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I could NOT take the shame of having to borrow a book from the library three times, so I stayed up until an absurd hour to finish it. As a result, the entire second half of the book is pretty hazy in my memory, so I won't call this a proper review, more a bunch of impressions.
The premise: the Radch empire is an expansionist dictatorial one, though the expansionist bit might be over (for now?). As part of their military might, they use AIs that are based on space ships and control ancillaries (human bodies from previous annexations). The main character is/was one such AI, left in the body of the only remaining ancillary component of the Justice of Toren, called Breq. Early on in the novel, she meets Seivarden, who had been a lieutenant on her ship-self a thousand years ago.
The first half of the book is told in alternating chapters of "present day" and "past events", before the action of the plot starts up midway through and it sticks to the "present day" from then on. It's very much a descendent of space opera, with the attendant tropes and preoccupations.
Spoilery discussion ahead!
( Read more... )
Overall, I enjoyed it! Will definitely be reading the sequels when I can get my hands on them.
The premise: the Radch empire is an expansionist dictatorial one, though the expansionist bit might be over (for now?). As part of their military might, they use AIs that are based on space ships and control ancillaries (human bodies from previous annexations). The main character is/was one such AI, left in the body of the only remaining ancillary component of the Justice of Toren, called Breq. Early on in the novel, she meets Seivarden, who had been a lieutenant on her ship-self a thousand years ago.
The first half of the book is told in alternating chapters of "present day" and "past events", before the action of the plot starts up midway through and it sticks to the "present day" from then on. It's very much a descendent of space opera, with the attendant tropes and preoccupations.
Spoilery discussion ahead!
( Read more... )
Overall, I enjoyed it! Will definitely be reading the sequels when I can get my hands on them.
