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shubka's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, and Sexual assault
There is an event that mirrors sexual assault in the book. Although not directly sexual, it is unwanted physical contact that might be disturbing for some.deedireads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
All my reviews live at https://deedireads.com/.
Lucky for me that Translation State was nominated for the Hugo, because it’s unlikely I would have picked it up on my own. I had not heard of the Imperial Radch trilogy (although appears to be quite beloved!), which is the primary work where this book’s universe is established. Translation State is one of two standalone novels that widen the trilogy’s scope by focusing on other planetary systems and species/civilizations.
Although I could definitely tell that I was missing context — easter eggs and recurring characters and things like that — to Leckie’s credit, I never felt lost. And this was a very fun story with cool, deeply lovable cannibal aliens. (Of the three main characters, two are humans — well, kinda — and one is an alien.) What’s not to like?? The secondary characters were sort of flat and some things were tied up a bit too neatly, as you might expect from a “spin-off” novel like this, but those were minor complaints. I loved the overall theme that we all want to belong and should have a place in the universe and people to love us. I also loved the emphasis on gender as a spectrum and the overarching question of what makes someone “human.”
Nobody else is Becky Chambers but if you’re looking for something to read after Long Way this could be it — and I get the feeling from reviews that the original trilogy may be even closer.
Content and Trigger Warnings
Body horror; Cannibalism (kind of); Xenophobia; Violence and blood
Lucky for me that Translation State was nominated for the Hugo, because it’s unlikely I would have picked it up on my own. I had not heard of the Imperial Radch trilogy (although appears to be quite beloved!), which is the primary work where this book’s universe is established. Translation State is one of two standalone novels that widen the trilogy’s scope by focusing on other planetary systems and species/civilizations.
Although I could definitely tell that I was missing context — easter eggs and recurring characters and things like that — to Leckie’s credit, I never felt lost. And this was a very fun story with cool, deeply lovable cannibal aliens. (Of the three main characters, two are humans — well, kinda — and one is an alien.) What’s not to like?? The secondary characters were sort of flat and some things were tied up a bit too neatly, as you might expect from a “spin-off” novel like this, but those were minor complaints. I loved the overall theme that we all want to belong and should have a place in the universe and people to love us. I also loved the emphasis on gender as a spectrum and the overarching question of what makes someone “human.”
Nobody else is Becky Chambers but if you’re looking for something to read after Long Way this could be it — and I get the feeling from reviews that the original trilogy may be even closer.
Content and Trigger Warnings
Body horror; Cannibalism (kind of); Xenophobia; Violence and blood
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Xenophobia and Cannibalism
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
zgreyz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Blood
Moderate: Cannibalism
booksthatburn's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.0
TRANSLATION STATE is best read after the Imperial Radch trilogy and PROVENANCE, as some of the worldbuilding details reveal conclusions to situations encountered in those books. That being said, TRANSLATION STATE is a self-contained story which delves into the Presger in a manner beyond the scope of the previous stories. The series as a whole focuses on questions of personhood and community, different ways people can be connected, and ways that identity can be complicated by, or unrelated to, one’s physical form.
I continue to be impressed with the worldbuilding in this series. This explains thing things about the Presger Translators which are completely consistent with events in previous books, making it clear that much of the underlying situation had been thought out well in advance. I love it when an author clearly has already figured out their world at a level of detail that I usually don’t have to worry about as a reader. The internal consistency is so nice.
Enae was eir grandmaman's caretaker, but grandmaman is dead, and Enae is sent to find a Presger Translator who has been missing for 200 years. No one expects e to find them, but e wants to do a good job anyway.
Qven is meant to mate and become a Preger Translator; all of their development has been aimed at this goal. An incident leaves them altered in a way that the adults do not find acceptable, and their life is in jeopardy. If they cannot be useful, then they will never mate and they will die. One of the translators hopes to salvage the situation by making Qven merge with a newly discovered juvenile who grew up among humans.
Reet is adopted, just like his many siblings, but he’s always seemed odd to other people. His thoughts are filled with entrails and viscera, he desires to pull and tear to see the gorey insides of those around him. As part of some attempt at belonging, Reet ends up assigned to escort Enae around when they visit following the centuries old trail of the missing translator.
