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A review by the_rabble
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
I really like this one. It deserves the LeGuin comparisons on vibes alone.
1 POV, 1st person, past tense. Imperial conquest & military revenge plot, with a frame that explores the nature of fractured and unified consciousnesses and identity.
Breq is great. She's going through it, and Leckie writes reactions to Breq's behavior by other characters in a really compelling way.
Breq's friends are great. I don't think this AI character would feel as vivid if she didn't have important relationship toeholds. Community in scfi can be hard to pull off and Leckie does it.
Gender: the "refers to everyone as a single pronoun" situation is good. I'm a fan of the POV choice. The worldbuilding choice is interesting, bc it still seems to be on a binary. I think I prefer a Becky Chambers/Martha Wells gender cloud of chaos but the "this ship doesn't super care" and the importance of language was a fun bit of worldbuilding.
Narrator: song is really important in this book and it was wonderful to have the songs sung. Adjoa Andoh does a great job with a challenging catalog. And her voices elevated the emotional journey of several characters and settings.
1 POV, 1st person, past tense. Imperial conquest & military revenge plot, with a frame that explores the nature of fractured and unified consciousnesses and identity.
Breq is great. She's going through it, and Leckie writes reactions to Breq's behavior by other characters in a really compelling way.
Breq's friends are great. I don't think this AI character would feel as vivid if she didn't have important relationship toeholds. Community in scfi can be hard to pull off and Leckie does it.
Gender: the "refers to everyone as a single pronoun" situation is good. I'm a fan of the POV choice. The worldbuilding choice is interesting, bc it still seems to be on a binary. I think I prefer a Becky Chambers/Martha Wells gender cloud of chaos but the "this ship doesn't super care" and the importance of language was a fun bit of worldbuilding.
Narrator: song is really important in this book and it was wonderful to have the songs sung. Adjoa Andoh does a great job with a challenging catalog. And her voices elevated the emotional journey of several characters and settings.