Annotation: Science Fiction

Ancillary Justice

Ann Leckie

Orbit

386 pages

Synopsis

Ancillary Justice is a space opera set in a far-future universe in which the Radch Empire annexes and controls many planets. The Empire implants artificial intelligence (AI) from sentient spaceships into humans to use them as hive-minded soldiers called “ancillaries”.

The story is told in timelines, one in the present and one twenty years prior. In the present, Breq, the only surviving ancillary from the ship Justice of Toren, is seeking vengeance for her destroyed ship when she stumbles upon an officer she knew years previously. In the past, Breq recalls the events leading up to Justice of Toren’s destruction as well as her complicity in Radch’s brutal regime of colonization. This is the first book in the Imperial Radch Trilogy. It won both a Hugo and a Nebula Award, among several others, for best novel.  

Science Fiction Appeal

Ancillary Justice contains many subjects favorite among science fiction readers: artificial intelligences, space flight, imperialism, and weapons. It is a dramatically-told revenge quest set in a futuristic universe inhabited by humans and aliens alike.

By telling the story from Breq’s point of view, Leckie gives the story of tone of “otherness” common to science fiction. Though more time is spent on world-building than characterization, the device of Breq possessing multiple intelligences offers an interesting discussion of what makes in individual an individual. Another device Leckie uses is gender. The Radch language does not recognize gender, so all characters are referred to as she unless proven otherwise. Leckie handles this well and it makes for an interesting reading experience.

Read-a-likes  

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

I would recommend the second book in the trilogy if readers like the first. Ancillary Justice clearly sets up a sequel and readers who like Leckie’s style will want more of the same.  

The Abyss Beyond Dreams by Peter F. Hamilton

This book is also a compelling-written space opera about the politics of colonization. It contains a fair amount of world-building balanced by a dramatic tone and action scenes.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin     

This is the sixth book in a series set in a far-future universe. It is similarly thought-provoking and descriptive, though it has a slower pace than Ancillary Justice. Recommend this for readers who like Leckie’s take on gender and gender roles and want an expansion of that discussion.