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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
The charm of this book for me was Ingray, the protagonist. I was charmed by her, interested in her, and certainly rooting for her.
As a whole, the book has something of an English cozy mystery about it, which is quite fun, though it does sometimes clash with the other three or four genres it touches on, leading to pacing issues.
Certain parts bring with them the sense of complete immersion somewhere very different than the Ancillary trilogy (honorable mention to the time on the SPOILER Geck ship and the exploration of Hwaean ruins), but in other parts things felt a little too prosaic even for Leckie's wonderful blend of the everyday and the unfamiliar.
Overall, a good, fun read and extension of the universe.
Edit ‘22: Listening to Adjoa Andoh read this made me appreciate it considerably more! Still only four or so stars, though.
As a whole, the book has something of an English cozy mystery about it, which is quite fun, though it does sometimes clash with the other three or four genres it touches on, leading to pacing issues.
Certain parts bring with them the sense of complete immersion somewhere very different than the Ancillary trilogy (honorable mention to the time on the SPOILER Geck ship and the exploration of Hwaean ruins), but in other parts things felt a little too prosaic even for Leckie's wonderful blend of the everyday and the unfamiliar.
Overall, a good, fun read and extension of the universe.
Edit ‘22: Listening to Adjoa Andoh read this made me appreciate it considerably more! Still only four or so stars, though.
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.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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:
No
adventurous
hopeful
medium-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
It is not as strong as the Ancillary series, but it is still an excellent read; lots of twists and turns and a loveable main character.
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
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 was surprised by this one.
It's a breezy, not very challenging read, which is helped if you've been introduced to Anne Leckie's "Imperial Radch" world through her previous books. Even the new world building stuff just sails by in her typical fashion; it's there, it's surprisingly broad, but it doesn't bog the book down. The protagonist is interesting, even loveable, and her motivations and actions are always relatable. She's ambitious and clever but gets herself in over her head a lot.
The book is thematically completely about family dynamics, inheritance, loyalty; the main plot, the protagonist's motivations, and all of the supporting characters' stuff all relate. And I really connected with it, really, Leckie keeps it light, grounded, and impactful at the same time.
Characters were all well-written and built up over the course of the book. Great amount of distinctive, interesting personalities playing off of each other here, in addition to the point of view protagonist herself, and we learn about their personalities as she learns about them in a seamless, skillfully written way.
It wasn't deep. It's certainly not that sort of science fiction; I'm not entirely sure if her trilogy is, either, but it at least manages to touch on it a bit. There wasn't any great mystery to it, not much to learn about the human condition. If anything it was a relaxing or cozy read. Not to say there wasn't tension and intrigue, but it'd be a boring read without those.
This unexpectedly turned out to be my favorite of Leckie's novels so far. I thought the singular narrative focus on Ingray worked well, the supporting cast were all solid, the plot was simple but fun, and the single narrative theme kept the book focused.
I liked this a good deal more than I did Translation State, and probably more than any of the individual Ancillary trilogy books, but I'm guessing the latter will be a minority opinion.
It's a breezy, not very challenging read, which is helped if you've been introduced to Anne Leckie's "Imperial Radch" world through her previous books. Even the new world building stuff just sails by in her typical fashion; it's there, it's surprisingly broad, but it doesn't bog the book down. The protagonist is interesting, even loveable, and her motivations and actions are always relatable. She's ambitious and clever but gets herself in over her head a lot.
The book is thematically completely about family dynamics, inheritance, loyalty; the main plot, the protagonist's motivations, and all of the supporting characters' stuff all relate. And I really connected with it, really, Leckie keeps it light, grounded, and impactful at the same time.
Characters were all well-written and built up over the course of the book. Great amount of distinctive, interesting personalities playing off of each other here, in addition to the point of view protagonist herself, and we learn about their personalities as she learns about them in a seamless, skillfully written way.
It wasn't deep. It's certainly not that sort of science fiction; I'm not entirely sure if her trilogy is, either, but it at least manages to touch on it a bit. There wasn't any great mystery to it, not much to learn about the human condition. If anything it was a relaxing or cozy read. Not to say there wasn't tension and intrigue, but it'd be a boring read without those.
This unexpectedly turned out to be my favorite of Leckie's novels so far. I thought the singular narrative focus on Ingray worked well, the supporting cast were all solid, the plot was simple but fun, and the single narrative theme kept the book focused.
I liked this a good deal more than I did Translation State, and probably more than any of the individual Ancillary trilogy books, but I'm guessing the latter will be a minority opinion.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was good, and I’m completely in for Ann Leckie writing more in the Imperial Radch universe, but I think it’s really hard to follow a character like Breq. Ingray is fine, but she was never as interesting or compelling as Breq and Seivarden. Leckie’s world-building is masterful as always, and I loved learning about the Geck, but Hwae just didn’t suck me in the way the Radch did. I’m kind of glad the “follow up” book is done, and I’m excited to see where Leckie goes from here.