Review--Ancillary Justice

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Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1)Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When you're a science fiction fan, sometimes, if you're fortunate, you come across a novel that reminds you of the "sense of wonder" that first attracted you to SF, the worldbuilding and characterization that was different, and strange, and made you think.

Ancillary Justice gave me that "sense of wonder". Breq is a warrior, a soldier who once upon a time was a space ship and many bodied "ancillaries", animate, once human tools used by the spaceship to carry out tasks.

Now Breq is alone, and wants revenge and justice. Her (all the characters are female pronoun, including the men) quest brings her together with a drug addict she knew a thousand years ago--literally--and as Breq tries to dry her out, for whatever purpose, the question is raised: What does it mean to be human?

While the first third may confuse some readers, that's intentional and unavoidable, and the last two thirds pick up steam and carry you along to a fascinating conclusion, and the seeds of novel #2.


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