Ancillary Justice

Ugh, Ann Leckie. You’ve done it again. So incredibly good. Very often I found myself staring into space just listening. Wonderful wonderful narration by Adjoa Andoh as well! So perfect for the story! A million stars out of five.

This is as good a book as I have ever read (or listened to) in a long and book-filled life. Characters, plot, thought provoking themes; all are supremely well constructed, and the writing style is both original and masterful. it is not an "easy" read. The prose is subtle and often ambiguous or inconclusive. If the significance of something is unclear to the characters, it is left unclear to the reader as well. But it must be pondered for later developments to be properly appreciated. if you try to skim through to the "good bits", you'll miss all the best bits.

like Tolkien with nature, Cixin Liu with physics, and George RR Martin with clothes, Ann Leckie creates an immersive and fully realised world with culture, and the way cultures change, through assimilation and/or resistance under imperialism. The exploration of personhood, embodiment, and agency through AI is a staple of sci Fi, but never before has it been as thorough, and nuanced as this series. Adjoa Andoh is the perfect talent to bring this series to life, her skill with accents brings the cultural mosiac of The Radch to life in a way that added so much more dimension to this story than when I first read it, making this audiobook one that truly adds value to written text.