Ancillary Sword Book Reviews

We transfer money over €4 billion every month. We enable individual and business accounts to save 4 million Euros on bank transfer fees. Want to send free money abroad or transfer money abroad for free? Free international money transfer!

Ancillary Sword. The obsession Ms. Leckie has with avoiding a single clear male character, even referring to the same person as she then he then she, she, she is so distracting that it ultimately destroys the readability of the book. Essentially all leaders, all characters, all sex is female to female.

Fleet Captain Breq’s First Assignment. “Ancillary Sword” is the second novel in Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch Series. It’s a deep dive into her complex and different universe. It continues to feature the culture and civilization of the Radch. They have built a interstellar empire by conquest, turning conquered planets into new citizens. When doing this they absorb their cultures and religions while imposing their own. They have mainly concerned themselves with other human civilizations, but there are at least three off-screen alien civilizations. To support this military might, there are large AI controlled starships such as the Justice of Toren which was a troop-carrier with vast numbers of Ancillaries, which others refer to as corpse-soldiers. Each of these mind wiped, augmented, and repurposed human bodies is an extension of the ship. The ancillaries form a sort of a hive-mind with the ship’s AI, and should be little more than tools to be used and thrown away. However, when the Justice of Toren is lost through treachery, only a single ancillary that calls itself Breq remains. The first novel in this series followed Breq’s search for vengeance, and development as a person. In this second novel, Breq has been appointed a Feet Captain by the Lord of the Radch, and given a military ship, the Mercy of Kalr. Breq has to bring together a troublesome group of fully human soldiers, and has been sent to the Athoek System to protect it and maintain the peace. Meanwhile, the Lord of the Radch fights a civil war with herself. Breq finds that the Athoek system has significant problems brewing beneath the surface. The Citizens of the Radch should all be equal, and enjoy the opportunities of their enlightened civilization. The reality however, is quite different if one knows where and how to look… This novel is quite different from the first, but I found it equally compelling. Breq continues to become a person, and develops as a character. Vast amounts of tea are consumed, and more details of the Radch Empire are revealed.

Entertaining but beware the Mary Sue. The first book in this series, Ancillary Justice, was pretty astonishing in its world building and choice of protagonist. That protagonist, the AI of a starship living in a more-or-less human body and working towards its own goals in an androgynous, space-faring human civilization with distinct religions and mannerisms and customs, is back in this sequel taking place immediately after the events of that first novel. And while the story is still good, with decent pacing and characters you can sink your teeth into, that protagonist is now so deeply Mary Sue that she might as well be a demigod. It’s still worth a read, but I do wish there was a little more weakness and an occasional mistake by the PIV character. Let’s see if it’s better in the third installment, which I’ll definitely read because the plot still holds me

A solid follow-up.. Though not measuring up to Justice, still a fun read, and exhibiting many of Justice's strengths.

Did you know that you can earn 25 USD from our site just by registering? Get $25 for free by joining Payoneer!

Imagine you at your best. All the time. Picture yourself at your sharpest and most productive. Your most alert and focused. Your most lucid, creative and confident. At work. At play. In every area of your life. Add Mind Lab Pro® v4.0 to your daily routine and uncap your true potential. Buy Now!

Adsterra is the most preferred ad network for those looking for an alternative to AdSense. Adsterra is the ideal choice for new sites with low daily traffic. In order to advertise on the site in Adsterra, like other ad networks, a certain traffic limit, domain age, etc. is required. There are no strict rules. Sign up!