Review by evehowell - Translation State

evehowell 's review for:

Translation State by Ann Leckie

4.5

adventurous 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: No

this book was truly phenomenal - i didn't feel the need to devour it in one sitting, but i also had no problem picking it up again day after day. it was longer than my normal reads but i really can't complain - no page was wasted, the plot was constant and built perfectly to a climax at the end. there were a few moments i found a bit confusing, or that were built up to but not perfectly resolved, but overall i found the plot quite easy to follow all things considered. the three protagonists were all very loveable (i have to admit i picture Enae much younger than sie actually is), and the diversity between main and background characters was fantastic. the interchangeable moral standards between characters and cultures was really well shown -

the scene towards the end when Qven is shunned for behaving in a way that's totally natural to him kind of broke my heart, even though I would obviously be horrified if I saw em dismembering a dead body

- and the subtle underlying political narratives that ended up being very important to the plot were very well expressed.

i particularly found the story around the Hikipi and Phen peoples so complicated and interesting, both from Reet and Enae's points of view. the Hikipi are undeniably portrayed as the victims of a borderline genocidal campaign of colonialism, or at least a violent rise to power, by the Phen. but although this is straightforward to see, especially after the treatment Enae faces and the lack of care from higher ups in other systems, the insurgent behaviours of Siblings of Hikipu, and the weaponisation of it, paints a complex picture of the Hikipi fight for recognition. it certainly doesn't leave a straight forward answer to the complex questions asked!

the use of diverse & neo pronouns was very well incorporated, and the way their usage differed across context was interesting. most of the ideological and emotional explanations around pronouns resonated well with me, although i somewhat question the alienation of the "they" pronoun, and i noticed a few instances where a typo may have been missed as characters were misgendered once in a whole chapter (early in the book Enae was referred to as 'she' a few times). normally typos don't bother me, but in this case I think a tiny bit more attention should have been paid to it.

I'm very interested to look into other books by Ann Leckie, especially the Imperial Radch trilogy, although I might give it a while until I've forgotten the spoilers given by this book haha... definitely a great read to end the year on though!

Content Warnings