Ancillary Justice

This book is like the best Star Trek set-up ever; minus the Star Trek. On the show(s), the crew would always blunder into some ongoing epic drama and proceed to stick their sweaty faces in, mucking up the works and making it all about THEM for 60 minutes. I mean, come on Kirk, did you not get enough attention as a child? For real.

Ann Leckie's crafted a unique novel; one that manages to be fast-paced and action-packed while still diving into complex philosophical issues. How will humanity change when technology allows for immortality? When AI makes our objects sentient? When an individual can be split among thousands of bodies? When AI reaches a certain threshold, what differentiates it from a human? Deep thoughts, yo.

i09 named it the best book of 2013, and it's definitely deserving of accolades. Lately I've appreciate novels that assume I'm smart enough to figure it out, and dive into their worlds without too much exposition or hand-holding. That definitely applies here, as from the first page we're immediately on Breq's quest for justice with her, and the back story is revealed in flashbacks over the course of the novel. I did find the gender swapping slightly confusing (in the Radch society, everyone is a "her" regardless of gender - unless I just missed the point and this is actually a lesbian space opera, in which case, even better), but I appreciate the attention to detail that Leckie brought to her world.

So, if you like Star Trek but wish the episodes would delve more into the societal structures & struggles of the Gorn, the Borg, the Cardassians...etc - this book is for you.* Or if you just like kick-ass space quests.

4 androgynous, yet sexy, space jumpsuits out of 5.

As always, you can follow along with everything I'm reading here.

*Yes, I know this book is actually about humans, not aliens. You get my point. NERD!