calissa

Published: October 2014 by Orbit
Format reviewed: Paperback, 356 pages
Series: Imperial Radch #2
Genres: Science fiction
Source: Gift
Reading Challenges: The 2016 Sci-fi Experience, #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks
Available: Publisher (print and electronic) ~ Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia ~ Dymocks ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords

Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for previous volumes/books.

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

Given a new ship and a troublesome crew, Breq is ordered to the only place in the galaxy she will agree to go: Athoek station, to protect the family of a lieutenant she once knew – a lieutenant she murdered in cold blood.

This is a book all about tea, so it should surprise no one that I loved it. Okay, perhaps that’s oversimplifying things a little. After all, Ancillary Sword is a complex novel.

It picks up within a few days of where Ancillary Justice left off. Having been promoted to the rank of Fleet Captain by Anaander Mianaai (or one version, at any rate), Breq is sent to Athoek Station to keep that system stable. Although the system has little strategic value, it is a major producer of the tea on which the empire runs.

If that sentence rings some colonial bells for you, it should. The cultivation of tea on Athoek relies in a large part on systemic inequality and oppression, much like it did and continues to do in reality. In Radch the kind of tea one drinks and the quality of the tea service one uses is tied intimately to status. But when you’re the last surviving incarnation of a warship’s AI–one who has seen every waking moment of every crew member, high-born and low–status doesn’t mean much.

Identity was a key theme of Ancillary Justice. Ancillary Sword is a slightly different beast. While it continues to grieve her, Breq is coming to terms with the fact she’s now an individual–albeit one who can connect to her ship in a unique way. The stability of Breq’s identity makes for a more linear story, one that isn’t split over two timelines and is therefore somewhat more comfortable for the reader. However, don’t be fooled into thinking this means you can relax your attention. There are new mysteries afoot and the more linear narrative doesn’t equate to transparent motives from the characters.

Injustice and inequality become the key themes, but interweave with the theme of identity rather than replacing it entirely. One common shortcoming in science fiction is the way any given planet only seems to be home to one race and one culture. Ancillary Sword messes with that by tying it to a colonialist attitude and racism; the high-born characters assume the same thing, conveniently oppressing minority cultures by erasing their existence. However, Breq doggedly acknowledges diversity and in doing so upsets the status quo.

Unsurprisingly, she also acknowledges the other AIs she encounters as entities in their own right and treats them with respect. This makes for an animistic world view that I found fascinating.

There is so much I found interesting in this novel that I could go on for hours. Instead, I will conclude by saying that Ancillary Sword is a story with depth, much like its predecessor. The pacing is perhaps a little slow at first, but, unlike Ancillary Justice, was quick to hook me in and doesn’t suffer from middle-book sag. Overall, it’s a thought-provoking read I highly recommend.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Published: July 2015 by M/M Romance Group @ Goodreads
Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)
Genres: Sci-fi, romance, fantasy
Source: M/M Romance Group @ Goodreads
Reading Challenges: #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks,The 2016 Sci-fi Experience
Available: Publisher (electronic)

When the crew of the Medical Explorer Juniper arrive at the space city of Caelestia, they are horrified to find it floating airless in space with thousands of its people dead. The only survivor is a cyborg gardener, Vairya, who has been left amnesiac and terrified, barely able to choke out a few words: “It could happen again.”

As ex-military doctor Reuben Cooper explores the illusory rose garden of Vairya’s memory, where Vairya himself flirts and hides among the flowers, he discovers a terrible threat, not just to the crew of the Juniper but to all humanity.

Can four doctors and a cyborg fight a merciless enemy that can kill with a touch?

I adore Amy Rae Durreson’s work and In Heaven and Earth has done nothing to deter me. This novella has all of Durreson’s trademarks–solid world building and a sturdy plot alongside a sweet romance.

The story gets off to a dynamic start with the crew of the Juniper investigating the aftermath of a planetary apocalypse but slows after the first scene under the weight of world building and back story. Fortunately, Durreson manages to deliver her exposition in a way that makes sense in terms of the situation and still keeps the action moving forward. By Chapter Two, the pace has picked up.

Although In Heaven and Earth is science fiction, Durreson is primarily a fantasy writer and it shows. The science is fairly light and verges on magic in a few places. There is also a couple of charming interludes in Vairya’s mind which he has shaped to resemblea fantasy world. While I had no problems with the fantasy elements(and actually enjoyed them quite a bit), it may not be your cup of tea if you prefer your sci-fi hard.

The plot itself kept me guessing and maintainedthe tension very nicely. Durreson does a great job of illustrating the desperation of the situation in which Reuben and Vairya find themselves, adding a wonderful bittersweetness to their developing relationship.

I was also charmed by the characters. Reuben has been damaged by past experiences that shook his faith in humanity. His relationship with the rest of the crew of the Juniper is uneasy and this is cleverly brought forth during Reuben’s adventures in Vairya’s mind. Vairya, on the other hand, retains a sweetness and a joy for life, despite being essentially immortal. I particularly enjoyed this subversion of the trope.

I’m so glad I saved this for my holiday reading because it meant that I was able to dive in and not come up for air until the end. If you’re a fan of sci-fi romance, you should definitely check out In Heaven and Earth.