I like the three main characters, they comprise a great trio of perspectives. Even though their initial proximity is forced, I like the way Qven and Reet interact. They fit well with each other, and I hope to get more of them in future books.
While not a direct sequel, this provides a lot of information about the Presger Translators, details which explain several things from the previous books. The main storyline is entirely new, introducing and resolving the assorted troubles of the three main characters. There are various background details in this book, and the previous ones which will likely require several more stories to fully resolve, so I would be very surprised if this is intended to be the final book. Someone could quite easily start here and have a very satisfying reading experience: the kinds of things which are explained in detail are no better or worse of an entry point to the series, other than that they canonically happened after the previous four books. I can’t think of anything important that was explained enough detail to feel like a spoiler for someone who begins here and then later goes back for the other books.
Things I love, in no particular order: Qven's descriptions of growing up; the way the Presger Translators seem to have conflated being human with being Radchai – particularly the way that understanding shapes which humans ceremonies they practice.
I continue to be impressed with the worldbuilding in this series. This explains thing things about the Presger Translators which are completely consistent with events in previous books, making it clear that much of the underlying situation had been thought out well in advance. I love it when an author clearly has already figured out their world at a level of detail that I usually don’t have to worry about as a reader. The internal consistency is so nice.
Enae was eir grandmaman's caretaker, but grandmaman is dead, and Enae is sent to find a Presger Translator who has been missing for 200 years. No one expects e to find them, but e wants to do a good job anyway.
Qven is meant to mate and become a Preger Translator; all of their development has been aimed at this goal. An incident leaves them altered in a way that the adults do not find acceptable, and their life is in jeopardy. If they cannot be useful, then they will never mate and they will die. One of the translators hopes to salvage the situation by making Qven merge with a newly discovered juvenile who grew up among humans.
Reet is adopted, just like his many siblings, but he’s always seemed odd to other people. His thoughts are filled with entrails and viscera, he desires to pull and tear to see the gorey insides of those around him. As part of some attempt at belonging, Reet ends up assigned to escort Enae around when they visit following the centuries old trail of the missing translator.
I like the three main characters, they comprise a great trio of perspectives. Even though their initial proximity is forced, I like the way Qven and Reet interact. They fit well with each other, and I hope to get more of them in future books.
While not a direct sequel, this provides a lot of information about the Presger Translators, details which explain several things from the previous books. The main storyline is entirely new, introducing and resolving the assorted troubles of the three main characters. There are various background details in this book, and the previous ones which will likely require several more stories to fully resolve, so I would be very surprised if this is intended to be the final book. Someone could quite easily start here and have a very satisfying reading experience: the kinds of things which are explained in detail are no better or worse of an entry point to the series, other than that they canonically happened after the previous four books. I can’t think of anything important that was explained enough detail to feel like a spoiler for someone who begins here and then later goes back for the other books.
Things I love, in no particular order: Qven's descriptions of growing up; the way the Presger Translators seem to have conflated being human with being Radchai – particularly the way that understanding shapes which humans ceremonies they practice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and War
eleanora's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death and Police brutality
eidiya's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Cannibalism
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Blood
scifi_rat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Minor: Colonisation and Classism
trips's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
4.0
This would be a hard book to recommend to everyone, but I found myself really liking it!
It kinda feels like Twelve Angry Men mixed with Akira levels of body horror and although that is super weird and I found it fascinating. That also isn't a great comparison, so I guess its like, a very weird and cool episode of Star Trek (l0l).
This probably shouldn't have been my first foray into Leckie but I'm not mad it was! I found the world to be quite interesting and its approach to a non-gendered universe refreshing. That being said, this book is about 80% dialogue so if you're not a fan of books with heavy discussion and less action, this probably isn't for you. For me, I found it intriguing and thoughtful!
It kinda feels like Twelve Angry Men mixed with Akira levels of body horror and although that is super weird and I found it fascinating. That also isn't a great comparison, so I guess its like, a very weird and cool episode of Star Trek (l0l).
This probably shouldn't have been my first foray into Leckie but I'm not mad it was! I found the world to be quite interesting and its approach to a non-gendered universe refreshing. That being said, this book is about 80% dialogue so if you're not a fan of books with heavy discussion and less action, this probably isn't for you. For me, I found it intriguing and thoughtful!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault
directorpurry's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Transphobia