Radiant Star
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4.3 • 48 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Space opera's sharpest mind returns to the world of the Imperial Radch in this brilliant standalone from award-winning author Ann Leckie.
The Temporal Location of the Radiant Star has always been a source of both conflict and hope for the people of Ooioiaa. However, the imperial Radch see it only as an inconvenience, an antiquated religious site soon to be absorbed into their own, superior culture. But local politics is complicated, and the Radch have made a final concession: One last man will be allowed to join the mummified bodies in the temporal location to become a “living saint”.
But this decision will ripple out to affect every part of the city. Amidst a slowly worsening food shortage, riots, and a communication blackout from the rest of the Radch Empire, a religious savant will entertain visions of his own sainthood, a socialite will discover hir comfortable life upended, and a young man sold into servitude will find unlikely escape.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Politics, religion, and the impacts of colonialism all create a thought-provoking symphony of disaster in this absorbing science fiction novel. On the small, isolated planet of Ooioiaa, a worldwide religion is devoted to the practice of selecting living saints, who are then kept in an almost cryogenic state to await their anticipated grand salvation event in the faraway future. But the crumbling Radch interplanetary empire nearby has decided to annex Ooioiaa, and the new overlords have little patience for the Ooioiaans’ long-ossified beliefs. A fascinating domino effect kicks off when the Radch reluctantly agree to let the tiny planet select one final living saint. Author Ann Leckie brilliantly captures the blatant political power grabs and underhanded betrayals as both Radch and Ooioiaa descend toward chaos. It’s all wryly funny and filled with clever, pointed insights into the flawed systems people create. Radiant Star is an incisive read in the tradition of greats like Ursula K. Le Guin.
Customer Reviews
Better, maybe
It’s good, but slow to get to that place. I’ve read all the Ancillary books and this one was confusing at first but after about 4 or 5 chapters it starts to make more sense and the narration gets easier to understand.
It helped me to understand the characters to read to about 20% of the book then stop and go back to the beginning and read those first few chapters again with the knowledge of the slow fate of characters at hand.
In fact, I ended up reading hours and hours until it ended. I found the ending satisfactory but too rushed. The author could have taken more time with the major characters to follow to their ends.