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juushikaTitle: 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.
#oh my god???? oh my god you guys #I was impressed with how Leckie explored her AI in Ancillary Justice #but that admiration is NOTHING compared to how I feel about Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy #I think that what sells it is the interpersonal focus and the length to which Leckie extends her concept: #the multi-instanced AI doesn't just make for a convincing first person omniscient and it isn't just clever worldbuilding #it is a lived experience #a relationship #interfacing with self/interfacing with others; an intimacy and mode of communication; fundamental to Breq's identity #extended with heartbreaking and intimate detail into repercussions that I hadn't even considered
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.
When I had been a single ancillary, one human body among thousands, part of the ship Justice of Toren, I had never been alone. I had always been surrounded by myself, and the rest of myself had always known if any particular body needed something—rest, food, touch, reassurance. An ancillary body might feel momentarily overwhelmed, or irritable, or any emotion one might think of—it was only natural, bodies felt things. But it was so very small, when it was just one segment among the others, when, even in the grip of strong emotion or physical discomfort, that segment knew it was only one of many, knew the rest of itself was there to help.
Oh, how I missed the rest of myself.
#oh my god???? oh my god you guys #I was impressed with how Leckie explored her AI in Ancillary Justice #but that admiration is NOTHING compared to how I feel about Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy #I think that what sells it is the interpersonal focus and the length to which Leckie extends her concept: #the multi-instanced AI doesn't just make for a convincing first person omniscient and it isn't just clever worldbuilding #it is a lived experience #a relationship #interfacing with self/interfacing with others; an intimacy and mode of communication; fundamental to Breq's identity #extended with heartbreaking and intimate detail into repercussions that I hadn't even considered
