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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
i was sort of disappointed by this— after the brilliance of the imperial radch trilogy, i was expected a lot more from leckie! the book was too long for how narrow and minute the focus was, and the characters felt underdeveloped because there were so many of them. however, the concept was super interesting: a society where status (and the conception of the nation itself) is driven by "vestiges" — basically souvenirs with strong connections to important events and places in the nation. i wanted more of this!!
Another fun and interesting narrative in this universe.
This was a hard book to categorise. It’s set sometime after the end of the Ancillary series and stands alone, though it does reference some of the major outcomes from it. Don’t read this before the Ancillary books.
The book itself has a very light tone. It felt like the author was channelling Agetha Christie in places, with a wink and a nod to PG Wodehouse and Jane Austin thrown in. I enjoyed it but found some of it lagged a little.
I look forward to more books set in this universe.
The book itself has a very light tone. It felt like the author was channelling Agetha Christie in places, with a wink and a nod to PG Wodehouse and Jane Austin thrown in. I enjoyed it but found some of it lagged a little.
I look forward to more books set in this universe.
probably the lowest point in the series... nevertheless, I will ALWAYS read anything Ann writes. I love her worlds and characters endlessly.
Another amazing book from Ann Leckie! It opens with a mystery - we don't initially know what the main character, Ingray, is up to - which is a lot of fun. From there it's a solid fun adventure, as Ingray navigates family dynamics, space politics, love, and coming into themselves.
We get to know a bit more about an alien species introduced in the Ancilliary series, the Geck. I thought the book did a good job of allowing us to understand and relate to the Geck while keeping them quite alien. Leckie also introduces a new gender system - the varied gender systems is something I love about her world (because why wouldn't that be the case?).
This book felt a bit younger to me, maybe because the main character is indeed quite a young adult.
As with the other Imperial Radch universe books, it's ultimately an uplifting story that reminds us of ways we can problem solve and show up in relationships when we are at our best, even when the situation we face is beyond our complete understanding. There was only one element that I felt was left hanging: Leckie introduced explixit commentary on serious injustices in the judicial and prison system through one of the characters, but didn't explore this very much. It was crystal clear this character cared about the topic, but we got limited insight as to why or what this system really looked like. It was still interesting to have the topic brought up, but I would have loved to see more.
We get to know a bit more about an alien species introduced in the Ancilliary series, the Geck. I thought the book did a good job of allowing us to understand and relate to the Geck while keeping them quite alien. Leckie also introduces a new gender system - the varied gender systems is something I love about her world (because why wouldn't that be the case?).
This book felt a bit younger to me, maybe because the main character is indeed quite a young adult.
As with the other Imperial Radch universe books, it's ultimately an uplifting story that reminds us of ways we can problem solve and show up in relationships when we are at our best, even when the situation we face is beyond our complete understanding. There was only one element that I felt was left hanging: Leckie introduced explixit commentary on serious injustices in the judicial and prison system through one of the characters, but didn't explore this very much. It was crystal clear this character cared about the topic, but we got limited insight as to why or what this system really looked like. It was still interesting to have the topic brought up, but I would have loved to see more.
Once I started, I just couldn't put it down. Great book!
adventurous
challenging
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
4 stars for the story. 5 stars for the audiobook.
This is an entertaining sci-fi mystery/adventure set in the same universe as Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy. I really enjoyed getting to learn about other societies of the universe, especially as the author continued to explore different approaches to gender. I loved Ingray, the protagonist, as well as many of the supporting characters. Ann Leckie's writing does a good job of balancing humor and a more serious tone when it is called for (I did also appreciate that death and danger were treated as serious, potentially traumatizing things to encounter). However, the thing that really elevates the storytelling, and had me laughing out loud at multiple points, is Adjoa Andoh's narration. Her voice and delivery are perfect for the somewhat dry humor. I don't do a lot of audiobooks, but I'm always happy to listen to one of hers!
This is an entertaining sci-fi mystery/adventure set in the same universe as Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy. I really enjoyed getting to learn about other societies of the universe, especially as the author continued to explore different approaches to gender. I loved Ingray, the protagonist, as well as many of the supporting characters. Ann Leckie's writing does a good job of balancing humor and a more serious tone when it is called for (I did also appreciate that death and danger were treated as serious, potentially traumatizing things to encounter). However, the thing that really elevates the storytelling, and had me laughing out loud at multiple points, is Adjoa Andoh's narration. Her voice and delivery are perfect for the somewhat dry humor. I don't do a lot of audiobooks, but I'm always happy to listen to one of hers!
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Leckie seems to be a diminishing returns author for me at the moment. I gave 5 stars to the first book in her Imperial Radch trilogy - I loved what she did with gender and the cultural details of Radch society fascinated me. Four stars for the next book (not exactly sure why, since I didn't write a review) and 3 stars for the last book - my notes say something about a relatively weak plot. This stand-alone book in the same universe (but not the same world) also suffers from a relatively weak plot - or at least one that didn't sustain me beyond the first 200-ish pages. The characters were like-wise not particularly compelling. On the other hand, I think she took her gender treatment in even more interesting directions. If this book were shorter I'd give it a solid three stars.