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.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Science Fiction/Space Opera

What Goodreads says:

"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 with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse 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. And only one purpose--to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch" 

Ancillary Justice is a complex book to review.  Even though the book is written in the first person it takes awhile to learn the main character’s name.  You do get hints of what she is or was.  That just adds to the tension and really hooked me into the story.

I usually like to break a book into parts but I find it will not work here.  Things like plot, characters, and world building are all so intertwined they are impossible to separate.. 

All unfold in the story as you need them.  Understanding Breq, the main character, depends on understanding the world she lives in.  The plot unfolds as you learn about Breq.  The world building is disclosed as you learn about the Breq and as you learn about the Breq you learn about the plot.

Even the development of the other characters depended on how Breq is seen in the story.  Much of this was told using small details that added to the richness of the book.  Ann Leckie set out to build a complex world filled with interesting characters and she more than succeeded.  Her eye for detail paid big dividends in the development of the story and the characters.

Part of the reason I kept reading was to learn more about what Breq was doing, who Breq was, why Breq was where she was, when the story was taking place and where Breq was going.  All of this came slowly into focus while a very good story in a new and complex world was being told.

Recently life has been interfering with my reading but every chance I got I picked up Ancillary Justice so I could continue to read.  For me that is the mark of a really good book.

I recommend Ancillary Justice for any Science Fiction fan.  Ancillary Justice is book one in a loose trilogy (That is how it was described in an interview with Leckie in the back of the book).  Breq is successful in a way she did not suspect and that opened up new adventures for Breq.  I am ready of book two and more of Breq and her world.

Orbit published Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie in 2013.

I received an ARC of Ancillary Justice from Netgalley.