Ancillary Sword

I was slow to warm up to the "space opera" moniker, but I'm starting to feel it. With a main character a bit like a human-god child of Greek mythology thrown into a setting with strong American civil war vibes, but in a far corner of a declining galactic empire, "operatic" expresses the grand scale succinctly. Combined with captivating characters, I'm all in.

I found this a bit weaker than the first. Maybe because as a middle book in a series, the plot resolution wasn't as satisfying as in the first. Still, suspense and pacing were good.

Also I found the critique of colonialism a bit too on the nose, and even going wrong sometimes.

(I wish I had more to say about it, but I listened to this on low spoons/bad brain days.)

It's always hard for me to separate what happens in Ancillary Sword and what happens in its sequel. Both books are set on the same station, deal with the same themes, and this book would feel incomplete without its sequel.

“I know that Ship appreciates it when you act for it, and your ancillary façade lets you feel safe and invisible. But being an ancillary isn’t something to play at.”

“No, sir. I can see that, sir. But like you said, Ship appreciates it. And Ship takes care of us, sir. Sometimes it feels like it’s us and Ship against everyone else.” Self-conscious. Embarrassed.

It's funny to me to turn to military scifi for feelings of found family, but what endears me to this book is the relationships between Ship and Breq and its crew. The human crew acts like ancillaries, which previously was a way of dealing with a jerk captain but also is a way for the Ship to cope with no longer having ancillaries itself. Ship helps Breq deal with her own losses by sending her images and data from the ship and crew as if she were still one of many ancillaries herself.

Really, I love the way that the omniscient nature of Ship here allows the reader to see into the hidden emotional state of characters and to show moments that are "off camera" from the main narrative.

I liked this even better than the first volume, which I already loved. It's mostly slower paced, but it manages to be simultaneously E.M.Forster in space, chapter after chapter of excellent world building, and a wonderfully sharp critique of the modern world.

I do definitely recommend reading these in order. Direct references back to Ancillary Justice are explained enough that I don't think reader would be lost starting here, but I don't think I would have got anywhere near as into it without the setup of book 1.