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A review by alliej
Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“How much can a person change and still be the same?”
I enjoyed Ancillary Sword, but not for the same reasons that I enjoyed Ancillary Justice. Like Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword definitely has its issues.
Oddly enough, this installment almost felt more like a mystery of sorts. There were threads laid early in the story that didn’t resolve themselves until relatively late, though Breq always seemed to know exactly what was going on, well before everyone else and the reader. It was an interesting shift from the rather breakneck pace of revelations contained in Ancillary Justice.
I did feel that some of the social commentary was quite heavy handed. Frankly, much of it was obvious to me. Of course there are at least some annexed citizens extremely dissatisfied with their propositions following their colonization. Are people really surprised by that? The question of humanity and civilization posed through these discussions isn’t exactly a revolutionary topic, at least in this age.
As with Ancillary Justice, some of Leckie’s writing was a bit overdone. In places where there could have been one word, there were occasionally five instead.
Overall, Ancillary Sword was an interesting read, and I’ll be reading the next installment soon.
I enjoyed Ancillary Sword, but not for the same reasons that I enjoyed Ancillary Justice. Like Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword definitely has its issues.
Oddly enough, this installment almost felt more like a mystery of sorts. There were threads laid early in the story that didn’t resolve themselves until relatively late, though Breq always seemed to know exactly what was going on, well before everyone else and the reader. It was an interesting shift from the rather breakneck pace of revelations contained in Ancillary Justice.
I did feel that some of the social commentary was quite heavy handed. Frankly, much of it was obvious to me. Of course there are at least some annexed citizens extremely dissatisfied with their propositions following their colonization. Are people really surprised by that? The question of humanity and civilization posed through these discussions isn’t exactly a revolutionary topic, at least in this age.
As with Ancillary Justice, some of Leckie’s writing was a bit overdone. In places where there could have been one word, there were occasionally five instead.
Overall, Ancillary Sword was an interesting read, and I’ll be reading the next installment soon.