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  • Ancillary Justice

  • The Imperial Radch series, Book 1
  • By: Ann Leckie
  • Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
  • Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (621 ratings)

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Ancillary Justice cover art

Ancillary Justice

By: Ann Leckie
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
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Publisher's Summary

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.

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.

©2013 Ann Leckie (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"Thrilling, moving and awe-inspiring." (Guardian)

"Signals the arrival of a hard science fiction author who just might fill the gap left by Iain M. Banks. Ancillary Justice is a highly original novel...an intelligent slow-burner. Highly recommended." (Independent on Sunday)

"You will be truly astounded at how Leckie has fully fleshed out a universe and is asking and attempting to answer the difficult questions that many authors never even address in science fiction." (Buzzfeed)

"Unexpected, compelling and very cool - Ann Leckie nails it. I've never met a heroine like Breq before. I consider this a very good thing indeed." (John Scalzi, Hugo Award-winning author of Redshirts)

What listeners say about Ancillary Justice

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Amy
  • 12-08-2016

Narration superb

Adjoa's narration of this book did more that bring it to life; it created life. Unbelievable talent. Though the story itself started a little slowly and was heavier than I prefer on audio (I tend to leave that sort of book to paper), the bodies and accents and on point portrayal of JoT drew me along until the end, by which time I'd laughed, cried, and fallen in love with every character.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant Book, and a fantastic performance!

Any additional comments?

A brilliantly written adventure, with an intriguing premise! Breq is the last remaining part of a ship AI and is a very engaging character. This audiobook really kept me listening and is very suspenseful all the way through. The universe of the novel is well realised and seems plausible. Breq's difficulty with gender pronouns is a brilliant touch, which, while a little confusing at first really makes sense and is treated very consistently. The implied languages, societies, politics, religions and technology all hang together well. The different accents used by the Adjoah Andoh for the various characters were excellent and helped make sense of the social interactions in the story, indeed Adjoah certainly reads the book really well and made Breq a very believable character who engaged my sympathy. I thoroughly recommend this audiobook!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Ancillary Confusion

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.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Delicious space opera

Breq used to be a spaceship, or at least a fragment of the spaceship known as Justice of Toren. The spaceship controlled a large amount of ancillarys (corpse soldiers), conquered humans turned into Artificial Intelligences. Justice of Torrens was a multi bodied powerful AI also with a human crew and captain and conquering for the Radchaai Empire. Now she is just Breq, a singular AI being with full memories of her past. Breq wants revenge.
The first person narrative is brilliant especially as the novel jumps from past to present.
A debut novel no less, it certainly stays with you. Not stock standard by any means, thoughtful and provocative.
Liked Adjoa Andoh's narration so much that I listened to more books narrated by her.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic audiobook

I already loved this book when I read it in print, and Adjoa Andoh's reading made it even better. Exceptional narration.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Automatically bought Book 2

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it is science fiction (i.e. not fantasy). It covers the social side as well. Well written and well read. Scratches my CJ Cherryh's Downbellow-verse itch.

What other book might you compare Ancillary Justice to, and why?

Hmm, the likes of Downbellow Station, Merchanter's luck and Rimrunner, all my favourite SF

Which character – as performed by Adjoa Andoh – was your favourite?

All are done well, she uses several accents and voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Indeed, though work and sleep rudely interrupted

Any additional comments?

The best pure social SF that I have read/listened to in a long time. Is also easy to listen to.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Not for me

An obviously well written book but just not my cup of tea... too sic-fi heavy for me. Other reviewers said it got better half way through but I couldn't make it that far.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story once you get into it.

There is a fantastic story here and having finished it, it is clear why Ancillary Justice has taken so many awards. There is a lot to wrap your head around in the beginning, including the sometimes erratic use of personal pronouns, but it is definitely worth pushing through to the point where it all starts to fit together.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent world creation

I was a little confused in some of the amazing details of the world creation but thoroughly enjoyed the story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Truely compelling sci-fi

Science fiction at its best, with compelling characters, engaging concepts, and great pacing. The audio performance is also excellent.

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