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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Really quite good; better even than Ancillary #2 and #3, imo. It's a fun, actiony thriller.
adventurous
lighthearted
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:
No
If there's such a thing as "cosy" science fiction, this is it. What makes it is its heroine, the (not quite) indomitable Ingray, who is the most normal and nice character I've encountered for such a long time. She's so not a Mary Sue, yet she's determined and intelligent and brave. How can you not like a character who has to hitch up her skirts in order to get into a space suit that she's too round to fit into comfortably, and is always worried because her hair pins are falling out?
The author does not make any allowances for her readers, and sometimes the very much "show not tell" narrative provokes a lot of confusion. I spent the first few chapters kind of letting it flow without trying to figure things out. It really gets going once someone gets murdered, however, and you do eventually sort out who's who and what's going on. You don't need to have read the Radch trilogy, but it certainly helps, as you will have a deeper appreciation for some throw-away references to gloves and tea and various alien races and an AI rebellion. I found the gender fluidity here more convincing than the "she only" POV of the trilogy, and liked the gender neutral pronouns - e em eir and so on - and the way characters switch between them and more fixed gender indentifiers. Also any race whose cultural currency is effectively souvenirs is fine with me. There's a really gentle humour to a lot of it: a comedy of manners of aliens. Good stuff.
The author does not make any allowances for her readers, and sometimes the very much "show not tell" narrative provokes a lot of confusion. I spent the first few chapters kind of letting it flow without trying to figure things out. It really gets going once someone gets murdered, however, and you do eventually sort out who's who and what's going on. You don't need to have read the Radch trilogy, but it certainly helps, as you will have a deeper appreciation for some throw-away references to gloves and tea and various alien races and an AI rebellion. I found the gender fluidity here more convincing than the "she only" POV of the trilogy, and liked the gender neutral pronouns - e em eir and so on - and the way characters switch between them and more fixed gender indentifiers. Also any race whose cultural currency is effectively souvenirs is fine with me. There's a really gentle humour to a lot of it: a comedy of manners of aliens. Good stuff.
Set outside the Imperial Radch but in the same universe, this book has a lot of what I liked about Leckie's trilogy. Gender blurring, complicated human relationships, complicated cultural norms colliding, aliens, and murrrder. It was a bit lighter/humorous, and easier to follow, which I also enjoyed. I really liked that the main character is/sees themselves as kind of a loser at the beginning and then redeems themselves at the end. More in this universe please!
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death
Moderate: Child abuse
I think I would have preferred this as an actual book. It was too much for me to keep track of as an audiobook.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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:
Complicated
This book was so ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Provenance is set in the same world as the Ancillary series, but details a different sector of space filled with new cultures of humans and aliens. And it's really good! It avoids the comparisons which so harshly drag on the second and third installments of the Ancillary series, explores a world which Ann Leckie clearly loves, and tells a story with engaging characters, compelling drama, strong pacing, and a few twists and turns to keep your interest piqued.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
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