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laerugo's review against another edition
5.0
Okay, like, jesus christ. I haven't read a can't-put-this-down book in a very long time.
This was everything I wanted when my friend recommended it to me. We often talked about how we wished Mass Effect addressed its imperialistic undertones, and this has filled in the bit of my brain that has been hoping for a space opera featuring a gender-nonconforming military woman (or at least not a man) that is cold, rude, and interesting to read about. It's Murderbot meets Riza Hawkeye. It's FemShepard in Left Hand of Darkness. It's turned my brain inside out.
Part of that is due to the writing itself—because I have to get this out of the way, this book is dense, not in language but in the worldbuilding and pacing: There is so much going on in from (technically) multiple point of views and in multiple time periods, covering history and context spanning thousands of years in an unrecognizable galaxy. It had me wanting to reach for a pen and paper at times. An interview with the author said that if a line didn't serve several purposes, or even if it did and she could go without it, she cut it—a lesson I try to use myself. However in Ancillary Justice, I can think a few passages that had me scratching my head and rereading them several times trying to follow the logical jumps, wishing she'd left a few filler lines in, lol.
A lot of information is left intentionally vague, sometimes for a long time, to the point where I was unsure if it was on purpose or I was expected to have figured it all out by now. I'm the kind of reader who wants to know what every line means and struggles to move on if I don't fully comprehend a passage, so you can imagine how this was difficult for me with, especially so many names and events to keep track of. All compounded by how Breq is an unreliable narrator who loves to speak vaguely out of paranoia—but once I got into the flow, she became a really interesting protagonist. Why hasn't the story addressed Important Thing yet? Is Breq intentionally avoiding thinking about it, or is it a result of her programming not allowing her to? All of these are valid questions you should probably be asking. I got caught up in a lot of these leaps, wondering where the bridge was or if I'd have to build it myself, because the book grabs you by the throat and drags you into the car and barely ever pulls its foot from the gas, not even bothering to check if you've put your seat belt on. I do like books like this, but man do they leave you rattled sometimes.
One of most memorable things about this book—like Left Hand—is that Breq, as an AI, doesn't understand gender, so she refers to everyone with she/her pronouns, which I find charming both as a character and as a narrative device. Unlike Left Hand, though, this series does have gendered characters, but Breq's main language just doesn't use gendered pronouns. In English, the necessary words are rendered as she/her or female equivalents: daughter, girl, etc., even when the character is, as we might learn, masc-appearing. Even though the story is not technically full of entirely women, it became fun to pretend it's about a bunch of really cool, complex military ladies of varying body shapes and sizes. When was the last time we've seen that?
Truthfully, gender isn't even the most interesting thing going on, and Ancillary Justice doesn't care if you're hung up about it. It trusts the reader to piece together and do a lot of introspection on their own. Which might be the reason I enjoyed it so much: It feels like a scifi story written for people who've already seen the space operas about big topics. It features an imperial empire, but fighting the big evil? Breq doesn't care about human morality. Defending the oppressed? Not even secondary on her to-do list. The fact that she ends up helping people is entirely coincidental, or so she'd say. She's actually a bit of a hypocrite about a lot of things, but she's on a suicide mission, and she doesn't lie to herself about why she's doing it: for herself. She in fact mostly refuses to think about the "why" at all. The fact that her actions may spark a civil war and threaten galactic society is all white noise. She has a duty to fulfill, although whether that duty is self-imposed or coded into her programming is as big a mystery to her as it is to us, but it's the question at the center. Are we more than our programming, literal or sociological? And if we have a thought against our programming, does it matter if it doesn't inspire action or speech?
This was everything I wanted when my friend recommended it to me. We often talked about how we wished Mass Effect addressed its imperialistic undertones, and this has filled in the bit of my brain that has been hoping for a space opera featuring a gender-nonconforming military woman (or at least not a man) that is cold, rude, and interesting to read about. It's Murderbot meets Riza Hawkeye. It's FemShepard in Left Hand of Darkness. It's turned my brain inside out.
