Ancillary Sword

The Imperial Radch series, Book 2

De: Ann Leckie

Narrado por: Adjoa Andoh

Justice for all

Breq - the soldier who used to be a spaceship - is serving the emperor she swore to destroy. She's been given her own warship, her own crew, and ordered to the only place in the galaxy she would have agreed to go: to Athoek Station, to protect the family of the lieutenant she murdered in cold blood. Athoek was annexed by the Empire some 600 years ago, and by now everyone is fully 'civilised'. Or should be - but everything is not as tranquil as it appears. Old divisions are still troublesome, Athoek Station's AI is restless, and it looks like the alien Presger might have taken an interest in what's going on. With no guarantees that their interest is benevolent.

©2014 Ann Leckie (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Leckie proves she's no mere flash in the pan with this follow-up to her multiple-award-winning debut space opera, Ancillary Justice." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Really growing on me!

Took the first book to get into the storyline but now I’m hooked and invested in the characters and plot. The narration is excellent and the unique and consistent character voices keep me engaged. Recommend this series!

Competent but sluggish sequel

I read Ancillary Justice back when it was released in 2014 and enjoyed it very much. I recently decided to finish the trilogy and got both it and this, Ancillary Sword, as audiobooks.

The performance of the narrator on both is great and while Ancillary Justice holds up just as well as I remember it was, Sword is a bit sluggish. Great initial chapters, competently written, expands upon the world we dived into in the original novel, it quickly pulls you in. Unfortunately, about a third in, it becomes a slog. The story barely moves forward and while I do not mind scifi novels devoid of action set pieces, I do mind numerous chapters where people just sit and talk without anything of consequence happening.

It suddenly picks up about three chapters before the end and wraps up nicely, setting up for a sequel but it also makes for a very, very rushed ending.

Also, I feel some of the social commentary was way too heavy handed, something that I didn't notice (or certainly didn't irritate me) in the first novel.

Still, Breq remains a main character you find yourself easily cheering for and the world has enough depth and width to keep it interesting. Definitely planning on finishing the third book and I do hope this was just the "slow middle part".

Still, be warned - it is a very slow middle part...

5/5 for narration
4.5/5 for writing style
3/5 for the story

An excellent read, read excellently

it was a little jarring going from one book directly to the next with a different nerator, especially as a lot of the names are quite unique and probably are only known to Anne Leckie.
Adjoa seems the perfect well spoken person with a neutral British accent and sympathy for the ex colonies who seems to exemplify the forward thinking tone of the book. It took about a third of the book but after then I really appreciated the obvious effort she took in understanding all the characters and bringing them to life.

interesting take on what space cultures could be like

for me, a complete waste of time. After such an inspiring and interesting first novel, I was disappointed by what I can only describe as a soap opera on a different planet

Ultimately satisfying but slow

This follow-up to Ancillary Justice continues to intrigue as the author expands her unique universe and its inhabitants, but the plot evolves at a glacial pace. That said, the characters are interesting, the social commentary is good and new characters settle well into the story line. Those who like lots of action and techno-wizardry in their SF might wish to look elsewhere, but this book builds on the first novel in a satisfying manner. Although the pace of the story can dawdle at times, I'm still keen to listen to the next instalment in the series when it arrives.

The narration by Adjoa Andoh is very good, with a pleasing variety of voices. I really liked her work in Alastair Reynolds "On the Steel Breeze" and this work is just as good.

Recommended if you like a slow burning SF story with a social conscience.