Ancillary Sword

Written by Ann Leckie

Narrated by Adjoa Andoh

Breq is a soldier who used to be a warship. Once a weapon of conquest controlling thousands of minds, now she has only a single body and serves the emperor.

With a new ship and a troublesome crew, Breq is ordered to go to the only place in the galaxy she would agree to go: to Athoek Station to protect the family of a lieutenant she once knew - a lieutenant she murdered in cold blood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Little, Brown (Hachette UK) Audio
• Release date: Oct 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781405532396

Reviews for Ancillary Sword

[bangerlm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I almost quit half way. The previous book implied that this book would be about a civil war with lots of intrigue, but it wasn't about that. It was more of a character sketch and some social justice issues, which were fairly well done, just not the story I thought I would be reading. Again the ending of this story implies a big adventure for the finale, but based on previously undelivered expectations I have no idea what the next book will be like, and if it will be worth it to read.

[jennybeast · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I almost didn't pick this up -- not because I didn't enjoy the first one, I did, but because that book felt so complete and I wasn't sure where it would go, or if I would still like the character outside of the story arc that the last book represented. I think in some ways that Ancillary Justice is a novelty book -- it has a specific message/ identity/ mission that it hammers home, but since everything in the book -- plot, character, setting, everything is in service to that message I wasn't sure how Leckie could continue from there.

She does, and beautifully. I think I liked this book even more than the first and the intricate plot points are almost more detective novel than science fiction. Such a great read. I look forward eagerly to the next.

[kevn57-163679 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 1/2 stars
I liked this even more then the first book in the series because I was confused at the start of the first, with no genders it was hard to get a grasp on the characters. But after a little while I was used to it, this book I was already familiar and liked getting a look at another system in the Empire. Looking forward to the finale.

[jercox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

AIs, spaceflight, and an empire that seems a cross between Roman and Chinese. All basic needs met, but human life valued very lightly much of the time.

[harroldsheep · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not so much space opera as soap opera for most of the book.
Honestly, boring and predictable. Very disappointing when compared to the first book.

[rakerman_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This second book is very different from the first one, Ancillary Justice. The first book does world-building and drops you into a combination of direct action and flashback, for a very effective storyline.This second book is much more about the Radch empire itself, which has a lot of elements of Ancient Rome (including bathhouses and slavery), and in fact if the themes in this book resonate I would recommend Imperium by Robert Harris, about Cicero dealing with similar issues of clients and empire.I felt the pace of the second book didn't match that of the first; it felt like the entire second book was a pause to set the stage for the third and final book.

[neil_luvs_books · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A worthy successor to Ancillary Justice.

[tatere-23877 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Miss somewhat the inherent Wow of the multibody character, but still great.

Shades of Miles Vorkosigan here, in good and less-good ways. Although I doubt that comparison would make the author think, Oh gosh no how awful... Having a main character that's too smart, too perfect is potential trouble, though.

[ashleytylerjohn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An unusual book. I both liked it (I enjoyed picking it up each evening and reading it) but it both (a) never kicked into high gear, and (b) made me reconsider if I actually liked the first one as much as I thought I did.

A book should be more than the sum of its parts, I think. Yes, it's nice that every page is fine, that from moment to moment I'm enjoying sentences and words—Ann Leckie writes well, I'm not cringing at her grammar or word choice. But I never knew what this tale was actually about. What the protagonist wanted, or was trying to achieve (something that was significantly clearer, eventually, in the first book). And I don't particularly care about the plight of poor people in the Undergarden (they seemed a bit like riffraff squatters. I'm like, "go live in a proper apartment!"). And as I got closer to the end, I realised more and more that nothing had kicked in for me narratively. And with 15% of the book left, it ended, and the rest was bits of other books being promoted by the publisher. It ended, and it hadn't really started for me!

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!

[iftyzaidi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent science fiction. More limited in scope than the first book, but all the more focused for it. Leckie combines the scope and pace of Iain Banks with the societal insight of Le Guin. Great stuff.

[zeborah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow, four years since I read the first book? no wonder I was so fuzzy on my memory of it. Rereading my review of that, I'd say this book is in many ways a much easier read: while the POV is still semi-omniscient, it's much more clearly so; the story is linear rather than switching between time periods; and the narrator, while still reticent, isn't actively hiding things from the reader (except to a certain extent in the first few chapters). Or if they are, they're not things revealed in this installment....It appears by and large to be a fairly straight-forward milsf plot: Our Hero is assigned to a station where injustices have been allowed to fester, sets about putting things right by listening to the oppressed, incurs enemies as a result, draws them into the open, and prevails. It's no less complex for the simplicity of the underlying trope, and I expect and hope that it's setting up for more complexity in the next part of the series.

