Status Updates From Ancillary Sword (Imperial R...

The pacing still feels a lot slower than the first book, partly due to the more linear narrative. I kind of wish that some more time had been spent on the relationship between Breq and Seivarden, not necessarily defining it, but just giving it some page time. I'm somewhat undecided about the plotline on Athoek. It feels less well handled than the plotline on Ors from book one, condescending almost.

I know that my GR friends issued warnings in their review of this one (The tea! So much tea!), but it's been sitting on my nightstand for so very long now that I had to at least make an attempt.

And yes, tea is mentioned on the very first page.

My first impression is that I don't find this book quite as striking as the first. Between the change from jumping between two timelines to sticking to the present, and the consequent limitation of Breq's perspective to her single remaining body, the storytelling feels less dynamic. There's also quite a lot of time devoted to exposition in the beginning, in a way that feels a bit unnecessary.