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eni_iilorak's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
I neither loved nor hated this book. I am mostly writing this review to say that the audiobook, narrated by Adjoa Andoh, is absolutely fantastic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Child death and War
shottel's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
Provenance is a very interesting novel, and not just for its compelling and lightning-fast plot or creative sci-fi setting. The structure of the book is different. In high school I learned of the traditional structure of fiction stories: An opening to set things up, a middle where the plot really rolls, a grand climax of action, then a conclusion where things slow down as the ends are tied up. Provenance doesn’t quite do that. Instead it feels more like it snowballs until it slams straight into the ending of wall. The pace gets increasingly frantic as the stakes rise all the way up to the last ten or so pages, and there is no clear point that you can point to while reading it that says “okay, we’re in the climax phase now.” It’s a different, and very pleasant, reading experience.
There are other things that make it interesting. It’s definitely LGBT fiction, depicting a variety of different gender and sexuality regimes. Without spoiling anything, it’s very subtly implied that the main character is an awful judge of character and intention, which contributes to the political mystery that unfolds. The book in general is frequently very understated, from the setting to the characters, but there’s just barely enough to make sure you can realize there’s more than meets the eye. And this is very much a me thing, but I found it significant: The font choice was perfect. The majority of the letters, the normal lowercase ones, are positively generic. But the italics and capitalized letters are quite interesting - something that’s hard to catch from the main text, but fits with the overall mesh of the book: A world of characters who look and act and pretend like everything is fine, but in reality the interesting parts keep forcing through.
The interestingly different structure of the book combined with the positively creative use of sci-fi to depict alternate societies leads me to highly recommend this book.
There are other things that make it interesting. It’s definitely LGBT fiction, depicting a variety of different gender and sexuality regimes. Without spoiling anything, it’s very subtly implied that the main character is an awful judge of character and intention, which contributes to the political mystery that unfolds. The book in general is frequently very understated, from the setting to the characters, but there’s just barely enough to make sure you can realize there’s more than meets the eye. And this is very much a me thing, but I found it significant: The font choice was perfect. The majority of the letters, the normal lowercase ones, are positively generic. But the italics and capitalized letters are quite interesting - something that’s hard to catch from the main text, but fits with the overall mesh of the book: A world of characters who look and act and pretend like everything is fine, but in reality the interesting parts keep forcing through.
The interestingly different structure of the book combined with the positively creative use of sci-fi to depict alternate societies leads me to highly recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
Moderate: Deadnaming and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Religious bigotry and Alcohol
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
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
PROVENANCE isn't quite a sequel, though the grander politics in play make it clear that this takes place after the main Imperial Radch trilogy. It does so without spoiling anything that would feel too important while reading the trilogy, which I appreciate. It could easily be approached as a stand-alone book, though some aspects of characterization and worldbuilding, particularly as related to a few of the aliens, received much more explanation in the main trilogy.
Structurally, one of the things that I find so wonderful about this series is the way that at every turn there are forces in play beyond the main character, creating a story that feels much larger than their goals. While this is generally true in many novels I feel it especially when reading the Imperial Radch series because of the way that every time the main character either has a very specific long term goal and can quickly adapt to changes on the way (as in the main trilogy), or as is the case here, one very specific goal that is over very quickly, then the rest of the story develops as the almost inevitable consequence of those very early decisions. Ingrid wants to obtain a particular person in order to have em help her with something, but it soon appears she doesn't have the right person and things are much stranger than she anticipated.
Things I love, in no particular order: Ingrid as a character, her rivalry with her brother, the mechs, the ship captain, how language and pronouns are handled, the artifacts and the way their cultural significance is both intertwined with and separate from their actual history.
I enjoyed the audiobook narrator's performance, it enhanced the story generally. I like this as a stand-alone story in an established setting, and hope there continue to be more entries like it.
Structurally, one of the things that I find so wonderful about this series is the way that at every turn there are forces in play beyond the main character, creating a story that feels much larger than their goals. While this is generally true in many novels I feel it especially when reading the Imperial Radch series because of the way that every time the main character either has a very specific long term goal and can quickly adapt to changes on the way (as in the main trilogy), or as is the case here, one very specific goal that is over very quickly, then the rest of the story develops as the almost inevitable consequence of those very early decisions. Ingrid wants to obtain a particular person in order to have em help her with something, but it soon appears she doesn't have the right person and things are much stranger than she anticipated.
Things I love, in no particular order: Ingrid as a character, her rivalry with her brother, the mechs, the ship captain, how language and pronouns are handled, the artifacts and the way their cultural significance is both intertwined with and separate from their actual history.
I enjoyed the audiobook narrator's performance, it enhanced the story generally. I like this as a stand-alone story in an established setting, and hope there continue to be more entries like it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content and Vomit
mar's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
scifi........ good..........
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, and Murder
v171's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Should I be controversial? I'm going to be controversial. Ann Leckie is the best sci-fi author of the past two decades. Am I well rounded in sci-fi authors of the past two decades? No. But being uninformed won't stop me from sharing my opinion!
Provenance is the culmination of the best parts of the Ancillary trilogy. Political intrigue, fantastic world building, expertly woven exposition, complex characters and motivations... it's all there. Leckie is very much comparable to Le Guin in that her best sci-fi stories are not overly packed with action sequences or even adventure, but rather espionage, diplomacy, and complex politics. It makes the universe she has built feel alive and dynamic.
As usual, this story is jam packed with allegory. From land ownership claims, gender identity, deadnaming, and the constitution, this book truly has it all. However, I never felt like any of these parallels were too shallow or not developed fully.
If there's only one criticism I can think of (which is the case for Ancillary as well), it's that her characters are generally without flaw. The good characters are always the heroes that often know exactly what to do or what to say in the moment and they usually have little development over the course of the story. They're so easily... lovable. But, this is something I can look over because because I want to, so there.
Provenance is the culmination of the best parts of the Ancillary trilogy. Political intrigue, fantastic world building, expertly woven exposition, complex characters and motivations... it's all there. Leckie is very much comparable to Le Guin in that her best sci-fi stories are not overly packed with action sequences or even adventure, but rather espionage, diplomacy, and complex politics. It makes the universe she has built feel alive and dynamic.
As usual, this story is jam packed with allegory. From land ownership claims, gender identity, deadnaming, and the constitution, this book truly has it all. However, I never felt like any of these parallels were too shallow or not developed fully.
If there's only one criticism I can think of (which is the case for Ancillary as well), it's that her characters are generally without flaw. The good characters are always the heroes that often know exactly what to do or what to say in the moment and they usually have little development over the course of the story. They're so easily... lovable. But, this is something I can look over because because I want to, so there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Minor: Violence, Vomit, and Medical content