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Title: Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch Book 2)
Author: Ann Leckie
Published: New York: Orbit, 2014
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 350
Total Page Count: 181,820
Text Number: 535
Read Because: continuing the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Breq is sent to Athoek Station, home to Lieutenant Awn's sister, to stabilize the region while public war breaks across Radchaai space. The plot here is a strange beast: the politics of Athoek's annexation are simultaneously heavyhanded and morally gray—like Radchaai's agender society, the issue of cultural discrimination isn't superbly handled but it is well intended, and I would rather it be there than not. The sense of place, politicking, and personal motivations knit well; foreshadowing to plot twists, however, is emphasized in a way that makes resolutions talky and transparent.
But while the plot's quality is uneven, the true focus is interpersonal. Leckie's antagonists/political conservatives—often the same thing—can be caricatured, but her sympathetic characters are superb, prickly and complex and beautifully drawn. And Breq, as a multi-instanced AI made singular, continues to be singularly phenomenal, a unique concept explored with conviction and insight. The emotional punch of this book should not to be underestimated. Ancillary Sword has its flaws and I just don't care—it's so rewarding to read.
( A quote and its Tumblr tags )
Author: Ann Leckie
Published: New York: Orbit, 2014
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 350
Total Page Count: 181,820
Text Number: 535
Read Because: continuing the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Breq is sent to Athoek Station, home to Lieutenant Awn's sister, to stabilize the region while public war breaks across Radchaai space. The plot here is a strange beast: the politics of Athoek's annexation are simultaneously heavyhanded and morally gray—like Radchaai's agender society, the issue of cultural discrimination isn't superbly handled but it is well intended, and I would rather it be there than not. The sense of place, politicking, and personal motivations knit well; foreshadowing to plot twists, however, is emphasized in a way that makes resolutions talky and transparent.
But while the plot's quality is uneven, the true focus is interpersonal. Leckie's antagonists/political conservatives—often the same thing—can be caricatured, but her sympathetic characters are superb, prickly and complex and beautifully drawn. And Breq, as a multi-instanced AI made singular, continues to be singularly phenomenal, a unique concept explored with conviction and insight. The emotional punch of this book should not to be underestimated. Ancillary Sword has its flaws and I just don't care—it's so rewarding to read.
( A quote and its Tumblr tags )
