Chris Comerford's Reviews > Ancillary Justice

Ancillary Justice is one of the most creative and original books I've ever read. It was also one of the hardest for me to read the whole way through. Odd dichotomy, right?

Let me state unequivocally that the book deserves its reputation as a fresh piece of sci-fi, and probably also deserves all those awards it won last year. Technically proficient, brimming with new ideas and breaking new ground in the use of feminine pronouns as default for characters (it's complicated). It is definitely a clever book.

It is also overburdened with complexity in the character and setting department, to the point where I couldn't invest in the protagonist, Breq, and had limited understanding of the world and the plot until the 1/3 mark. Even after that point things were still sketchy.

It's clear Leckie is looking to innovate the kind of sci-fi Territory Iain Banks innovated with his Culture books, but I don't think it's quite there yet. The ending held promise and there were some coherent worldbuilding moments that really got me ini things a lot more, but I'm not sure it was worth the arduous trek to get to them.

I recommend it as a unique read in its own right - come on, it didn't snag those awards for nothing - but go into it aware of what a mindbender it is.