Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1)

by Ann Leckie

The record-breaking debut novel that won every major science fiction award in 2014, Ancillary Justice is the story of a warship trapped in a human body and her search for revenge.
Ann Leckie is the first author to win the Arthur C. Clarke, the Nebula and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in the same year.

They made me kill thousands, but I only have one target now.

The Radch are conquerors to be feared - resist and they'll turn you into a 'corpse soldier' - one of an army of dead prisoners animated by a warship's AI mind. Whole planets are conquered by their own people.
The colossal warship called The Justice of Toren has been destroyed - but one ship-possessed soldier has escaped the devastation. Used to controlling thousands of hands, thousands of mouths, The Justice now has only two hands, and one mouth with which to tell her tale.
But one fragile, human body might just be enough to take revenge against those who destroyed her.

'ENGAGING AND PROVOCATIVE'
SFX Magazine

'UNEXPECTED, COMPELLING AND VERY COOL'
John Scalzi

'HIGHLY RECOMMENDED'
Independent on Sunday

'MIND-BLOWING'
io9.com

'THRILLING, MOVING AND AWE-INSPIRING'
Guardian

'UTTER PERFECTION, 10/10'
The Book Smugglers

'ASTOUNDINGLY ASSURED AND GRACEFUL'
Strange Horizons

'ESTABLISHES LECKIE AS AN HEIR TO BANKS'
Elizabeth Bear

The Imperial Radch trilogy begins with Ancillary Justice, continues in Ancillary Sword and concludes with Ancillary Mercy.
Also available now: Provenance is a stunning standalone adventure set in the same world as Ancillary Justice. NPR calls it 'A fitting addition to the Ancillary world'.

• ISBN10: 1410475867
• ISBN13: 9781410475862
• Publish Date: 28 January 2015 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 16 June 2021
• Imprint: Thorndike Press
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 558
• Language: English

Reviews

[kerrydarkeyes]

In the beginning chapters I was a little concerned I wouldn't have the stamina to push through the initial worldbuilding but damnit, if this isn't what I wish all sci-fi would be ...

[teachergorman]

This was fantastic! The premise is original, the writing is top notch, and the exploration of how we might interact socially in a distant future is thought provoking. Highly recommend!

[viking2917]

OK book. But it won every major SF award in 2014. I don't get what all the fuss was about. All the things it explores seem to me to have been explored far more convincingly by others.

[Metaphorosis Reviews]

3.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews

One segment of a ship-mind, in a human body, is cut off from her ship, and pursuing a mission of vengeance against the power that did it to her.

At this time last year, I'm not sure I'd heard of Ann Leckie. At the latest by the summer and the WorldCon, I'd heard quite a lot about her and about Ancillary Justice - the multiple-award-winning novel that starts off her Imperial Radch series about artificial intelligence in human form. I tend to be suspicious of fads - too often they don't pay off - but I finally decided to find out for myself what all the fuss was about.

And the answer is...a decent, well-plotted space opera with military overtones. It takes a somewhat novel approach by combining AI and hive-minds, and by deliberately confusing genders - both done quite well. What the book doesn't do as well is to establish its world clearly. The narrative jumps back and forth between several distinct times, but their exact temporal location and sequence aren't well established. Terms and hierarchies are noted without much explanation, and the plot is scattered for quite some time. It needed an editor with a firmer hand for the basic structure.

Once our feet are somewhat planted (I never did get the timeframe straight), things move better. Leckie's writing is confident and smooth, and mostly works. The characters feel genuine and sympathetic. The wide-spread culture is largely credible. It feels a bit like Orson Scott Card, though without the same depth of character. Despite the fact that it's got a toe firmly in the political fiction pool, it's effective, but not compelling.

At many points in the book, and from the very start, protagonist One-Esk-Nineteen acts without knowing why she does. I tend to distrust that in most stories, and if it happens more than a few times, there had better be a good reason. In Ancillary Justice, there never is, though there is the possibility it will come out in some later book. I only have this one, though, and I found it dissatisfying, especially when there are things the character has hidden from herself. The very first 'unknowing' thing she does, and that shapes the entire book, is never explained. When an action hijacks 300 pages, a vague hint isn't enough.

I'm glad to have read the book. It's good, and Leckie handles the innovations well. I don't see why it's been such a big hit, but I enjoyed the book and see why others have. I don't feel compelled to buy the sequels.

[adamfortuna]

It took a while to get into this one, but by halfway through I was hooked, and even impressed. I loved the idea of an AI that was limited by it's ability to control human subjects -- each of which still maintained a slightly unique brain, motivation and mindset. The concept of "I" starts to be a fuzzy concept once "I" becomes a group. The gender ambiguity was also interesting -- referring to each character as "she" throughout the book.

[sarahjay]

#ancilladies. This was so worth the read. It's definitely challenging and complex, but once you get to the end everything makes sense. Mostly. Breq is so awesome and I can't wait to read more about her.