[count_zero-837732 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The first of the Hugo Award nominees I've finished reading. This is much more of a mystery-thriller novel then the last one. It's still military SF, but it's a certainly different take than the last book.

[allison_s-802575 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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that is all

*cries*

[leslie398 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Having been swept away by the first book of the trilogy, Ancillary Justice, I dove right into this second book. This one starts almost immediately after the end of the previous book and has Breq being appointed ship's captain (and also being given the family name of the Lord of the Radch) by that part of the Lord who won the battle in the previous book. Her job is to ensure the security of the citizens of Athoek, not just from general unrest resulting from the events in the prior book but from the other part of the Lord of the Radch.Having gotten a handle on this universe, I found this book less puzzling and more of a space opera (grand sci fi action adventure) and that was fine with me!It was interesting to listen to this as an audiobook as the narrator Andoh pronounced things differently than I had imagined them when reading. Some of that was her English pronunciation (as opposed to my American one) such as in the oft repeated word "ancillary".

[kardaen-358849 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful! Not as complex as the first in the series, focusing on one location and one timeframe. It's building to something big and I loved every minute!

[pdcread · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The Ancillary Breq, is now in command of the ship Mercy of Kalr, following her adoption into the house of the Lord of the Radch. Her first assignment is the Athoek system, annexed some six hundred years ago. By now everyone should be civilised there, but not everything is as it seems, and what Breq finds is society with large rifts and divisions. The Athoek AI is not happy with the way things are, and it seems that the alien Presger have an interest with matters.

She is there with her old crew, and the first task is to find Basnaaid, the sister of Lieutenant Awn, a former lover of hers. But as she steps into this new station, the situation is getting more tense as there are skirmishes and posturing from those with everything to gain from her demise.

This is the second in the award winning Ancillary series by Leckie that I have read. The first one collected several high profile awards and accolades, but overall I only though it was ok. I was hoping for more from this second one.

Bur alas it wasn’t to be.

There are lots of things to like in the book; the society she has created, from the tea drinking, the minutiae of detail with the way that they behave formally to each other; the way that AI’s can become people and the technology that means that they can transverse space. But in all this the plot seems to get diluted somewhat. Which is a shame really as her imagination is great. Overall 2 to 2.5 stars, and I will still read the third as it is rude not to finish the series...

[livingtech_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this more than I expected to. Really looking forward now to the next one.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Breq is given a new ship and lieutenants and sent by the Lord of the Radch, Anaander Mianaai, to an outpost in Athoek Station. With very little direction, she tries to bring justice to a place with multiple people groups living in unequal situations.It took me a little while to follow and remember who people were since reading Ancillary Justice six months ago or so, but once I got into the story and started to remember details, I found it just as enjoyable as the first book. Breq is a fun character, and the fact that she was an ancillary on a ship allows for a unique storytelling ability of having a first-person narration but also allowing her to look through the ship's eyes and see what's going on elsewhere. That's used to good effect to ratchet up tension as Breq tries to resolve the issues that slowly reveal themselves in the course of her work.

[grandpahobo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found this more subdued and less engaging than the first book. There was an inordinate amount of time detailing the minutia of social hierarchy custom.

[eldang-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[cindywho-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is less of a mystery than a first one, but more a search for connection.

[xiaomarlo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm so happy these books exist! They explore subjects I love to think about. As I mentioned when I read Ancillary Justice, it's so refreshing to read a science fiction book about gender other than The Left Hand of Darkness (which I love to death), which has been written during my lifetime.

[nkmunn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

good enough to make me seek out book three

[liscarey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book in the trilogy begun in last year's Best Novel Hugo winner, Ancillary Justice. Breq, having survived the confrontation between the two parts of Anaander Mianaai, is now in command of Mercy of Kalr, and off to contain another part of the spreading crisis at Athoek. While there, she hopes to also protect and offer some sort of compensation to the sister of her much-loved Lt. Awn, whom she was forced to kill.

At Athoek, she finds an already tricky political situation exacerbated by the closer of the gates and the news that there are at least two perfectly legitimate "Lords of the Radch" now in open conflict with each other. It takes longer to discover that underneath the existing and new political conflicts, and ordinary class conflict and exploitation, there's a truly horrifying corruption hidden here.

Did I mention there's another ship in the system, Sword of Atagaris, of questionable loyalties? And a little error in judgment by Atagaris' Captain results in the death of a translator/representative from the frighteningly powerful aliens, the Presger.

And while juggling all that, Breq is confronting her odd status as an ex-AI, ex-ancillary, now in command of a ship rather than a part of it. It's a sometimes unsettling experience for her, and at first her crew, except for old companion Seivarden, do not know what to make of her.

There's a lot going on here, in character development, revealing more about the history and culture of the Radch, and action as the conflict between the Mianaais and even older tensions in the Radch empire play out.

