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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
This book was far more about political movements and intrigue than the personal stories in the Ancillary books. It was still quite good and very well written. Characters are sharp and unique and there's plenty to enjoy. It didn't hit me as powerfully as the other books, but it is still a notch above mass market.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
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
It's a fine story and I enjoyed the worldbuilding/plot. That being said, I believe this is the weakest book set in the Imperial Radch universe. With both the trilogy and Translation State, I thought the books were groundbreaking and profoundly different from other things I had read. This novel was perfectly serviceable, but nothing that will particularly stick with me.
Reads like a YA novel. It's a much better read in that framework and if you disassociate it from the Imperial Radch trilogy/events (though I like how the universe has space for both types of cultures/stories) . Overall enjoyable and fun.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Not the strongest entry in this series. One thread had a conclusion I found unsatisfying.
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I liked the characters of Ingray, Garal and Tic.... but otherwise felt like a slightly too long saga of interplanetary political machinations.
4.5 stars. Almost perfect, just a little je ne sais quoi missing. (Maybe it was ).
Spoiler
there was never a payoff of the constant mentions of the hairpins. Was anyone else expecting that they weren't actually what they seemed? While I don't mind them being a bit of a red herring, I wish there had been some kind of acknowledgement of that!
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An interesting extension of the themes Leckie has been exploring.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Leckie's Radch universe remains quietly one of the most compelling, immense, and well-imagined worlds in all of science fiction for me. Between the thoughtful and deliberate 'humanity' in the Radch series and the endless alienation of other ways of being are absolutely stunning moments of characterization, wonderfully clever and cunning plots, and a truly curated sense of society and culture.
Provenance is no exception, and in fact I might say would be a well-condensed version of a lot of the curiosities and investigations the Ancillary Trilogy makes as a whole, which makes this a more or less perfect counterpart. Following a very flawed, short-sighted, and impulsive character opposite the levelheaded manipulations of Breq is SO interesting in this universe. I loved and savored EVERY moment of this.
And it bears mentioning, Adjoah Andoh is by a longshot my favorite audiobook narrator I've ever come across as someone who, at least lately, chugs audiobooks like water. I love the way she pronounces things, the voices she gives characters, the accents, the level of depth and attention in the performance, all of it is excellent.
Provenance is no exception, and in fact I might say would be a well-condensed version of a lot of the curiosities and investigations the Ancillary Trilogy makes as a whole, which makes this a more or less perfect counterpart. Following a very flawed, short-sighted, and impulsive character opposite the levelheaded manipulations of Breq is SO interesting in this universe. I loved and savored EVERY moment of this.
And it bears mentioning, Adjoah Andoh is by a longshot my favorite audiobook narrator I've ever come across as someone who, at least lately, chugs audiobooks like water. I love the way she pronounces things, the voices she gives characters, the accents, the level of depth and attention in the performance, all of it is excellent.