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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Overall the story was did not have the quality and interest of the original trilogy. Main character was too emotional and quick to tears. The reliance on emotional outbursts quickly becomes tedious especially when compared to the original protagonist in the prior books. Story elements involving political environment initially held my interest. These elements run out of steam in the final third of the story and I totally lost interest.
Really disappointed with the main protagonist's behavior after the strong wile leadership exhibited in the trilogy. Hard to recommend for fans of the trilogy or anyone looking for strong female depictions. It's feast or famine with depictions of females in storytelling. Portrayals are divided between s*x objects or carrying too much emotional baggage.
Really disappointed with the main protagonist's behavior after the strong wile leadership exhibited in the trilogy. Hard to recommend for fans of the trilogy or anyone looking for strong female depictions. It's feast or famine with depictions of females in storytelling. Portrayals are divided between s*x objects or carrying too much emotional baggage.
How this didn't win the Hugo, I'll never know. (Or at least I won't until I read The Obelisk Gate and perhaps not even then. I'm on the waiting list, but I just don't see how anything could top this book.)
This is a well-written, flawlessly executed book with three-dimensional completely non-stereotyped characters. It's in the same universe as the Ancillary books, but in a different culture and region. Both are, however, just as original and well-thought-out as the Ancillary books. It might be a better place to start on Leckie than those, because the main characters are all true humans.
Just a stunning book.
This is a well-written, flawlessly executed book with three-dimensional completely non-stereotyped characters. It's in the same universe as the Ancillary books, but in a different culture and region. Both are, however, just as original and well-thought-out as the Ancillary books. It might be a better place to start on Leckie than those, because the main characters are all true humans.
Just a stunning book.
A light, quick read. Leckie is so good at inventing weird aliens! I didn't like Ingray anywhere near as well as Breq, but I mean... Breq is a badass! This book maintained that "Sense and Sensibility and Spaceships" feel present in the Ancillary series. It wasn't as hard-hitting, but that's OK! I liked already knowing something about this universe - it made the learning curve a bit less steep. And I had a few giggles, especially when the Radchaai ambassador didn't know which pronoun to use. It was almost like Leckie was apologizing for making her treatment of gender so disorienting in the Ancillary series.
I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as I did the previous trilogy, but I think a lot of that has to do with the tone and voice of protagonist. She did grow on me, but I just loved Justice of Torren's voice SO MUCH, that it was difficult to sink into this narrative as easily as the others.
There's also a lot of neopronouns, which I still struggle with, and it made the reading kind of clunky for me. That's just something I personally have to work on, so mileage may vary.
There's also a lot of neopronouns, which I still struggle with, and it made the reading kind of clunky for me. That's just something I personally have to work on, so mileage may vary.
It was fun but didn’t work as well as the Ancillary Justice series for me. Ingray was both too smart and not smart enough, which made the suspension of disbelief a little hard at times. The pronoun conventions in this one were more complicated and hard to understand, and didn’t end up being as thought provoking as those of the original series. Also, not enough Raadchai for me!
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:
No
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
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
Ann Leckie can do no wrong, and I will live in the Imperial Radch world as long as she graciously allows me to.
This book takes us far from the places we've already been, to backwater planet Hwae. Ingray is an adopted daughter of a noble house, trying to stage a secret prison break for reasons of political advantage. It all goes wrong pretty much immediately, and things just continue to escalate.
There's family drama, murder, political maneuver, strange alien peoples, near-death situations, etc. Basically, what you would expect.
I really liked Ingray as a main character. I liked how she was genuinely bad at certain things (that prison break... GIRL) but also very competent in ways that even she didn't really appreciate. I liked how she was brave, loyal, and stubborn, but reacted to dangerous situations by almost always crying. I liked the twisted family relationships that she struggled with, and how she seemed to easily make allies and friends out of people. I liked how she genuinely needed to be saved, but also saved others through her own courage and ingenuity.
Overall, I adored this, which I'm sure surprises nobody.
This book takes us far from the places we've already been, to backwater planet Hwae. Ingray is an adopted daughter of a noble house, trying to stage a secret prison break for reasons of political advantage. It all goes wrong pretty much immediately, and things just continue to escalate.
There's family drama, murder, political maneuver, strange alien peoples, near-death situations, etc. Basically, what you would expect.
I really liked Ingray as a main character. I liked how she was genuinely bad at certain things (that prison break... GIRL) but also very competent in ways that even she didn't really appreciate. I liked how she was brave, loyal, and stubborn, but reacted to dangerous situations by almost always crying. I liked the twisted family relationships that she struggled with, and how she seemed to easily make allies and friends out of people. I liked how she genuinely needed to be saved, but also saved others through her own courage and ingenuity.
Overall, I adored this, which I'm sure surprises nobody.
Again, why did I hold off reading this book for so long?
I've loved everything I've read by Ann Leckie and this book was no different. Provenance expands the universe that was crafted throughout the main trilogy by focusing on other human civilizations that were referenced before. This book takes place shortly after the conclusion of Breq's storyline in the main trilogy.
This book focuses on Ingray, an adopted child of a powerful political family who is trying to figure out where she fits in the society in which she was raised. She abducts/buys/kidnaps/saves a person she believes to be a child of a rival family who was sent to Compassionate Removal - essentially a societal death sentence without an actual killing- in order to either upend the power structure of her family or the other. What follows is an enjoyable ride that makes you question what you've been told to believe in your own life. What makes something historically important? When does the authenticity stop mattering for vestiges and the meaning behind them take precedence?
These are all questions asked by the novel and this is only the beginning. And those questions may seem weird or minor to you without reading the book but trust me, it makes sense. And we also get a look at the Geck (yay!) as well as spending some time with an annoyed Radchaii Ambassador who moans about subpar tea among other things.
This book, like everything I've read by Ann Leckie, has characters of all genders loving sentients of all genders and sometimes other species.
I've loved everything I've read by Ann Leckie and this book was no different. Provenance expands the universe that was crafted throughout the main trilogy by focusing on other human civilizations that were referenced before. This book takes place shortly after the conclusion of Breq's storyline in the main trilogy.
This book focuses on Ingray, an adopted child of a powerful political family who is trying to figure out where she fits in the society in which she was raised. She abducts/buys/kidnaps/saves a person she believes to be a child of a rival family who was sent to Compassionate Removal - essentially a societal death sentence without an actual killing- in order to either upend the power structure of her family or the other. What follows is an enjoyable ride that makes you question what you've been told to believe in your own life. What makes something historically important? When does the authenticity stop mattering for vestiges and the meaning behind them take precedence?
These are all questions asked by the novel and this is only the beginning. And those questions may seem weird or minor to you without reading the book but trust me, it makes sense. And we also get a look at the Geck (yay!) as well as spending some time with an annoyed Radchaii Ambassador who moans about subpar tea among other things.
This book, like everything I've read by Ann Leckie, has characters of all genders loving sentients of all genders and sometimes other species.
Not as complex or unique as the Radch trilogy, but still entertaining. I didn't enjoy the focus on family politics. I did like Ingray, who wasn't a stereotypical protagonist.