Ancillary Justice

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars.
Loved this space opera!  The pacing is superb!  You can tell Leckie homed her skills in short stories...no fluff here!  At first I thought it was crazy original having an AI operate through multiple bodies as well as the ship, but then, isn't that Seven of Nine?  Notwithstanding, Leckie did an excellent job of making you feel like Justice of Toren (aka One Esk, who is now Breq)..,a huge literary feat.  My only complaint is with Sievarden....hopefully his character is fleshed out in upcoming installments.  I enjoyed the linguistic elements in the book; how different languages can't always translate and how the culture shapes the language or vice versa.  Like how One Esk couldn't see gender because her language didn't differentiate genders.  At first I found that lack of pronoun differentiation confusing and frustrating as I pictured (characters like Sievarden first as a girl, then had to recast him as a boy. But I also appreciated the discovery of my bias for gender roles...I felt compassion and concern when I thought Sievarden was a girl, then when I realized he was a man, I found him weak and pitiful.  But I think the point is that regardless of gender people can be empathetic, power hungry, brave, etc.   All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will read on in the series.</["br"]>


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