Ancillary Justice

English language

Published Oct. 1, 2013

ISBN:: 978-0-316-24662-0

Ancillary Justice is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in 2013. It is Leckie's debut novel and the first in her Imperial Radch space opera trilogy, followed by Ancillary Sword (2014) and Ancillary Mercy (2015). The novel follows Breq—who is both the sole survivor of a starship destroyed by treachery and the vessel of that ship's artificial consciousness—as she seeks revenge against the ruler of her civilization. The cover art is by John Harris. Ancillary Justice received critical praise and won the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, BSFA Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award, and Locus Award for Best First Novel. It is the only novel to have won the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke awards.Another novel, Provenance (2017), and two short stories, "Night's Slow Poison" and "She Commands Me and I Obey", are set in the same fictional universe.

3 editions

jay reviewed Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Ancillary Justice, some meta

4 stars

The transhumanism treatment was interesting and well done, might have carried the book for me more than the plot even.

A year and change ago, reading the Terra Ignota tetralogy, watching Foundation S1 and reading the Teixcalaan duology got me really fed up with reading about empires and emperors and the equivalence of both. I was happy to discover that, even though it does have an empire and an emperor in important roles, this book didn't hit the same notes at all.

(I'd like to have more to say about it, but I listened to this and the sequel on low spoons/bad brain days.)

The transhumanism treatment was interesting and well done, might have carried the book for me more than the plot even.

A year and change ago, reading the Terra Ignota tetralogy, watching Foundation S1 and reading the Teixcalaan duology got me really fed up with reading about empires and emperors and the equivalence of both. I was happy to discover that, even though it does have an empire and an emperor in important roles, this book didn't hit the same notes at all.

(I'd like to have more to say about it, but I listened to this and the sequel on low spoons/bad brain days.)

TheGr8Whoopdini reviewed Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Military Sci-Fi at Its Most Contemplative

5 stars

A fascinating exploration of colonialism, gender, and the question of human agency told through a remarkably human, arguably nonhuman protagonist. A must-read for anyone who enjoys outside-the-box thinking and sci-fi worldbuilding.