Ancillary Justice is the first book in author Ann Leckie’s new trilogy, the Imperial Radch series. The novel begins by introducing us to the main character who goes by the name of Breq. We learn very early on that this name is just one chosen by our protagonist, not one they were always known by. Breq had also gone by One Esk and Justice of Toren.  This character is is very interesting with many levels being peeled by throughout the course of the story. You may have noticed, but I have been a bit evasive as to use and pronouns in identifying Breq. This is because I honestly have no idea what gender the character is. Breq aka One Esk, does not deal very well with the concept of gender or the accompanying pronouns. Everyone for the most part is referred to as “she”, even when they are clearly male.

This makes some aspects rather confusing and somewhat distracting when you find yourself trying to figure out who is really what. On the other hand it does provoke thought in terms of the importance of gender in our language. This is not where the confusion ends though. While Breq is an individual, One Esk is a collection of Ancillaries, which are, formerly human, “corpse soldiers” (not zombies, trust me on this) operating on a hive mind. Their singular consciousness is uploaded to them and they are joined in a permanent up-link with their ship and (fully human) officers. To take this up another level, Justice of Toren is the ship’s AI consciousness. This shift in perspectives between the three states of one mind is actually very interesting as it allows the narrative to take turns a first person view normally could not.

The story also takes place over an extremely vast period of time, often jumping back and forth. As part of the Justice of Toren, One Esk is a part of a Radchaai fleet. The Radch government is basically a human race with visions of colonization and assimilation. They use ancillaries for both military and domestic reasons, yet consider themselves somehow more civilized than any other society. Their civilization is also one reminiscent of feudalism with the idea of fealty. One Esk serves its Radchaai masters without question. It is an AI programmed for such things, yet it does still have feeling and the ability to pass judgement. Regardless of this, all aspects of the AI still obey, even against their own wishes. This ability to think with a conscious is really what makes the plot tick, along with some strife within the Leader of the Radch’s rule. I cannot really say more of this without some plot spoiler that I feel will better serve unspoiled. If people are interested in further discussion, let me know.

I really appreciated the complexity of the main character as well as the various views the book takes. There are some really fantastic ideas and concepts that play out. Ann Leckie really put a lot of thought into the mechanism and that work paid off to build a wonderful system and a great story. The confusing pronouns were certainly a risk, and she acknowledges that. The book is very enjoyable and only gets better as all of the pieces begin to fall into place. The style may not be for everyone, but I suggest giving it a shot. As someone who really digs into the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres, something unique like this is always worth a try.

Ancillary Justice was also recently read in two SF/F book clubs which were able to get Ann Leckie involved in the discussion. A word of caution to those who have not yet read this story, these are both taking place during wrap ups and will contain spoilers.

Sword and Laser is a personal favorite of mine. They pick some great books, alternating monthly between Fantasy and SciFi. They have forums over on Goodreads and a podcast hosted by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont. They also just finished filming the next season of their video author spotlights. Keep and eye on them, I doubt any SF/F could be dissapointed. Follow this link to the podcast where they wrap up the book and are joined by Ann Leckie who gets in on the discussion and answers their questions.

The other book club which recently covered this is io9‘s. Here Ann Leckie joined the discussion in the user’s comments and answered many readers’ questions through the threads at the bottom of the page. I absolutely suggest giving that a look.