Take a photo of a barcode or cover
reidob 's review for:
Ancillary Sword
by Ann Leckie
I think I might be repeating myself too much if I wrote a review of this book from scratch—much of how I feel ab0ut it can be found in my review of [b:Ancillary Justice|17333324|Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1)|Ann Leckie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397215917s/17333324.jpg|24064628], the first volume in the series. This book continues the story of our favorite ancillary, Breq, now Fleet Captain and in a territory with...issues.
One of the things I like best in these books (as in most of the finest SF, in my opinion) is the way in which the author takes on moral, ethical, and social challenges that mirror those we are facing every day. She has such a clever way of introducing ideas of gender, sex, race, justice, and class that you don't even know you are being schooled until the medicine has already gone down.
Unlike in the previous book, I felt that Leckie hits her stride here, and her handling of these delicate subjects has much more depth and complexity than before, which also leads to a much more satisfying read. Don't get me wrong, I loved the first book, but was very pleased to see that she had moved further in the direction of complexity and ambiguity in her analysis of the relationships into we humans twist ourselves.
In case you are not familiar with the outlines of the universe these books inhabits, a little taste: this is a vast place, with many planetary systems and thousands of cultures. Over many centuries, most of these have been co-opted by the Imperial Radch, an expansionist empire led for all of its 3000-plus years by the ubiquitous Anaander Manaai. And this co-option takes forms that, at best, push the boundaries of moral, ethical warfare and government. Some of the occupants of this universe are ancillaries of artificial intelligence beings, meaning they are the human avatars of space ships and other entities. The empire is inexorable and the rule of the emperor absolute and irresistible...until it isn't.
It is a fascinating series, and I look forward to beginning the third (and last) book in it. Quite a wonderful read; give it a shot!
One of the things I like best in these books (as in most of the finest SF, in my opinion) is the way in which the author takes on moral, ethical, and social challenges that mirror those we are facing every day. She has such a clever way of introducing ideas of gender, sex, race, justice, and class that you don't even know you are being schooled until the medicine has already gone down.
Unlike in the previous book, I felt that Leckie hits her stride here, and her handling of these delicate subjects has much more depth and complexity than before, which also leads to a much more satisfying read. Don't get me wrong, I loved the first book, but was very pleased to see that she had moved further in the direction of complexity and ambiguity in her analysis of the relationships into we humans twist ourselves.
In case you are not familiar with the outlines of the universe these books inhabits, a little taste: this is a vast place, with many planetary systems and thousands of cultures. Over many centuries, most of these have been co-opted by the Imperial Radch, an expansionist empire led for all of its 3000-plus years by the ubiquitous Anaander Manaai. And this co-option takes forms that, at best, push the boundaries of moral, ethical warfare and government. Some of the occupants of this universe are ancillaries of artificial intelligence beings, meaning they are the human avatars of space ships and other entities. The empire is inexorable and the rule of the emperor absolute and irresistible...until it isn't.
It is a fascinating series, and I look forward to beginning the third (and last) book in it. Quite a wonderful read; give it a shot!