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centralia's review against another edition
1.0
This book was so bad, it's made me rethink my opinion on the Radch trilogy. The trilogy had good worldbuilding and interesting characters with an ending just vague enough that I could pretend they would do something reasonable. In light of Provenance, it seems more likely that the author imagined what would effectively be an AI dictatorship.
Provenance follows exclusively upper-class characters, specifically a struggling nepo baby, as they naviagte politics within their government. I don't really remember the plot. It ends with a hostage situation that the state authorities ultimately resolve. Forgive my lack of an original review, but this goodreads review by Rory summed it up for me perfectly,
Provenance follows exclusively upper-class characters, specifically a struggling nepo baby, as they naviagte politics within their government. I don't really remember the plot. It ends with a hostage situation that the state authorities ultimately resolve. Forgive my lack of an original review, but this goodreads review by Rory summed it up for me perfectly,
"Tension free tale of a posh rich girl with no self esteem and her cop gf. Every character is some kind of space aristo, normal people don't seem to exist, and any narrative momentum is constantly undercut by Leckie restating her own points over and over...And of course the sensible authorities save the day and the status quo is preserved (maybe with some incremental democratic reform on the horizon-spicy!)..."
I'll read just about any space opera with lesbians, but not if they hit me with the fucking cop girlfriend. Just for doing that, I'm changing my two-star review to one star. Fuck that. Whoever you are, Rory, thank you for your review
I'll read just about any space opera with lesbians, but not if they hit me with the fucking cop girlfriend. Just for doing that, I'm changing my two-star review to one star. Fuck that. Whoever you are, Rory, thank you for your review
meghaha's review against another edition
3.0
This was a bit disappointing. It's not that Provenance is a bad book (it's actually pretty decent), I just have really high, perhaps unrealistic expectations for books by Ann Leckie. I still think about how much I liked Ancillary Justice from time to time, and I read it three years ago. Of course, the rest of the Imperial Radch trilogy didn't quite match up to Leckie's spectacular debut and this latest book is more of the same in that it's decent and capably written but nothing special. Ancillary Justice was special and I keep hoping Leckie will produce something like it again and so far she hasn't. Perhaps I should just accept decent is what I can get from Leckie so that I can enjoy her books as they are rather than yearn for what they aren't.
I'll admit I read Provenance very quickly and it was a smooth, easy read, which is great because I haven't finished a novel in a few weeks. However, there was something quite off-center about the plot and the main character, Ingray. I don't know how to explain it. I don't want to say it was too-small concerns within a wider, more interesting conflict, but that's how it came off. I mean, I appreciate that Ingray is insecure, I quite like books that focus on character development, and she does need to establish her identity as it relates to family, which is a perfectly worthy theme. But I just kind of thought the whole sibling rivalry thing was a bit uninteresting, and some incidents felt sort of unbalanced in the scope of the expansiveness of the world-building that included several planets, and political conflicts between multiple societies and species. In some ways I felt like this book should've been Young Adult and would have been better if Leckie had decided that and picked up some of the conventions of the genre, as I feel like this had a strong coming-of-age center, but was struggling to see itself as such.
I don't know. Something was just off. I wish I had a stronger sense of the Tic or Garal (blank faces to me) or of any of the supporting characters. Ingray's doubts and fears and kindness and mess-ups did feel authentic to me, so that's something.
I'll admit I read Provenance very quickly and it was a smooth, easy read, which is great because I haven't finished a novel in a few weeks. However, there was something quite off-center about the plot and the main character, Ingray. I don't know how to explain it. I don't want to say it was too-small concerns within a wider, more interesting conflict, but that's how it came off. I mean, I appreciate that Ingray is insecure, I quite like books that focus on character development, and she does need to establish her identity as it relates to family, which is a perfectly worthy theme. But I just kind of thought the whole sibling rivalry thing was a bit uninteresting, and some incidents felt sort of unbalanced in the scope of the expansiveness of the world-building that included several planets, and political conflicts between multiple societies and species. In some ways I felt like this book should've been Young Adult and would have been better if Leckie had decided that and picked up some of the conventions of the genre, as I feel like this had a strong coming-of-age center, but was struggling to see itself as such.
I don't know. Something was just off. I wish I had a stronger sense of the Tic or Garal (blank faces to me) or of any of the supporting characters. Ingray's doubts and fears and kindness and mess-ups did feel authentic to me, so that's something.
justabean_reads's review against another edition
4.5
I can see why this was a surprising shift in tone for people going in expecting more of the Ancillary trilogy. It also doesn't have the cool multiplicity of points of view aspect we got with Breq, and the gender stuff in the empire was replaced by other gender stuff. But there's more aliens, so for me it balanced out in the end.
I really enjoyed another outing in the universe with (at least initially) slightly lower stakes. I was describing it as "delightful buddy comedy about a dumb fuck aristocrat's daughter and the rando non-binary criminal she picked up along the way, attempting to do crime" and that more or less sums it up, with "and accidentally interplanetary shenanigans" and "cute f/f romance" towards the end. Competence porn this was not, but I liked being on the trip with someone whose skill set was not at all matched to the situation in which she placed herself, but who more or less figured how to make it work anyway. I liked that it was mixed on the value of loyalty to a family that probably isn't all that loyal back, and trying to navigate toxic relationships. I might have lost track of some of the plotting and counter plotting towards the end there, but it had all the action adventure and fun aliens that the first ones did.
Very much enjoyed, looking forward to my library someday getting Translation State on audio.
I really enjoyed another outing in the universe with (at least initially) slightly lower stakes. I was describing it as "delightful buddy comedy about a dumb fuck aristocrat's daughter and the rando non-binary criminal she picked up along the way, attempting to do crime" and that more or less sums it up, with "and accidentally interplanetary shenanigans" and "cute f/f romance" towards the end. Competence porn this was not, but I liked being on the trip with someone whose skill set was not at all matched to the situation in which she placed herself, but who more or less figured how to make it work anyway. I liked that it was mixed on the value of loyalty to a family that probably isn't all that loyal back, and trying to navigate toxic relationships. I might have lost track of some of the plotting and counter plotting towards the end there, but it had all the action adventure and fun aliens that the first ones did.
Very much enjoyed, looking forward to my library someday getting Translation State on audio.
eleanora's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.5
bookscatsandjazz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
mgpalpha's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
luketolvaj's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
fast-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
matteo_of_eld's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-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
4.0
ranaldclouston's review against another edition
4.0
Finished Reading the followup to Ann Leckie 's Imperial Radch trilogy. Although it is set in a different milieu, very much recommended to read the Ancillary books first because the conclusion of that series is a plot point here. Leckie is one of the best in SciFi for inventing alternative cultures and seeing how they can clash or cooperate; here the high concepts are wrapped in a fun and twisty, somewhat noirish, tale of murder and politics.
thejaredpowers's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
While I do miss the original cast of characters, I do love this universe and learning a bit more about something happening outside that little bubble. I definitely enjoyed the book and this new group of characters was wonderful as well.