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Ancillary Justice: THE HUGO, NEBULA AND ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD WINNER (Imperial Radch Book 1) Kindle Edition
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Ann Leckie
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherOrbit
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Publication date1 Oct. 2013
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File size864 KB
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Product description
Review
Signals the arrival of a hard science fiction author who just might fill the gap left by Iain M. Banks. Ancillary Justice is a highly original novel . . . an intelligent slow-burner. Highly recommended ― Independent on Sunday
You will be truly astounded at how Leckie has fully fleshed out a universe and is asking and attempting to answer the difficult questions that many authors never even address in science fiction ― Buzzfeed
Unexpected, compelling and very cool - Ann Leckie nails it. I've never met a heroine like Breq before. I consider this a very good thing indeed -- John Scalzi (Hugo Award-winning author of REDSHIRTS)
Total gamechanger. Get it, read it, wish to hell you'd written it. Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice may well be the most important book Orbit have published in ages -- Paul Graham Raven
Establishes Leckie as an heir to Banks and Cherryh -- Elizabeth Bear
It's not every day a debut novel by an author you'd never heard of before derails your entire afternoon with its brilliance -- Liz Bourke ― Tor.com
Using the format of a SF military adventure blended with hints of space opera, Leckie explores the expanded meaning of human nature and the uneasy balance between individuality and membership in a group identity. Leckie is a newcomer to watch ― Library Journal (starred review)
Leckie's novel cast of characters serves her well-plotted story nicely. This is an altogether promising debut ― Kirkus
Our #1 pick for the year's best science fiction or fantasy book . . . this Iain M. Banks-esque tale was the book that made us most excited about the future of science fiction in 2013 ― io9.com
It engages, it excites, and it challenges the way the reader views our world. Leckie may be a former Secretary of the Science Fiction Writers of America, but she's the President of this year's crop of debut novelists. Ancillary Justice might be the best science fiction novel of this very young decade -- Justin Landon ― Staffer’s Book Review
The sort of book that the Clarke Award wishes it had last year ... be prepared to see Ancillary Justice bandied around a lot come awards season. (As it should be) -- Jared Shurin ― Pornokitsch
Leckie uses familiar set pieces-an expansionist galaxy-spanning empire, a protagonist on a single-minded quest for justice-to transcend space-opera conventions in innovative ways. This impressive debut succeeds in making Breq a protagonist readers will invest in, and establishes Leckie as a talent to watch closely ― Publisher’s Weekly
Leckie's debut gives casual and hardcore sci-fi fans alike a wonderful read ― RT Book Reviews
First rate, rollicking space-opera with plenty of action, intrigue and adventure ... a fabulous debut ― The Skiffy and Fanty Show
A sharply written space opera . . . tackling ideas about politics and gender in a way that's both engaging and provacative . . . a gripping read that's well worth a look -- Saxon Bullock ― SFX Magazine --This text refers to the paperback edition.
From the Inside Flap
They made me kill thousands, but I only have one target now.
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. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
From the Back Cover
Winner of the Hugo Award
Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award
Winner of the Nebula Award
Winner of the Locus Award
Winner of the British Science Fiction Association Award
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.
Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship and an artificial intelligence controlling thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.
An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. But that might just be enough to take revenge against those who destroyed her.
Inventive and intelligent space opera, Ancillary Justice marks the debut of a bold new voice in science fiction.
'THRILLING, MOVING AND AWE-INSPIRING'
Guardian
'MIND-BLOWING'
io9.com
'ENGAGING AND PROVOCATIVE'
SFX Magazine
'HIGHLY RECOMMENDED'
Independent on Sunday
'ASTOUNDINGLY ASSURED AND GRACEFUL'
Strange Horizons
'ESTABLISHES LECKIE AS AN HEIR TO BANKS'
Elizabeth Bear
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B00BU1DG1S
- Publisher : Orbit; 0 edition (1 Oct. 2013)
- Language : English
- File size : 864 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 393 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: 10,212 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer reviews:
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Although some people cannot seem to get their heads around it, it is actually an easy concept to grasp. A spaceship in this book has artificial intelligence, and to function properly it has people connected to it, so that it can carry out maintenance, send out scouts and assist with the everyday running of the vessel. These people are then like robots to a certain extent. These are people who have been ‘bridged’ with the AI, and so no longer have their own consciousness and are all connected, so what one knows or sees, theoretically all the other parts do.
This has the usual tropes you would expect, such as an evil empire as such, and the other elements, but there is certainly some fun here as our ancillary unit does have trouble communicating in languages that have gender specific pronouns, not sure if what she is going to say will cause offence. We only know really a few of the characters’ actual gender, which leaves us if we want to try and work out the other ones.
Taking in revenge and working on deeper levels, this does raise questions such as what is free will, and do we have it? And, also what happens when an ancillary unit is the last left of a ship, due to destruction, and what will it do, and other issues that can arise when humans become too interconnected with technology and possible unintended outcomes.
With flashbacks to the past, as well as the present time this novel is set, so we end up with something that is certainly worth reading and is exciting and enjoyable, with action and some derring-do.
On the whole, the book lived up to the premise. The main character stuck a nice balance between strange and relateable, sympathetic and ruthless. The ruling empire was painted in interesting shades of grey - bringing harmony and civilization to the planets it colonises while doing terrible things in the process.
There were two particularly interesting ideas. The first was the concept of ancilliaries. In short, the empire turns captured soldiers into willing collaborators by somehow possessing them with the minds of AIs. This was equal parts chilling and fascinating, though at times, I thought it could have been played with even more. The main character firmly identifies as Justice of Toren, the name of the spaceship it was the AI on. In flashbacks, it is shown to simultaneously being conscious of controlling the ship and in being in the bodies of all its hundreds of ancilliaries. And in the present, it definitely considers itself to be Justice of Toren, with no consideration given to whoever the body it is in originally was. While this is intriguing, I sometimes felt it could have been taken further. I never quite got a real sense of how the AIs sense of self functioned in the days when it was still spread across lots of people.
The second interesting idea was around gender and pronouns. The Radh (the colonists who created the main character) have no sense of gender and use one generic pronoun, which is translated as "she". It was unclear whether they are biologically unisex or have just abandoned all cultural constructs around gender. But the way the narrator referred to everyone (including those outside of the Radh, who had standard conceptions of gender) as "she" (despite the fact many of them turned out to be biologically male and identify that way) created a weird disconnect.
The plot and characters were less engaging than the world building and ideas, but still perfectly fine to keep you reading..
Overall, I found this a different and enjoyable read. I will probably read the sequel at some point, but don't feel in any rush to pick it up.





