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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Ann Leckie once again proves her skill of writing fantastic characters and stories. Though it doesn't stand out to me as much as the first three in the Ancillary Justice series, I really enjoyed it. A solid space-based adventure.
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If this is the first Ann Leckie book you’re reading, read another one first. While the expansion of the universe is cool, I found the main character unendearing and the ending rather unsatisfying, even predictable.
adventurous
emotional
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
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love the world. I love the funny characters. But I unfortunately couldn’t relate to Ingray, didn’t feel like a very plot-ty book.
A little too slow paced for me and didn't hold my attention. I may try again later. Stopped reading at chapter4.
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found it very endearing and hard to put down, even if it seemed “slight” compared to the Ancillary books. I enjoy how the author doesn’t over explain things and leaves you to figure out some things for yourself. But those shoes…she never confirmed…but they have to have been…
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I was very lukewarm on Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series (which is set in the same universe as this one), but Provenance was far, far more up my alley: it felt less gimmicky, more plot-focused, and anchored by familial conflict and heists and con jobs (all of which I love!). It's been variously described as a cozy mystery or comedy of manners, which fits the bill imo.
It centers on Ingray Aughskold, a young woman who's gambled everything in an attempt to impress her distant and aloof mother; her one risky venture drains her life savings and lands her squarely in the middle of interplanetary politics & human-alien diplomacy, as she breaks a thief out of prison, accidentally stirs up a hornet's nest, and gets confronted with more trouble than she bargained for. Ingray's a great lead character: prone to bursting into tears when overwhelmed, not a tough badass, but still quick-thinking and competent when the chips are down.
There's so much interesting worldbuilding here, too, which actually interested me more than the Radchaai did in the other series (in fact, the most I enjoyed the Radchaai was actually the one ambassador we meet in this one, and seeing how she struggles with pronouns in other languages). The gender issues also felt less stilted, in what feels like a more natural engagement of trans & non-binary issues: the Hwae society recognises male, female, and neuter genders, any of which is freely chosen upon reaching adulthood (and I feel like the character of Taucris was even more non-binary, with her reluctance to choose a gender at all).
As evidenced by the title: names, inheritance, identity, and provenance are the backbone of the novel, plus how history can be rewritten after the fact. Family dynamics are an important source of conflict & anxiety throughout, including the question of: what does the previous generation owe to the next? (In the eyes of the Geck: nothing, and may you be eaten by your own mother; in the eyes of the Omkem, everything.)
Tying into this sense of history & identity, the Hwae also have a reverence of tourism and knick-knacks (known as "vestiges"), like museum culture taken to its extreme. It reminded me of Terry Pratchett's [b:The Fifth Elephant|63720|The Fifth Elephant (Discworld, #24; City Watch, #5)|Terry Pratchett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327961702s/63720.jpg|819126], which is a reference you'll understand if you've read both books -- it's about the importance of the thing, and the whole of the thing.
Leckie's various societies also have such rich cultural & language differences; rather than just being humans in different clothes, you get a sense of the Hwae and Omkem and Tyr genuinely struggling to understand each others' motives and behaviour due to the differences in their cultures. (And then the Geck, as aliens, are even more removed from humanity -- the Geck ambassador was my very favourite character, so convincingly alien yet sympathetic, struggling to understand us.)
The book isn't perfect, hence 4 stars: Leckie's not great at describing characters, so I have no clear mental image at all of Ingray, Taucris, Garal, Tic, or Danach, besides the broad strokes (Ingray = short and stocky; Garal = tall and lean). And there are some very predictable plot beats along the way, but the political machinations kept me on my toes, and I found myself unable to put the book down.
So it's a fun romp featuring a theft and a murder against some grand political drama, with some great family feels along the way; I was especially invested in Ingray and Danach's rivalry, because I love tangled siblings pitted against each other. In general, it pairs very well with C.J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union novels (particularly the one I will keep singing the praises of until I die, [b:Merchanter's Luck|57100|Merchanter's Luck (The Company Wars, #2)|C.J. Cherryh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328037793s/57100.jpg|55628]), or perhaps Elizabeth Moon's [b:Trading in Danger|284658|Trading in Danger (Vatta's War, #1)|Elizabeth Moon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386920967s/284658.jpg|1074077] (in terms of a young, plucky female protagonist grappling with some large familial shoes to fill, and trying to make her fortune, and it going terribly awry).
It centers on Ingray Aughskold, a young woman who's gambled everything in an attempt to impress her distant and aloof mother; her one risky venture drains her life savings and lands her squarely in the middle of interplanetary politics & human-alien diplomacy, as she breaks a thief out of prison, accidentally stirs up a hornet's nest, and gets confronted with more trouble than she bargained for. Ingray's a great lead character: prone to bursting into tears when overwhelmed, not a tough badass, but still quick-thinking and competent when the chips are down.
There's so much interesting worldbuilding here, too, which actually interested me more than the Radchaai did in the other series (in fact, the most I enjoyed the Radchaai was actually the one ambassador we meet in this one, and seeing how she struggles with pronouns in other languages). The gender issues also felt less stilted, in what feels like a more natural engagement of trans & non-binary issues: the Hwae society recognises male, female, and neuter genders, any of which is freely chosen upon reaching adulthood (and I feel like the character of Taucris was even more non-binary, with her reluctance to choose a gender at all).
As evidenced by the title: names, inheritance, identity, and provenance are the backbone of the novel, plus how history can be rewritten after the fact. Family dynamics are an important source of conflict & anxiety throughout, including the question of: what does the previous generation owe to the next? (In the eyes of the Geck: nothing, and may you be eaten by your own mother; in the eyes of the Omkem, everything.)
Tying into this sense of history & identity, the Hwae also have a reverence of tourism and knick-knacks (known as "vestiges"), like museum culture taken to its extreme. It reminded me of Terry Pratchett's [b:The Fifth Elephant|63720|The Fifth Elephant (Discworld, #24; City Watch, #5)|Terry Pratchett|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327961702s/63720.jpg|819126], which is a reference you'll understand if you've read both books -- it's about the importance of the thing, and the whole of the thing.
Leckie's various societies also have such rich cultural & language differences; rather than just being humans in different clothes, you get a sense of the Hwae and Omkem and Tyr genuinely struggling to understand each others' motives and behaviour due to the differences in their cultures. (And then the Geck, as aliens, are even more removed from humanity -- the Geck ambassador was my very favourite character, so convincingly alien yet sympathetic, struggling to understand us.)
The book isn't perfect, hence 4 stars: Leckie's not great at describing characters, so I have no clear mental image at all of Ingray, Taucris, Garal, Tic, or Danach, besides the broad strokes (Ingray = short and stocky; Garal = tall and lean). And there are some very predictable plot beats along the way, but the political machinations kept me on my toes, and I found myself unable to put the book down.
So it's a fun romp featuring a theft and a murder against some grand political drama, with some great family feels along the way; I was especially invested in Ingray and Danach's rivalry, because I love tangled siblings pitted against each other. In general, it pairs very well with C.J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union novels (particularly the one I will keep singing the praises of until I die, [b:Merchanter's Luck|57100|Merchanter's Luck (The Company Wars, #2)|C.J. Cherryh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328037793s/57100.jpg|55628]), or perhaps Elizabeth Moon's [b:Trading in Danger|284658|Trading in Danger (Vatta's War, #1)|Elizabeth Moon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386920967s/284658.jpg|1074077] (in terms of a young, plucky female protagonist grappling with some large familial shoes to fill, and trying to make her fortune, and it going terribly awry).
adventurous
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