Ann Leckie, ancillary language

[Connavar]

I didnt know much about this author before august this summer when several accalimed brit,american SFF authors were in town, signing books in the local bookshop i get most of my english language books. They were in my hometown here in Sweden because of World Con.
Ancillary Justice sounded most interesting to me when i wanted to try newer SF books,authors.

I was wondering what you guys think of the series she has written so far, her writing in general?

So far she is exactly what i was looking for in smart, thought-provoking new SF. Other than Kameron Hurley seems like most new for me SF authors i have read is authors i discovered like in 2010...

 

[Connavar]

I'm reading Ancillary Justice right now, its so fascinating to read, think about the use of language, the way its used to approach gender and pronouns. The way she, he is used, how as a reader not used it, has to confront the way we think, expect to see gender, gender roles.

It reminds me alittle of Kameron Hurley's Bel Dame Apocrypa series, the way it explored, played with masculinity, feminity in the male, female characters, making Rhys the more "feminine" of the two and Nyx the more "masculine.

Also spolier mark if you guys are talking about Ancillary book series in general.

 

[hitmouse]

I enjoyed the trilogy. Ancillary Justice was refreshing, different, and well written, and basically a nice surprise after a spell of reading rather formulaic and dull stuff.

 

[williamjm]

I thought Ancillary Justice was a great book, and the two sequels were good as well. It did take me a while to get into the second book because it didn't really go in the direction I had been expecting after how the first book ending, the story was smaller in scale than I was expecting, but it was interesting to see what 'normal' life in the Imperial Radch was like. I thought the third book built on the second one and came to a good conclusion.

She has a new book, Provenance, which I think is out tomorrow.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I couldn't get into it at all and stopped reading about a third through. I found nothing I liked in any of the characters and nothing real in their portrayal. I am a character reader though so certainly would not presume this made it a bad book - just not for me

 

[Connavar]

I thought Ancillary Justice was a great book, and the two sequels were good as well. It did take me a while to get into the second book because it didn't really go in the direction I had been expecting after how the first book ending, the story was smaller in scale than I was expecting, but it was interesting to see what 'normal' life in the Imperial Radch was like. I thought the third book built on the second one and came to a good conclusion.

She has a new book, Provenance, which I think is out tomorrow.

I enjoy very much the ambitious galaxy level scale of the story, the political system,ideologies involved in the first book i have im just finishing but i must say im very curious how "normal" life looks in the human worlds, this future of the series. The people that lived 1000s of years under the Imperial Radch or around that empire. The first book atleast it seems like Anaander Mianaai perfected military dictatorship, religious rule.

 

[vanye]

I very much liked all three of the series. A great story, highly imaginative yet plausible and always thoughtful. Great treatment of concepts of identity, but always showing, never telling.

 

[williamjm]

I enjoy very much the ambitious galaxy level scale of the story, the political system,ideologies involved in the first book i have im just finishing but i must say im very curious how "normal" life looks in the human worlds, this future of the series. The people that lived 1000s of years under the Imperial Radch or around that empire. The first book atleast it seems like Anaander Mianaai perfected military dictatorship, religious rule.

Her new book Provenance does show much more of what normal life is like (although not in the Radch itself), and it's shown from the perspective of the people who live there rather than Breq's outside perspective that is seen in Ancillary Sword/Mercy. To be honest, I found the smaller scale of Provenance to be a bit less interesting than the Ancillary books, although I liked it.

 

[Danny McG]

Never really enjoyed it.
If you take away the 'gimmicky' playing around with man/woman identities stuff you are left with a none too original and a bit dull story.
IMO only

 

[williamjm]

If you take away the 'gimmicky' playing around with man/woman identities stuff you are left with a none too original and a bit dull story.IMO only

I can see why it might not to everyone's taste, but I'm a bit confused by the 'none too original' complaint. I know it's difficult to do an entirely original story, but I don't see 'avatar of a murdered sentient starship tries to take revenge' as being a particularly cliched plot, unless there's a lot of similar stories out there I've missed.

 

[Danny McG]

I just took it as yet another lone android story

 

[Connavar]

I very much liked all three of the series. A great story, highly imaginative yet plausible and always thoughtful. Great treatment of concepts of identity, but always showing, never telling.

That is what impressed me the most because many SF novels,authors who have great ideas,concept they want to present,explore there is the mistake of telling so much what they are.

These books are so well written POV of the "hero" is so clear, so vivid you see the ideas no matter how great to his/her eyes. No telling, info dump everywhere about the tech,world, human history in the galaxy etc