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booksthatburn's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
TRANSLATION STATE is best read after the Imperial Radch trilogy and PROVENANCE, as some of the worldbuilding details reveal conclusions to situations encountered in those books. That being said, TRANSLATION STATE is a self-contained story which delves into the Presger in a manner beyond the scope of the previous stories. The series as a whole focuses on questions of personhood and community, different ways people can be connected, and ways that identity can be complicated by, or unrelated to, one’s physical form.
I continue to be impressed with the worldbuilding in this series. This explains thing things about the Presger Translators which are completely consistent with events in previous books, making it clear that much of the underlying situation had been thought out well in advance. I love it when an author clearly has already figured out their world at a level of detail that I usually don’t have to worry about as a reader. The internal consistency is so nice.
Enae was eir grandmaman's caretaker, but grandmaman is dead, and Enae is sent to find a Presger Translator who has been missing for 200 years. No one expects e to find them, but e wants to do a good job anyway.
Qven is meant to mate and become a Preger Translator; all of their development has been aimed at this goal. An incident leaves them altered in a way that the adults do not find acceptable, and their life is in jeopardy. If they cannot be useful, then they will never mate and they will die. One of the translators hopes to salvage the situation by making Qven merge with a newly discovered juvenile who grew up among humans.
Reet is adopted, just like his many siblings, but he’s always seemed odd to other people. His thoughts are filled with entrails and viscera, he desires to pull and tear to see the gorey insides of those around him. As part of some attempt at belonging, Reet ends up assigned to escort Enae around when they visit following the centuries old trail of the missing translator.
I like the three main characters, they comprise a great trio of perspectives. Even though their initial proximity is forced, I like the way Qven and Reet interact. They fit well with each other, and I hope to get more of them in future books.
While not a direct sequel, this provides a lot of information about the Presger Translators, details which explain several things from the previous books. The main storyline is entirely new, introducing and resolving the assorted troubles of the three main characters. There are various background details in this book, and the previous ones which will likely require several more stories to fully resolve, so I would be very surprised if this is intended to be the final book. Someone could quite easily start here and have a very satisfying reading experience: the kinds of things which are explained in detail are no better or worse of an entry point to the series, other than that they canonically happened after the previous four books. I can’t think of anything important that was explained enough detail to feel like a spoiler for someone who begins here and then later goes back for the other books.
Things I love, in no particular order: Qven's descriptions of growing up; the way the Presger Translators seem to have conflated being human with being Radchai – particularly the way that understanding shapes which humans ceremonies they practice.
I continue to be impressed with the worldbuilding in this series. This explains thing things about the Presger Translators which are completely consistent with events in previous books, making it clear that much of the underlying situation had been thought out well in advance. I love it when an author clearly has already figured out their world at a level of detail that I usually don’t have to worry about as a reader. The internal consistency is so nice.
Enae was eir grandmaman's caretaker, but grandmaman is dead, and Enae is sent to find a Presger Translator who has been missing for 200 years. No one expects e to find them, but e wants to do a good job anyway.
Qven is meant to mate and become a Preger Translator; all of their development has been aimed at this goal. An incident leaves them altered in a way that the adults do not find acceptable, and their life is in jeopardy. If they cannot be useful, then they will never mate and they will die. One of the translators hopes to salvage the situation by making Qven merge with a newly discovered juvenile who grew up among humans.
Reet is adopted, just like his many siblings, but he’s always seemed odd to other people. His thoughts are filled with entrails and viscera, he desires to pull and tear to see the gorey insides of those around him. As part of some attempt at belonging, Reet ends up assigned to escort Enae around when they visit following the centuries old trail of the missing translator.
I like the three main characters, they comprise a great trio of perspectives. Even though their initial proximity is forced, I like the way Qven and Reet interact. They fit well with each other, and I hope to get more of them in future books.
While not a direct sequel, this provides a lot of information about the Presger Translators, details which explain several things from the previous books. The main storyline is entirely new, introducing and resolving the assorted troubles of the three main characters. There are various background details in this book, and the previous ones which will likely require several more stories to fully resolve, so I would be very surprised if this is intended to be the final book. Someone could quite easily start here and have a very satisfying reading experience: the kinds of things which are explained in detail are no better or worse of an entry point to the series, other than that they canonically happened after the previous four books. I can’t think of anything important that was explained enough detail to feel like a spoiler for someone who begins here and then later goes back for the other books.
Things I love, in no particular order: Qven's descriptions of growing up; the way the Presger Translators seem to have conflated being human with being Radchai – particularly the way that understanding shapes which humans ceremonies they practice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Racism, Grief, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Gore, and Torture
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, War, Sexual assault, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
scifi_rat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, Grief, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, and Death
Minor: Colonisation and Classism
evrunira's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault
naomiysl's review against another edition
5.0
Grappling with the question of what is personhood in a whole new way, in addition to that of what is family. Also more gate-space physics! I really enjoyed this book, though I wish we had seen the matching scene and heard a first person voice from the combined person of Reet/Qven I really hope we get that in a future book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Grief, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Abandonment and Child death
uranaishi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Blood, Bullying, and Rape
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Death, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Xenophobia, Cursing, Body horror, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual content and Child death
sarrie's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
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? It's complicated
4.5
This is one of those situations where I am kicking myself for not picking up Ann Leckie previously. Her Imperial Radch series has been on my TBR shelves since possibly they came out, but I've never reached for them. In fact, my request of this on Netgalley was a him (I didn't think I'd get it!). Now that I've read it however I'm in a pickle. I have plenty to read and review but now all I want to do is return to this world. In short - I loved this.
We follow three points of view, starting with Enae as hir grandmaman's funeral. After this Enae is presented with a job opportunity that is cushy gig. Just travel the galaxy, occasionally talk to an official and ask 'Have you seen this person?' sign a report and travel some more. It's a gift, and meant to be a reprieve but sie decides sie is going to pursue it and solve it. We then meet Reet, who has no past that he's aware of. He was adopted as an infant after being found on a ship abandoned and he has always wondered, why is just a little different than everyone else? Finally Qven, a Presgr Translator who is ripped from the future laid out for them after an attack. The three eventually all come together, and their stories intermingle.
Our characters are engaging and wonderfully drawn. Each voice is unique and genuinely brought so much to the story. Enae gives us a cozy feeling, and a foundation to the story. Hir job takes hir out and really kickstarts the story, especially when sie meets Reet. Reet does start a bit dull but he develops into a stronger character once we see him get his feet and see a future. But Qven gives us the spice, the first few chapters of Qvens read like a horror novel. I'm not going to spoil them, but trust me. The story still manages to take a cannibalistic alien character and make them adorable, and force you to almost fall in love by the end.
I can't say how well this ties into the rest of the Radch, as I mentioned I've not read them. However, from context I can tell we're getting cameos and information on the world at large after the end of the first trilogy and rather than confuse me, this made me interested and invested in seeing more. The story is engaging, and moves fast (especially after the half way mark). I cannot recommend this one enough for hard SF fans or fans of her original trilogy as I feel like there is a lot to take away here.
And I honestly want to know, who else found this cozy feeling? It seems improbable but here we are. A fantastic read - give it a try.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Ableism
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