Ancillary Justice is a book that does so many things right! A plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat, complex characters who speak in realistic dialogue full of subtext, and a world that feels fully realized and is wonderful to explore. 4/5 stars.
Breq used to be the Justice of Toren - the huge, complex AI that inhabited a colossal starship and all of its thousands of ancillaries in the service of the Radch, the largest of the human empires.
Ancillaries are human bodies that were captured in previous Radchaai annexations (or colonizations) – those who resist the takeover are killed and their bodies frozen and stored, ready to be activated and controlled by Radchaai AI in future annexations. The ancillaries are terrifying soldiers – each one is protected by almost impenetrable armor, and the AI never miss a shot.
But now Breq has been reduced to only one ancillary body. The book follows two parallel timelines – one as she closes in on the end of her quest for revenge, and the other showing how she was betrayed twenty years ago.
There are two small things that hold this book back just a little bit. First, it’s fairly complicated – perhaps too much so. Second, it starts off slowly – but once it gets going, it is incredibly propulsive. So, push through the first 50-80 pages, and know that it’s an incredible experience once you are immersed in the world!
We also talk a bit about the two sequels in the Imperial Radch trilogy – those books aren’t as good and are a lot smaller in scope, but if you absolutely love Ancillary Justice, they can still be worth a read.
As always, we also recommend and discuss some similar books if you are looking for more great books to read. This week we recommend:
Or you can watch the show on YouTube here.