Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - Ancillary Justice

I loved this book! The world building was great, and I especially enjoyed the linguistic choice that our pov character spoke a language that doesn’t use different pronouns depending on gender, so she uses she/her pronouns for everyone within her internal monologue and also while speaking her first language. It did mean that to me as a reader I saw every character as a woman, which I found fun. I also liked the complexity of Breq, who used to be an entire ship (like a hive mind in effect) and still holds that as part of her identity to an extent, but now has to grapple with being alone. Or, not alone, but without most of her present. Losing a large part of herself was obviously not fun for her, and she doesn’t really know what to do beyond her quest for revenge. The relationship she develops with the captain she rescues is interesting to me as well. She has a history with this person, she didn’t like them before, but she finds it in herself to care for her nonetheless. Of course, the rescuee is not immediately on board with Breq, but I love how their relationship forms and changes throughout the book. It’s really what kept me so engaged.

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idksamiguess's review

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.0

I loved this!! It reminded me of Ursula K. LeGuin mixed with Murderbot?? So much interesting discourse around gender. Can't wait to pick up the next one.

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tiredcreature's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-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

5.0

Multiple narrative timelines interwoven to introduce pieces of the story at a steady pace;
Vast world beyond the scope of the story;
Rare religious space empire;
Plays with language and translation;
Conveys various linguistic subtleties of the languages encountered throughout the plot, especially as a foreign language speaker would experience them;
AI full of subtle personality; would have loved to see more interactions between AI characters;
May need multiple re-reads;

• She/her, but not like a woman, but like a ship
• The good old days have never been as good as you remember
• War crimes are war crimes no matter how noble your intentions

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pvbobrien's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? No

4.5

Content Warnings

sleepyhydra's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Standard space opera fare that is very well executed. I particularly enjoyed the focus on language/translation as well as the perspective of the protagonist.

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hanz's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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