Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch #2) by Ann Leckie

Science Fiction

From Goodreads:

What if you once had thousands of bodies and near god-like technology at your disposal?

And what if all of it were ripped away?

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 loved Ancillary Justice and hoped that Ancillary Sword would be just as good.  It is even as it is different.  Breq is till the main character but now she is further away from being a ship with many bodies and more an individual who is still growing and changing.  There are so many strands to this story and while some are resolved more are left as hooks for future books.

Ancillary Sword is very character driven with Breq the one doing the driving.  There are some secondary characters from the previous books and some new to this book and each is seen through Breq’s eyes.  The writing is still first rate, the world building continues and plot still builds.  Leckie takes all of those stands and weaves a interesting and complex book that is hard to put down. 

I am looking forward to the next book and hope the high quality continues in the series.


Orbit published Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie.

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