Ancillary Justice cover art

Ancillary Justice

THE HUGO, NEBULA AND ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD WINNER

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Ancillary Justice

By: Ann Leckie
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
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About this listen
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'.©2013 Ann Leckie Hard Science Fiction Military Science Fiction Space Opera Thriller & Suspense Women's Voices Adventure Fiction
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The narrator did a good job distinguishing the voices.
The story was convoluted and confusing. The AI of a ship is in it's last remaining body. It's true hard core sci-fi, in that it's so alien and confusing that you have to listen to half the book to get what is actually going on.
Yes it's a novel idea, and maybe that why it won so many awards, but it's slow to get to the action, and it's only by the very end of the book that you are actually getting into it - maybe worth it, if it was going to be a long series and you really wanted to get into it, but I've been put off and won't bother with the sequel.

Ancillary Confusion

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Built on some good concepts, but the story is prone to slow over-descriptive scenes that remove the momentum from the narrative, and predictable progression. Still an interesting journey.

Slow but interesting story

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Apparently a review needs to be at least 15 words but the title is all I have to say.

Great story. Great narration.

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The literal cold open was a slog to get through in both written and narrative mediums, but once you get past the early meandering to the central mysteries of "what, why and who stands to benefit?" the story finds its feet. To be fair, presenting a form of life that is markedly different from our own often has the effect of alienating the audience from the protagonist, so I can't fault the author for take her time to help us connect.
There were times when I questioned why 1-S took certain courses of action, which depending on your read of the story could either be her discovering herself as an independent entity or uncharitably as a plot contrivance.
As I have not read the book, past the first few pages on kindle, I don't know if the accents used were specified, but the use of South African accents for certain groups embodying apartheid sensibilities may strike some as a cunning literary device that brings you up to speed on the current tensions between the peoples and how they each think. Or it will feel so on the nose it seems crass.

Overall I enjoyed my time with 1-S and look forward to what happens next and I think that, more than anything, informed my overall impression.

Slow start but worth it in the end

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I struggled to keep track of all the names of people and places but the nurator and story were fantastic

looking forward to the other books

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