Part of that is due to the writing itself—because I have to get this out of the way, this book is dense, not in language but in the worldbuilding and pacing: There is so much going on in from (technically) multiple point of views and in multiple time periods, covering history and context spanning thousands of years in an unrecognizable galaxy. It had me wanting to reach for a pen and paper at times. An interview with the author said that if a line didn't serve several purposes, or even if it did and she could go without it, she cut it—a lesson I try to use myself. However in Ancillary Justice, I can think a few passages that had me scratching my head and rereading them several times trying to follow the logical jumps, wishing she'd left a few filler lines in, lol.
A lot of information is left intentionally vague, sometimes for a long time, to the point where I was unsure if it was on purpose or I was expected to have figured it all out by now. I'm the kind of reader who wants to know what every line means and struggles to move on if I don't fully comprehend a passage, so you can imagine how this was difficult for me with, especially so many names and events to keep track of. All compounded by how Breq is an unreliable narrator who loves to speak vaguely out of paranoia—but once I got into the flow, she became a really interesting protagonist. Why hasn't the story addressed Important Thing yet? Is Breq intentionally avoiding thinking about it, or is it a result of her programming not allowing her to? All of these are valid questions you should probably be asking. I got caught up in a lot of these leaps, wondering where the bridge was or if I'd have to build it myself, because the book grabs you by the throat and drags you into the car and barely ever pulls its foot from the gas, not even bothering to check if you've put your seat belt on. I do like books like this, but man do they leave you rattled sometimes.
One of most memorable things about this book—like Left Hand—is that Breq, as an AI, doesn't understand gender, so she refers to everyone with she/her pronouns, which I find charming both as a character and as a narrative device. Unlike Left Hand, though, this series does have gendered characters, but Breq's main language just doesn't use gendered pronouns. In English, the necessary words are rendered as she/her or female equivalents: daughter, girl, etc., even when the character is, as we might learn, masc-appearing. Even though the story is not technically full of entirely women, it became fun to pretend it's about a bunch of really cool, complex military ladies of varying body shapes and sizes. When was the last time we've seen that?
Truthfully, gender isn't even the most interesting thing going on, and Ancillary Justice doesn't care if you're hung up about it. It trusts the reader to piece together and do a lot of introspection on their own. Which might be the reason I enjoyed it so much: It feels like a scifi story written for people who've already seen the space operas about big topics. It features an imperial empire, but fighting the big evil? Breq doesn't care about human morality. Defending the oppressed? Not even secondary on her to-do list. The fact that she ends up helping people is entirely coincidental, or so she'd say. She's actually a bit of a hypocrite about a lot of things, but she's on a suicide mission, and she doesn't lie to herself about why she's doing it: for herself. She in fact mostly refuses to think about the "why" at all. The fact that her actions may spark a civil war and threaten galactic society is all white noise. She has a duty to fulfill, although whether that duty is self-imposed or coded into her programming is as big a mystery to her as it is to us, but it's the question at the center. Are we more than our programming, literal or sociological? And if we have a thought against our programming, does it matter if it doesn't inspire action or speech?
donkshan's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The author had such a clear vision for this book and the character it follows. Alien cultures, planets and technologies created in this universe all feel like they substantially contribute towards forming the character One Esk with all their nuance.
As a scifi novel involving galactic empires and AI, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a sprawling epic. This is a story of revenge, redemption and self discovery with the main character thoroughly under a microscope for the duration. Aliens, empires and technologies are all described with the intent to focus on how exactly they concern One Esk. This provides a unique and deep insight into this character on their quest.
Would recommend if you enjoy things like; questioning the nature of humanity, individualism and the 'Superior orders' defence; stories where a technological concept is introduced, developed and then subverted; the Ghost in the Shell 2.0
As a scifi novel involving galactic empires and AI, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a sprawling epic. This is a story of revenge, redemption and self discovery with the main character thoroughly under a microscope for the duration. Aliens, empires and technologies are all described with the intent to focus on how exactly they concern One Esk. This provides a unique and deep insight into this character on their quest.
