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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
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.
adventurous
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
I love love love this book. 2018 has just gotten started, but it will be hard pressed to deliver a novel I love more than this.
Set in the same universe as the Leckie's Ancillary Series, but in completely different corner of space, we get to explore more aliens, more human cultures, and see how the events of Ancillary Mercy have unsettled the whole universe. Once again, Leckie twists the concept of gender around and reminds us that gender IS a cultural construct and not something you can take for granted in a culture completely different than our own. If the culture is different, than so is gender. In Hwaean Culture children are given a child name. When they mature, they chose a new name, and the gender they will identify as, which includes a third gender with it's own set of pronouns. This, on its own, it fascinating enough. But unlike other Scifi stories that follow the perspective of someone "like" the reader (usually white and cis) learning about a new, different culture, Provenance follows the story of Ingray, who is a part of this culture. The reader is thrown into her story, and trusted to understand as she comfortably navigates a world entirely unlike their own.
The other massive success of this novel is Ingray herself. While Berq of the Ancillary books was a scifi action hero, Ingray is a different hero in a different story. Hers is a tale of family and politics, a comedy of errors (in space). Ingray is very smart, clever and kind. She is also fairly foolish, makes bad choices, and is on the verge of tears for much of novel. I relate to her kinda hard. She is a flawed protagonist that you can't help but root for the whole time.
Ugh. Just read this book. Please?
Set in the same universe as the Leckie's Ancillary Series, but in completely different corner of space, we get to explore more aliens, more human cultures, and see how the events of Ancillary Mercy have unsettled the whole universe. Once again, Leckie twists the concept of gender around and reminds us that gender IS a cultural construct and not something you can take for granted in a culture completely different than our own. If the culture is different, than so is gender. In Hwaean Culture children are given a child name. When they mature, they chose a new name, and the gender they will identify as, which includes a third gender with it's own set of pronouns. This, on its own, it fascinating enough. But unlike other Scifi stories that follow the perspective of someone "like" the reader (usually white and cis) learning about a new, different culture, Provenance follows the story of Ingray, who is a part of this culture. The reader is thrown into her story, and trusted to understand as she comfortably navigates a world entirely unlike their own.
The other massive success of this novel is Ingray herself. While Berq of the Ancillary books was a scifi action hero, Ingray is a different hero in a different story. Hers is a tale of family and politics, a comedy of errors (in space). Ingray is very smart, clever and kind. She is also fairly foolish, makes bad choices, and is on the verge of tears for much of novel. I relate to her kinda hard. She is a flawed protagonist that you can't help but root for the whole time.
Ugh. Just read this book. Please?
leckie is literally a genius but unfortunately i am not and i spent much of this novel confused… but in a fun and good way! maybe if i re-read i would have a better grasp of things. it feels like she left room for a sequel and i hope we get one someday :)
Not as good as the Ancillary trilogy, but still enjoyable. I suspect I'd probably like it more on a reread.
Reread: Yup, solid 4 stars.
Reread: Yup, solid 4 stars.
It’s been a long time since I read any sci-fi but I’m going to explore other works by this author. I really got into it.
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
Stellar worldbuilding at play - a complex, breathing universe is brought to life without halting the story. Instead, the main characters' thoughts and interactions - rituals, beliefs, hopes and fears - seamlessly define the boundaries of each species' culture. The various alien factions presented in the story and their complex interactions with gender and identity make the world of the Imperial Radch feel fresh and distinct. This was my first Leckie novel, but I can't wait to dive into the rest of the books set in the shared universe!
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ann Leckie is a world-builder, right up there with Ursula LeGuin. And maybe JK Rowling fits in that category as well; where LeGuin builds many worlds in many different universes, Leckie's latest is set in the same universe as the Ancillary series but connected by the thinnest of threads.
I found this more accessible, less dense than Ancillary. That's partly because it's more narrative-driven and only one volume. There are so many things going on below the surface that are native to the culture and so it's left to the reader to ponder the ramifications. Not just the gender stuff (there are at least three genders in Provenance - he, she, and e - but, for example, the idea that things are collected not for their intrinsic value but specifically because of the people who owned or even touched them. We do this too, of course, but not to the same extreme. The process and significance of choosing an heir are remarked on but not fully spelled out - and I'll bet different readers will fill in the blanks very differently.
I found this more accessible, less dense than Ancillary. That's partly because it's more narrative-driven and only one volume. There are so many things going on below the surface that are native to the culture and so it's left to the reader to ponder the ramifications. Not just the gender stuff (there are at least three genders in Provenance - he, she, and e - but, for example, the idea that things are collected not for their intrinsic value but specifically because of the people who owned or even touched them. We do this too, of course, but not to the same extreme. The process and significance of choosing an heir are remarked on but not fully spelled out - and I'll bet different readers will fill in the blanks very differently.