A review by coffinfinite
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
adventurous
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
4.5
Returning to the world of Ancillary Justice was not as easy as I expected. The world Leckie has created felt as obstuse and confusing to me as it did on my first read, and I now believe this is to the book's detriment. In order to get to the meat of the story the reader is asked to juggle too many unknowns and too many unfamiliarities; most authors struggle with too much exposition, while Leckie would do well to explain things a little more. Working out the structure of the main character ship, Justice of Toren, was a real struggle, throwing up questions like what is a decade? How are they organised? Which units are composed of ancillaries and which are now human? What do the names like Esk, Amaat and Var mean, and why? Many of these details are never directly addressed, leaving the reader half blind. The book therefore veers between exciting set pieces following Breq and Seivarden in the current day, and far more confusing flashbacks to Toren that slows reading to a crawl.
Deciding how much of this difficulty is the fault of the author and how much is the fault of me, the reader, is a gnarly task. I am well versed in science fiction and familiar with many of the tropes and traditions of the genre. I don't think Ancillary Justice could be read by someone who hadn't already got a few other science fiction novels under their belt first. On the other hand, perhaps my confusion reveals a weakness in my own cognitive abilities, and a gap between Leckie's ambitious vision and my own competence as a reader. Regardless, the fact remains that while this book is undoubtedly excellent, my experience reading it did not match up. The pace gathers speed towards the climatic finale, tripping over itself a little and coming to an abrupt end that jars against the lethargic first two thirds.
However, the characters and universe are vividly realised, with the Raadch a galactic empire that operates in a flawed meritocracy with a taste for tea (which sounds oddly familiar...) and a love of bright colour, flowers and elaborate statues and stained windows of their deities. It sounds like a terrifying place in which to live, with other cultures being annexed and incorporated into the Raadch's territory in a seemingly endless expansion, until the events of this book. The book deals with issues of classism and colonisation without being condescending or preachy, and the absence of gender identifying language means our perspective of the characters lies more in behavioural interpretation than the pre-conceived norms of the read world. Every character being a "she" in this manner was a refreshing departure from the male-centric notions of more traditional science fiction.
Despite my issues with this book, it is clearly a very important text in the landscape of science fiction as we know it today, and it is an excellent read if you are willing to work through its issues.
Deciding how much of this difficulty is the fault of the author and how much is the fault of me, the reader, is a gnarly task. I am well versed in science fiction and familiar with many of the tropes and traditions of the genre. I don't think Ancillary Justice could be read by someone who hadn't already got a few other science fiction novels under their belt first. On the other hand, perhaps my confusion reveals a weakness in my own cognitive abilities, and a gap between Leckie's ambitious vision and my own competence as a reader. Regardless, the fact remains that while this book is undoubtedly excellent, my experience reading it did not match up. The pace gathers speed towards the climatic finale, tripping over itself a little and coming to an abrupt end that jars against the lethargic first two thirds.
However, the characters and universe are vividly realised, with the Raadch a galactic empire that operates in a flawed meritocracy with a taste for tea (which sounds oddly familiar...) and a love of bright colour, flowers and elaborate statues and stained windows of their deities. It sounds like a terrifying place in which to live, with other cultures being annexed and incorporated into the Raadch's territory in a seemingly endless expansion, until the events of this book. The book deals with issues of classism and colonisation without being condescending or preachy, and the absence of gender identifying language means our perspective of the characters lies more in behavioural interpretation than the pre-conceived norms of the read world. Every character being a "she" in this manner was a refreshing departure from the male-centric notions of more traditional science fiction.
Despite my issues with this book, it is clearly a very important text in the landscape of science fiction as we know it today, and it is an excellent read if you are willing to work through its issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Genocide
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, and Gun violence