sincerelymendacious's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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? No
4.5
abitofmoxie's review against another edition
5.0
My review for Ancillary Justice:
"This book is amazing. Usually when I write reviews, I try to do a little pro/con list and give a sense of what you're really getting yourself into when you sit down to read the book. With this book, I'm not going to do that, because you have to read it. You absolutely must. That includes everyone, but most especially anyone who has ever loved any science fiction or fantasy book ever."
Edit for Ancillary Sword: Replace "book" with "series"
"This book is amazing. Usually when I write reviews, I try to do a little pro/con list and give a sense of what you're really getting yourself into when you sit down to read the book. With this book, I'm not going to do that, because you have to read it. You absolutely must. That includes everyone, but most especially anyone who has ever loved any science fiction or fantasy book ever."
Edit for Ancillary Sword: Replace "book" with "series"
iteechesinglish's review against another edition
reflective
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? Yes
2.5
This wasn’t quite what I expected, and it suffers a bit from second book syndrome, so while I enjoyed it there wasn’t the same feeling of something original and creative that I now expect from Ann Leckie.
At the end of Ancillary Justice it seemed like we were getting set up for epic battles or political intrigue or both, so this was a lot smaller in scale than I expected. There is a bit of politics but I found it to be heavy handed to be honest. There’s some thinly veiled commentary on race and class. I appreciate that the protagonist is a voice for good, but sometimes it all felt a little too straightforward and simplistic in its moralizing. There’s also a lot of over explaining of concepts that have been established in book one. If it wasn’t a trilogy I’d understand this but it seemed unnecessary.
The characters also were not super interesting to me. I liked the depictions of life on the ship but despite an interesting set up I found lieutenant Tisarwat’s character to be pretty bland. I know I’m supposed to care about the relationship between the main characters but it seems a little forced. And when interesting characters are introduced, such as translator Dlique, we don’t get to spend a lot of time with them.
So unfortunately I was pretty meh on this entry, but like the protagonist and the premise enough that I forgive the shortcomings and am hoping that book 3 will bring things together in a more satisfying way.
At the end of Ancillary Justice it seemed like we were getting set up for epic battles or political intrigue or both, so this was a lot smaller in scale than I expected. There is a bit of politics but I found it to be heavy handed to be honest. There’s some thinly veiled commentary on race and class. I appreciate that the protagonist is a voice for good, but sometimes it all felt a little too straightforward and simplistic in its moralizing. There’s also a lot of over explaining of concepts that have been established in book one. If it wasn’t a trilogy I’d understand this but it seemed unnecessary.
The characters also were not super interesting to me. I liked the depictions of life on the ship but despite an interesting set up I found lieutenant Tisarwat’s character to be pretty bland. I know I’m supposed to care about the relationship between the main characters but it seems a little forced. And when interesting characters are introduced, such as translator Dlique, we don’t get to spend a lot of time with them.
So unfortunately I was pretty meh on this entry, but like the protagonist and the premise enough that I forgive the shortcomings and am hoping that book 3 will bring things together in a more satisfying way.
mothmans_mum's review against another edition
5.0
Very much enjoyed this sequel. Different to the first book, very slow paced, little action. I loved the slow burning mystery and political intrigue. Also loved discovering more about the world. I hope we get to find out more about the striking tea workers, or will get to see another strike and uprising in the future (though I doubt we will).
This might be projecting my politics onto this book too much, but with all the talk of strikes, annexations and and profits, I wonder if the author has any familiarity with Marxism. I've been wondering if Anaander Miannai is a metaphore for imperialism and the fact that a single state can never exist under capitalism--it must necessarily split and form multiple states in competition with each other.
Can't wait to read the next instalment.
This might be projecting my politics onto this book too much, but with all the talk of strikes, annexations and and profits, I wonder if the author has any familiarity with Marxism. I've been wondering if Anaander Miannai is a metaphore for imperialism and the fact that a single state can never exist under capitalism--it must necessarily split and form multiple states in competition with each other.
Can't wait to read the next instalment.
bridgett's review against another edition
adventurous
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
lastontheboat's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
busantiane's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
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
griffdog's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0