bringing in one of the most refreshing and delightful characters I've read in a long while. The translator is in a category all her own, and I would not expect any other of my favorite characters to compete with her. I found myself deeply relating to a lot of the ways that she expresses identity, especially for myself as a nonbinary trans person. There's a moment where someone asks whether she did a particular thing as a child and she replies something to the effect that she's never been a child, yes this body was a child at one point, but she wasn't the one in it at the time. I really like much of how she (and Breq) discuss identity. The Presger seemed to have something rather more suddenly shaped by names than any kind of directly human analog could encompass under most circumstances, but it reminds me of other transgender people I know for whom choosing a new name allowed them to embrace a new self in a way that hasn't been part of my own transition. I also like Breq's change in understanding about Ship, and the implications this has for all the various beings that the Radch constructed and consider to be tools.
This would not be a good place for a new reader to start, as it's the conclusion of a trilogy, but much of the story could make sense to someone who persisted in doing so. It's excellent from start to finish, though it greatly benefits from the context and characterization of the first two books in order to let the reader fully appreciate the more unusual ways that they get into conversations of identity.
The whole trilogy is great and I'm very happy with ANCILLARY MERCY as the conclusion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Police brutality, Death, Grief, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, and War
Minor: Murder and Gun violence
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
I loveeeee how this wrapped up!! Ann Leckie's writing definitely does it for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Genocide, and Gun violence
Moderate: Blood, Addiction, and Violence
Minor: Vomit, Trafficking, and Sexual content
hanz's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, War, Death, Gun violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Addiction and Blood
queenie_ofthe_void's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-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
3.75
I liked Mercy almost as much as Justice! The second book, Sword, was a little slow for me. I think that's mostly because Seivarden was my favorite character, and she took a backseat in the second book. But here she gets more time on the page, and her relationship with Breq develops. Their dynamic is what hooked me in the first place, so I was happy to see them finally interacting again and really digging into their emotions towards each other. Leckie did a great job bringing the trilogy to a close! I was on edge right up until the end. The twists and turns were great, and there was always *just* enough information to keep me guessing on what was coming next. Her writing style is still a challenge for me, but her characters are always worth it. Definitely recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and War
mar's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? Yes
5.0
[holds gently]
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Addiction, Body horror, and Sexual content
madamenovelist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
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