audbaum's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved this book! The world building was great, and I especially enjoyed the linguistic choice that our pov character spoke a language that doesn’t use different pronouns depending on gender, so she uses she/her pronouns for everyone within her internal monologue and also while speaking her first language. It did mean that to me as a reader I saw every character as a woman, which I found fun. I also liked the complexity of Breq, who used to be an entire ship (like a hive mind in effect) and still holds that as part of her identity to an extent, but now has to grapple with being alone. Or, not alone, but without most of her present. Losing a large part of herself was obviously not fun for her, and she doesn’t really know what to do beyond her quest for revenge. The relationship she develops with the captain she rescues is interesting to me as well. She has a history with this person, she didn’t like them before, but she finds it in herself to care for her nonetheless. Of course, the rescuee is not immediately on board with Breq, but I love how their relationship forms and changes throughout the book. It’s really what kept me so engaged.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Violence, War, Addiction, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, and Xenophobia
philamot's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Ancillary Justice follows the story of an intelligent warship at two different points in its existence, 20 years apart. The switches between timepoints are well-handled and create a coherent story, with neither timepoint handling the bulk of the reveals.
I felt like the non-human intelligence was handled in a really fun way - it was like a semi-omniscient first person narrator, and really affirmed the fact that this was not a human narrator.
The worldbuilding is layered and does not feel like a renamed sci-if version of an Earth culture. Which can be fun, when done well, but I enjoyed novel societies.
One of the most arresting bits of worldbuilding is the adherence to she/her/hers as the default pronouns for a society that did not consider gender a meaningful linguistic or societal marker. A fun inversion from the traditional use of he, and one that still surprised me, as I would assume the use of they/them/theirs. Since the main character was generally confused by gender markers, almost all characters were referred to using she/her/hers. Further, different characters from gendered societies would refer to the same characters with different pronouns - implying to me at least that different cultures had conflicting interpretations of a characters gender markers. Sometimes, it came across as a bit heavy handed, and I’m not sure if using she/her feels like kind of queer or like a doubling down on the binary from the opposite directions. I’m generally a fan though, as I’m into any playing with gender into science fiction tbh.
In general, a fun read! Good for fans of the Murderbot series for sure - read it in about 4 hours on a plane hahaha.
I felt like the non-human intelligence was handled in a really fun way - it was like a semi-omniscient first person narrator, and really affirmed the fact that this was not a human narrator.
The worldbuilding is layered and does not feel like a renamed sci-if version of an Earth culture. Which can be fun, when done well, but I enjoyed novel societies.
One of the most arresting bits of worldbuilding is the adherence to she/her/hers as the default pronouns for a society that did not consider gender a meaningful linguistic or societal marker. A fun inversion from the traditional use of he, and one that still surprised me, as I would assume the use of they/them/theirs. Since the main character was generally confused by gender markers, almost all characters were referred to using she/her/hers. Further, different characters from gendered societies would refer to the same characters with different pronouns - implying to me at least that different cultures had conflicting interpretations of a characters gender markers. Sometimes, it came across as a bit heavy handed, and I’m not sure if using she/her feels like kind of queer or like a doubling down on the binary from the opposite directions. I’m generally a fan though, as I’m into any playing with gender into science fiction tbh.
In general, a fun read! Good for fans of the Murderbot series for sure - read it in about 4 hours on a plane hahaha.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: War, Violence, and Sexual assault
pvbobrien's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Xenophobia, Genocide, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Minor: Murder, Body horror, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, War, and Medical content
hanz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Colonisation, Mass/school shootings, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Grief
queenie_ofthe_void's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
So hard to read. Like Harrow the Ninth hard. The AI flashback chapters with multiple shifting POVs was a huge challenge. The POV being an AI character made it feel like instances of an unreliable narrator. For example, character descriptions from an AI perspective weren't normal literary depictions, so as a imaginative reader it was hard to form a normal picture.
All of that being said, it was an extremely interesting read. The characters were very well-defined, the plot was intriguing and original. Awesome twists! The beginning was a bit of a drag, but the end picked up so fast I immediately rented the next book in the series. I think it'll be like LOTR, where Fellowship is 90% set up and the rest is faster paced.
All of that being said, it was an extremely interesting read. The characters were very well-defined, the plot was intriguing and original. Awesome twists! The beginning was a bit of a drag, but the end picked up so fast I immediately rented the next book in the series. I think it'll be like LOTR, where Fellowship is 90% set up and the rest is faster paced.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug abuse, War, Grief, Colonisation, Racism, Addiction, and Torture
madamenovelist's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Genocide, Death, and Child death
isa_almeida's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
librarianmage's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Colonisation
the_greywarren's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, and Violence
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, and Violence