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booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ANCILLARY SWORD follows Breq to the station where the sister of the lieutenant she murdered lives. The lieutenant served her when she was a ship, but now Breq has only one body. Knowing that the lieutenant's sister would not welcome her, she nevertheless makes an offer intended to provide material support and to assuage whatever level of guilt she quite understandably feels, even after all this time. As a sequel, this means that the stated point of the book (at the outset) is to wrap up this obligation which was left hanging from ANCILLARY JUSTICE. Once Breq arrives on the station, a new storyline unfolds relating to abuse of some of the colonized people. She pursues and obtains a small but very important piece of justice. Along the way the narrative spends a lot of time showing the way that the Radch Empire's ideals of fairness and justice can still allow for quite a bit of unfairness and injustice when people play fast and loose with precisely whom is a real citizen, and therefore whom is due basic protections and rights.
I love the way this series approaches identity, holding space for individuality and autonomy even though Breq is the last body of a collective identity which cycled through hundreds or thousands of bodies over her long existence. It seems as though this is part of why she cares about individual's rights to their own bodies so much, she had a duty of care and a sense of well-being tied up in her many bodies when she had them. In her strange existence as the last of her own ancillaries she is turning that care outward even more than when she just had charge of her ancillaries and crew.
Very importantly for the middle book of a trilogy, this has a complete storyline that could stand alone and be very comprehensible to someone who hadn't read the first book. Enough is explained about how the ancillaries work that even though Breq's backstory was told in the ANCILLARY JUSTICE, there's enough here for ANICLLARY SWORD to make sense without those specifics. Because of the way key details are explained towards the end of the book, to a new reader this could easily feel like the solution to a mystery, just as it does to most of the people around Breq.
The worldbuilding once again is complex and robust, but it's focused on people in a way that feels very accessible. I prefer soft sci-fi, and while I don't know if this technically counts, I do know that I've made it through two books so far without being forced to learn the technobabble for how the space travel gates work, so I'm happy with it.
I have some guesses as to what the third book could focus on, the only thing I know for sure is that breck leaves the station in the end, something I don't consider to really be a spoiler as her one constant is travel. Wherever she goes now and what happens because of the people she got to know in ancillary sword the third book is likely to deal with the Emperor's crisis of identity that is brewing in the background (and occasionally the foreground) of this book
I want to know how the Emperor's identity crisis will resolve (or not), really I want to know what Breq will do next.
I love the way this series approaches identity, holding space for individuality and autonomy even though Breq is the last body of a collective identity which cycled through hundreds or thousands of bodies over her long existence. It seems as though this is part of why she cares about individual's rights to their own bodies so much, she had a duty of care and a sense of well-being tied up in her many bodies when she had them. In her strange existence as the last of her own ancillaries she is turning that care outward even more than when she just had charge of her ancillaries and crew.
Very importantly for the middle book of a trilogy, this has a complete storyline that could stand alone and be very comprehensible to someone who hadn't read the first book. Enough is explained about how the ancillaries work that even though Breq's backstory was told in the ANCILLARY JUSTICE, there's enough here for ANICLLARY SWORD to make sense without those specifics. Because of the way key details are explained towards the end of the book, to a new reader this could easily feel like the solution to a mystery, just as it does to most of the people around Breq.
The worldbuilding once again is complex and robust, but it's focused on people in a way that feels very accessible. I prefer soft sci-fi, and while I don't know if this technically counts, I do know that I've made it through two books so far without being forced to learn the technobabble for how the space travel gates work, so I'm happy with it.
I have some guesses as to what the third book could focus on, the only thing I know for sure is that breck leaves the station in the end, something I don't consider to really be a spoiler as her one constant is travel. Wherever she goes now and what happens because of the people she got to know in ancillary sword the third book is likely to deal with the Emperor's crisis of identity that is brewing in the background (and occasionally the foreground) of this book
I want to know how the Emperor's identity crisis will resolve (or not), really I want to know what Breq will do next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Colonisation, Classism, Xenophobia, Slavery, Trafficking, Blood, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Medical content, Child abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Minor: Sexism, Rape, and Sexual assault
black_cat_iiix's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Racism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Classism, Gun violence, and Child abuse
Minor: Addiction
coffeedog14's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
While not as heart-wrenching or heart-stopping as the first installment, and lacking in some of the cool action moments that book had, this is a much more mellow work that relies more on intrigue and delving into the heart of the corruption that is inherent to the Radch and its ideology. It didn't feel like it propelled the plot as much, mainly setting up characters and ideas for later, but it was fascinating while doing so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Trafficking, Bullying, Colonisation, Violence, Classism, War, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Gun violence, Child abuse, Medical content, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Deportation, Torture, Addiction, Genocide, and Rape
toopunkrockforshul's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was worried this sequel wouldn't live up the the first book, which I loved so much. It definitely did and it was so lovely to be back with Breq. The narration style of this book is so well crafted and manages to create mystery and intrigue while also being engaging. One of those books that feels like seating down to a large meal, where you can just dig in and get lost in the world. Very excited for the next in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Violence, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
This book deals with a lot of difficult themes, and at its core is about the atrocities that empires and people with power commit against others
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