I'm looking forward to the third volume, Ancillary Mercy.

Recommended.

[ireneattolia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

this book is like 90% people sitting around drinking tea and having tense pointed conversations and it utterly delightful and completely engrossing and a complete page-turner.

i lovelovelove Breq, my beacon of justice and rage. and Kalr 5 and her dishes, and deardear Ship and okay just everyone

i am equally pumped and terrified for the next one!!

[chrisriesbeck · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A readable but surprisingly lightweight entry for the 2nd book in a trilogy. The first book impressed with a narrative razzle-dazzle atypical for space opera, but still chock full of extreme action. Second books are usually darker, have more action factor, and primarily set up the third volume. This reads more like a minor entry in a long running series. Having uncovered the secret of the Lord of the Radch in volume 1, our narrator now leaves that part of the galaxy where all the action is, for a backwater region with some local corruption in play. The action is low-key, the mood is more melancholic, and the character's primary driver is frustration with the way the races in power mistreat those without power. Recommended for fans of the first book, with the above caveats. Not recommended as an entry point.

[jdifelice-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful sequel. It definitely wasn't as good as the first, but I still loved it. I liked the new character development we get for Breq and really see how she longs for things in the past. I loved the dynamic between her and Mercy of Kalr and how she handles her new position as Fleet Captain.

I liked the plot of this book, and I can see how it will work into the over-arching storyline, but it felt a little separate, yet it fit perfectly. I enjoyed learning about new cultures in Radch space, and we get to see more problem solving and reasoning from Breq in a new perspective. This goes back to her character development and Leckie really did a great job with this. Her writing was on point and I just loved how the book flowed.

I am very interested to see how the plot progresses and how all this political maneuvering affects it.
4.5/5 stars

[knotbox · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Before getting deep into this story, which quickly resolves some concerns about alliances made at the end of the previous book, I read a couple reviews saying that this books lacked the adventure of the previous and seemed to linger on insignificant characters. While in the end I could see this being problematic and I read the scenes in question while waiting for the shoe to drop, only after the revelations of the last few chapters do I think I truly appreciated the politics and intrigue on display by a chessmaster.That is to say, I feel like Breq is already three moves ahead of everyone else. She might believe herself to be dispassionate, but when things go very, very wrong, she’s the first to react, not necessarily because she’s ‘already thought of that’ but because she’s used to having the mind of a computer, even if she is only a shadow of what she once was.The personal, more intricate drama depicted here didn’t bother me. I love Breq as narrator and the world Ann Leckie has crafted, and feel this epic, though relatively narrow, storyline is only a chip of the iceberg. The brief, yet darkly hilarious look at the Presgr, the main adversaries to the expansion of the Radch, was like pulling back the corner of a very large window.In fact, after having let this book sit, and taken my time with this review, I feel as though the first book is the one which is less urgently concerned with the real shadow plot behind everything, not that I’ve figured it out. This book dealt with a ‘Ghost Gate’, a gate beyond which lay an empty system. Notes about the aliens and machinations between factions in a cold civil war seem more relevant than talk of revenge and the death of one lieutenant, but that is of course how this grand adventure got started. Like the death of Ferdinand, I doubt any of the players knew just how much would be triggered by the event. My dreams are filled with thoughts about Ships driven mad millennia ago, and the fate of one empire at the edge of another.And once again, at the end, Breq made me cry.

[kingrat_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I got about 20 minutes into the audio version of this book and gave up permanently. The narration is performed by a different narrator than Ancillary Sword, and she pronounces names quite differently. Perhaps it is the pronunciation in [Ancillary Sword] that is incorrect, but the different was just too jarring. Because of that, I decided to follow up by reading the printed book instead.

[phrim · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ancillary Sword, the second book of the Imperial Radch series, surprisingly takes us away from the main action involving Anaander Mianaai's civil war. Instead, the former ship AI Breq is given a shiny sheriff's badge and told to maintain the peace in the rural Athoek system, which seemed odd at first given the scope of the first novel. The author uses this setting to make an incisive commentary on social class--while Athoek is "civilized" and all citizens are supposedly equal, in reality many racial groups are oppressed by the wealthy and powerful, and even good-hearted officials turn their heads the other way instead of rocking the boat. That is, until Breq shows up and uses her newfound authority to repeatedly take the side of the downtrodden, to the confusion of some and the ire of others. We are also introduced to other AI characters, including the station AI as well as several Imperial warships, which helps the reader understand the place of AI's in the universe. What's remarkable is that the AI's are all different from one another, but they all seem to have more compassion and a better sense of justice than the human characters. The book is very well-written and, as in the previous book, the characters are a delight to read. I'm really looking forward to the final installment in the series.