Definitely one of my favorite sci-fi books of the last ten years! Such an incredible debut novel from Ann Leckie. Here’s the setup (back of the book style):

Breq used to be the Justice of Toren - a huge, complex AI that inhabited a colossal starship and all of its thousands of ancillaries in the service of the Radch, the largest of the human empires.

Ancillaries are human bodies that were captured in previous Radchaai annexations – those who resist the takeover are killed and their bodies frozen and stored, ready to be activated and controlled by Radchaai AI in future annexations. The ancillaries are terrifying soldiers – each one is protected by almost impenetrable armor, and the AI never miss a shot.

The book follows two parallel timelines – one as Breq, now reduced to a single ancillary body, closes in on the end of her quest for revenge, and the other set twenty years in the past and covering the events leading up to her betrayal.

There are so many things about this book I love, but I’ll try to pick just a few to highlight:

First, having a single AI experiencing the world through many interlinked human bodies is just a deeply interesting idea. That idea is tweaked and twisted throughout the book in super novel ways that I don’t want to spoil - I’ll just say it is very unique and gives a ton of depth to both the characters and plot!

The dialogue and characters are also really masterfully done - instead of telling us what characters are thinking, we’re left to figure it out through the subtext in their dialogue. It strikes a wonderful balance, and feels like we’re meeting real people (because of course that’s how we get to know people in the real world).

And finally It’s just so propulsive once it gets going! The stakes are incredibly high, the main character is extremely likeable and competent, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat through the whole second half of the book.

That said, there are two small things that hold this book back just a little bit. First, it’s fairly complicated – bordering on convoluted in a couple of areas / plotlines. Second, it starts off slowly – so, push through the first 50-80 pages, and know that it’s an incredible experience once you are immersed in the world!

As a note, the two sequels (Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy) unfortunately aren’t as good. They feel a lot smaller in scope, and the big questions from the first book are never really resolved. Not surprising in some ways though - classic case of the ‘publisher’s trilogy’ where the first book was a labor of love over many years, and then after that book’s success, the author is pushed to come out with sequels in a single year of writing.

PS: Part of an ongoing series of posts covering the best sci fi books of all time. If you're interested in a deeper analysis and discussion about Ancillary Justice (and the sequels), as well as recommendations of similar books, search Hugonauts on your podcast app of choice. No ads, not trying to make money or anything like that, just want to help spread the love of great books. Happy reading y'all!