Would recommend if you enjoy things like; questioning the nature of humanity, individualism and the 'Superior orders' defence; stories where a technological concept is introduced, developed and then subverted; the Ghost in the Shell 2.0
timinbc's review against another edition
5.0
Four and a half but I gave a bonus because this breaks new ground and does it well.
This book comes very close to being indescribable. But if you don't like this don't read the book: Spaceship AIs that also run/inhabit thousands of formerly-human bodies; a semi-impossible mostly-invisible gun; a companion who's a former starship captain but has been in storage for 1000 years; a planetary dictator who turns out to have multiple personality disorder with bells on.
You have to pay attention while reading this sucker! Early on, we get something like, "I was at the corner of a field. I was also halfway down one edge, and another of me was on a bridge over the road."
All that and it's NOT just an AI-driven space opera; Asher and Reynolds and Banks have mined that ground. This one adds ideas of personhood and morality to the mix, without getting all preachy.
You'll read about the author's use of pronouns and gender confusion. Some would have you believe that this is why this book is Important, and that It Was Written For That Purpose. Piffle. It's just one of many ideas tossed in the mix, and for me it didn't interfere. Oddly, I just read another SF book in which the labels "man" and "woman" are determined by what a person chooses to do for a living. In this one, Leckie explicitly says that the confusion is driven by the fact that it is no longer possible (in her world) to tell gender from appearance. I'd like to think that in such a world some better pronouns might have arisen ...
Anyway, here's an often-exciting adventure (sometimes there's more tension that action, this isn't Hammer's Slammers) with some mind-stretching ideas and some thoughtful what-would-you-have-done philosophy mixed in.
Enjoyed, it, will look for next volume. And yes, this one does stand on its own.
This book comes very close to being indescribable. But if you don't like this don't read the book: Spaceship AIs that also run/inhabit thousands of formerly-human bodies; a semi-impossible mostly-invisible gun; a companion who's a former starship captain but has been in storage for 1000 years; a planetary dictator who turns out to have multiple personality disorder with bells on.
You have to pay attention while reading this sucker! Early on, we get something like, "I was at the corner of a field. I was also halfway down one edge, and another of me was on a bridge over the road."
All that and it's NOT just an AI-driven space opera; Asher and Reynolds and Banks have mined that ground. This one adds ideas of personhood and morality to the mix, without getting all preachy.
You'll read about the author's use of pronouns and gender confusion. Some would have you believe that this is why this book is Important, and that It Was Written For That Purpose. Piffle. It's just one of many ideas tossed in the mix, and for me it didn't interfere. Oddly, I just read another SF book in which the labels "man" and "woman" are determined by what a person chooses to do for a living. In this one, Leckie explicitly says that the confusion is driven by the fact that it is no longer possible (in her world) to tell gender from appearance. I'd like to think that in such a world some better pronouns might have arisen ...
Anyway, here's an often-exciting adventure (sometimes there's more tension that action, this isn't Hammer's Slammers) with some mind-stretching ideas and some thoughtful what-would-you-have-done philosophy mixed in.
Enjoyed, it, will look for next volume. And yes, this one does stand on its own.
bel017's review against another edition
Stressful. Message seems to be 'evil is bad'.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Xenophobia, Violence, Physical abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts
tregina's review against another edition
3.0
In short, I liked the ideas behind this, I loved the way gender was handled and the use of the feminine as default feels very welcoming to me. The exploration of identity and what it means to be a person, what it means to be a human, is maybe the best thing about it. But I felt like the actual plot felt short of how much I really liked those aspects of the universe, and the entry point to the novel feel a little bit unnecessarily difficult; there was no reward to the gradual reveal of the basic functioning of this world relative to the frustration of knowing you were working without all the information.
crico's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
4.5
p25n's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.25