Ann Leckie: Ancillary Mercy

Hi

Ancillary Mercy is the third part in the Imperial Radch Trilogy by Ann Leckie.
My copy has 330 pages and I got it at the Standaard Boekhandel.
You can find my other reviews in this series here.
This book is nominated for the Hugo Award 2016 and the Nebula Award 2016.

I had high hopes for this one. Everyone seems to love it even more then the previous two (which I just found ok) so I hoped that this conclusion would make the reading experience worth it.
It wasn’t in my opinion.

The plot is not really exciting or suspenseful nor is it surprising; it’s actually rather boring and not a lot happens.

Seivarden en Ekalu’s fight is entirely understandable, but it doesn’t need so much time in the book. And the moralizing message behind it is has no part in it.
Seivarden has turned into a whiny, pathetic and arogant ass.
Zeiat, the new Presger Translater is weird. Funny in a way, and also strange and bizarre but he/she is only there as comic relief, making the same kind of jokes over and over again. It gets old.

If I’d ever reread these books I’d make a drinking game out of it. Every time ‘tea’ is mentioned; I’d take a shot. But I like this obsession with tea. It’s charming.

The ending leaves everything open. What happens next with The Presger? What about Anaander Mianaai? We don’t know. The novel just ends. I honestly felt cheated.

The first book didn’t blow me away but I thought that was my fault. I was new to SF so it was possible I didn’t understand it all. That’s why I decided to carry on with the series. The reviews I’d read were all so positive, I felt a bit ashamed for not loving it as much as others.
Now however, I don’t care.
If she’d ever write a sequel; I wouldn’t read it.

2 STARS

Happy reading.
Helena

Time for a snack!

Ann Leckie: Ancillary Sword

Hi

Ancillary Sword is Ann Leckie’s second book in the Imperial Radch Trilogy. It won the Locus Award and the BSFA Award.
The book has 354 pages and I got it from Bol.
I read the first novel, Ancillary Justice, a few months ago.

 “The Lord of the Radch has given Breq command of the ship Mercy of Kalr and sent her to the only place she would have agreed to go -- to Athoek Station, where Lieutenant Awn's sister works in Horticulture.
Athoek was annexed some six hundred years ago, and by now everyone is fully civilized -- or should be. But everything is not as tranquil as it appears. Old divisions are still troublesome, Athoek Station's AI is unhappy with the situation, and it looks like the alien Presger might have taken an interest in what's going on. With no guarantees that interest is benevolent.”

I found this one really difficult to get through.
It’s rather boring actually. It’s not bad, just boring and I was never really stimulated to get on with reading it.

The story is very simple (again), not really exciting and so, so slow. There’s an overly simple plot but it’s not considered that important and the narrative thread is weak too.
Ancillary Sword has even less action then Justice. It’s more focused on its morality and message then on something (anything) happening.
The world building made this a better novel though. There are lots of details and history and I like that in SFF. But it’s never really descriptive, just here and there a bit and I want more.

Breq is an admirable character. She does what she believes is right, without regard for propriety or status.
Her ability to read even the tiniest flicker of emotion on someone’s face is a bit over-reaching in my opinion. She’s not human and she can’t see every tiny glance. But she apparently knows everything that goes on in a human’s mind.
You do feel how lonely she is throughout the novel.
But she is too perfect to make me really care for her. She always knows exactly what to do, she’s so moral and just, she never falters or makes mistakes. It aggravated me to be honest.

I liked knowing more about the annexation and the troubles it brings for the different peoples and societies as Breq experiences it. Politics and the inner workings of a society always interest me in SFF. But the scope here is so small. Breq talks and talks about the whole Empire, but all we see is this tiny, unimportant station. Problems in the Empire are mentioned throughout the novel, but it’s always in passing.
I missed Seivarden in this novel. I liked the interaction between Breq and Seivarden in the previous novel. 

Sword is different and not bad but not as special as many seem to think. Or that’s my opinion at least.

Happy reading.
Helena

Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice

Hi

This review is about Ancillary Justice; Ann Leckie’s debut novel and the first novel in the Imperial Radch Trilogy. It won the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, BSFA Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award and Locus Award.
The novel has 384 pages and an interview of 8 pages. I ordered it from The Book Depository.

“The Radch are conquerors to be feared - resist and they'll turn you into a 'corpse soldier' - one of an army of dead prisoners animated by a warship's AI mind. Whole planets are conquered by their own people.
The colossal warship called The Justice of Toren has been destroyed - but one ship-possessed soldier has escaped the devastation. Used to controlling thousands of hands, thousands of mouths, The Justice now has only two hands, and one mouth with which to tell her tale.
But one fragile, human body might just be enough to take revenge against those who destroyed her.”

There are several things I liked about the novel.
Leckie uses different story threads and each one enhances our understanding of the situation and the characters themselves. It’s always clear where we are and with who. The story progresses slower (which I don’t mind) but our understanding of it deepens and it enhances the characterization.
I liked the objective, almost detached voice of Breq. Though some might find this a sore point because it doesn’t make for a very engaging novel.
Leckie’s character development is great. Breq especially undergoes tremendous changes. And the world building is great too!

There are a few things I didn’t like about it too.
Seivarden doesn’t play a role that’s even important to the central plot. I liked him a lot, but he serves no real purpose. It feels as if Leckie only put him there to give us at least one sideline to the plot because it would be too straightforward otherwise.
I was rather disappointed by the simplicity of the plot. I could even say I was pretty bored through most of the novel.

For Breq, who is from the Radch Empire, everything and everyone is female so she doesn’t use male pronouns in her language because they do not distinguish by gender. I did find this a bit gimmicky and not that special. 

I want to see how it all works out so I think I’ll read the next part in the Trilogy.

Happy reading!
Helena