From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…

Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1)

Ann Leckie

Start date: November 1, 2013

Finish date: November 30, 2013

Discussion: 2013 Reads

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2013 Reads

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What Members Thought

Dec 09, 2014 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: speculative-fiction

I loved this book. Ann Leckie's universe is a terrifying place, and the corpse soldier concept is absolutely horrifying.

Long game political intrigue, a little cyber punk, and armies of the undead serving a galactic empire make for a compelling read.

I can't wait for the rest of this trilogy.

The audio book version is also well-produced, and only ten hours. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 04, 2014 Vicki rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, audible, mystery, dystopian, sff, society, technology

Gobstopper of debut novel that you will mentally revisit over and over after you've read the last page. So much more than a space opera, and worthy of the buzz it has been getting. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2015 Chessa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: series, 5-star-favorites-2015, sf_fantasy, feminist, space

Amazing. Artificial intelligence, identity, love, revenge...what more could one ask for? As a feminist with an interest in gender and how gender plays in society, this book *hurt my brain* in a really really good way. Since the first person narrator is an AI who cannot distinguish gender easily (it's just not a thing in the culture it's from), you are forced into this gender-blindness that is as uncomfortable as it is fascinating. But this is really a side note of my own, not a central plot elem ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 25, 2015 Elizabeth Arnold rated it did not like it

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

I did it! After weeks of hate-reading, overdue library fees, I finally finished this book. Around 150 pages I had no idea who any of the characters were. I stuck with it, reasoning it took me at least that long to come around to Rothfuss. Around page 250, I realized that I didn't care what happened to anyone in this book. I hate to give a book a bad review, as I usually can find the good in any read. (see what I did there?) I felt like something must be wrong with me because this book won the Hu ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 06, 2016 Emily rated it liked it

Shelves: book-club, scifi

*Book club pick*

Ancillary Justice started slowly. It follows two different storylines, one of which I found incredibly dull. I read another reviewer describe the story as "ripening over time" and I fully agree with that assessment. By the end of this book, I was engrossed and not quite ready for it to end. I find the premise and concept of this book *fascinating* and, by the end, I could appreciate the journey of each character - in particular, Breq/One Esk. ...more

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Nov 15, 2014 Anome rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The chief conceit of the novel is interesting enough. The military uses intelligences distributed among multiple entities, mostly living people. The story is told from the perspective of one of these entities, now limited to a single body, and with a poor set of social skills for dealing with people external to its society who might view gender as more significant.

Beyond that, the story isn't really that interesting. It's well written, and the divided timeline is handled well, but the actual sto ...more

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Sep 01, 2014 Udayan rated it really liked it

A winner of Hugo, Nebula and Clarke medal and a fantastic, fantastic book.

Science fiction at its very best, blurring the boundaries of technology, sociology and philosophy.

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Sep 09, 2015 Kamilla rated it it was amazing

I never seem to know how much I love a particular character until that character is threatened with death or killed. When my heart leaps into my throat, I know. I've felt rather passive about this book up until now. I like the story, I love the writing, but now I realize I adore the characters. It snuck up on me, unexpected, and now I have no choice but to fly through this book as quickly as possible to find out what happens. ...more

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