Ancillary Justice
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4.3 • 713 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, British Science Fiction, Locus and Arthur C. Clarke Awards.
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.
Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.
Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.
In the Ancillary world: 1. Ancillary Justice2. Ancillary Sword3. Ancillary Mercy
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Ann Leckie set the bar high for speculative fiction with her Hugo-winning debut, Ancillary Justice. The first installment in her Imperial Radch trilogy is a bold exploration of artificial consciousness in a militaristic, totalitarian state—and a rollicking space opera to boot. In the Radchaai empire, the elite class can travel through space by transferring their consciousness into a hive mind of bodies. When the realm’s unstable ruler threatens to destroy all of humanity, the only thing that can stop him is a sharp AI that’s been reduced to dwelling in the body of the lone survivor of a destroyed starship. Filled with cinematic world-building, nonstop adventure, and the kind of big social ideas that annoy reactionary factions of the science fiction scene, Ancillary Justice has the same energy and ambition that drove classic sci-fi epics like Frank Herbert’s Dune and Vernor Vinge’s Rainbows End.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An ill-fated encounter has forced Breq, the AI commanding the Radchaai troop carrier Justice of Toren, to take up residence in a single commandeered human body, impressive but mortal and no more powerful than any other person. Now this sorry wanderer searches the galaxy for a legendary weapon that may be able to do the impossible: grant Breq revenge on Anaander Mianaai, the many-bodied, immortal ruler of the brutal Radch. A double-threaded narrative proves seductive, drawing the reader into the na ve but determined protagonist's efforts to transform an unjust universe. Leckie uses familiar set pieces an expansionist galaxy-spanning empire, a protagonist on a single-minded quest for justice to transcend space-opera conventions in innovative ways. This impressive debut succeeds in making Breq a protagonist readers will invest in, and establishes Leckie as a talent to watch closely.
Customer Reviews
Wonderful Book with a few Quirks
This is an engaging story about a troop carrying ship turned into one of its controlled soldiers out to answer questions and get revenge. The concept and imagination in the main character are sound and the unusual post-human setting is bizarre and far away somewhat reminiscent of the Culture. I did enjoy reading this story.
My one complaint is the insistence in using ‘she’ as an ungendered pronoun when a suitable pronoun could be taken from an existing language, or made up, or use the ubiquitous ‘it’. This gets more confusing when the characters start speaking in gendered language then switch back to ungendered. I understand it is used to flesh out the setting with a more feminine culture, but a lot of unnecessary confusion was added in the attempt.
Ancillary Justice
Absolutely brilliant. Destined to be a classic in Sci Fi. Unique universe superbly fleshed out.
Deeply satisfying
In my 60 years of reading sci-fi this series conjures great themes, original plots devices, strong tension — as good as I’ve ever enciuntered.
I see however that many reviewers report being incensed, outraged! by Leckie’s plan to hijack one set of gendered personal pronouns.
If science fiction presents the potential of future techno society and diverse cultures, the gripes about “she” and “her” (used almost universally in this series) are provocative and brilliant.
Brava.
Those who suffered from confusion or dismay can move on to other authors.
Leckie has written a classic.