Reviews for Provenance, by Ann Leckie
lep42's review against another edition
4.0
While this wasn't quite as good as the Ancillary Trilogy (for instance the ending felt a bit muddled) or as deep, it was definitely a rollicking good read with an exasperating but loveable protagonist and some interesting cultural commentary.
mar's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
scifi........ good..........
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, and Murder
v171's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Should I be controversial? I'm going to be controversial. Ann Leckie is the best sci-fi author of the past two decades. Am I well rounded in sci-fi authors of the past two decades? No. But being uninformed won't stop me from sharing my opinion!
Provenance is the culmination of the best parts of the Ancillary trilogy. Political intrigue, fantastic world building, expertly woven exposition, complex characters and motivations... it's all there. Leckie is very much comparable to Le Guin in that her best sci-fi stories are not overly packed with action sequences or even adventure, but rather espionage, diplomacy, and complex politics. It makes the universe she has built feel alive and dynamic.
As usual, this story is jam packed with allegory. From land ownership claims, gender identity, deadnaming, and the constitution, this book truly has it all. However, I never felt like any of these parallels were too shallow or not developed fully.
If there's only one criticism I can think of (which is the case for Ancillary as well), it's that her characters are generally without flaw. The good characters are always the heroes that often know exactly what to do or what to say in the moment and they usually have little development over the course of the story. They're so easily... lovable. But, this is something I can look over because because I want to, so there.
Provenance is the culmination of the best parts of the Ancillary trilogy. Political intrigue, fantastic world building, expertly woven exposition, complex characters and motivations... it's all there. Leckie is very much comparable to Le Guin in that her best sci-fi stories are not overly packed with action sequences or even adventure, but rather espionage, diplomacy, and complex politics. It makes the universe she has built feel alive and dynamic.
As usual, this story is jam packed with allegory. From land ownership claims, gender identity, deadnaming, and the constitution, this book truly has it all. However, I never felt like any of these parallels were too shallow or not developed fully.
If there's only one criticism I can think of (which is the case for Ancillary as well), it's that her characters are generally without flaw. The good characters are always the heroes that often know exactly what to do or what to say in the moment and they usually have little development over the course of the story. They're so easily... lovable. But, this is something I can look over because because I want to, so there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Deadnaming, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Medical content, Violence, and Vomit
cyang's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
5.0
espeon's review
adventurous
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
3.0
sulinde's review
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
sadpear's review
5.0
This was impossible to put down, because I just wanted to know what was going to happen. I loved Ingray, I loved that she was not the most perfect or competent, I loved that she had to panic and then she could start thinking of a plan. I loved Tic so much and would read a whole book just about eir adventures. (Also massive shoutout for the richness of gender in Leckie's writing which is just so well done and wonderful. The subtle world building is fantastic.)
nekokat's review
2.0
Hmmmmm I dunno. I liked the Imperial Radch trilogy so much but this one was just kinda meh. Aside from nb folks / gender-neutral pronouns being a thing (cool!) and taking place in the same universe as the prior trilogy, I found the political nuances hard to follow, the plot meandering, and the main character an annoyingly passive nothing (she seriously spends the whole book crying a lot and saying/doing things without realizing she was about to say/do them, but then the things always turn out to be the right things to have said/done, which as a narrative trick gets old pretty fast). It's hard to stay interested in someone who lets the whole story pretty much happen to them and can't really explain/examine their own motives for things.