Well, this was so fun that I stayed up until 1am (on a Sunday before work). But I couldn’t put it down! I was bound to like this novel, given I have enjoyed all the other books Ann Leckie has written.

The main story revolves around Enae (who has a complicated story herself) is tasked to find a fugitive from 200 years in the past; Reet who was an orphan who finds out his origins are a lot weirder than he could have ever thought, and Qven a Presgr Translator in training. All their stories get entangled in political and Treaty intrigue as the plot unfolds.

I love the return to the universe of the Radchaai and all the interesting space politics. In this novel we have the return of a few previous characters (in supporting roles) but it mainly focussed on Presgr Translators, the weird human-like agents of the mysterious Presgr.

What I really liked about it was how weird and alien the Presgr Translators felt. And how weird and stunted their view of humanity was. Qven, one of the main characters, is being trained in the ways of humans (or Radchaai anyway) and it’s all tea and cakes and talking about the weather. Politeness. However when he finally meets Reet, someone who has been raised human, that quickly shows up how thin their understanding is of humanity. As well, some of the, let’s say peculiarities, of Presgr Translator upbringing is revealed.

I thought other parts of the story were also really well done, like the impact of trauma on different individuals and how that affects their decisions. Ultimately, J thought all the characters were well rounded, complex and interesting. I do feel that something else is going to happen, based on the outcome of this novel and ultimately what happens to Reet and Qven. But won’t that be interesting. There’s always a shift in the political equilibrium as a result of the stories.

I had a few minor quibbles, but that might be down to me reading for 4 hours straight. It did take some time to jump back into the universe and starting with the Presgr Translators and their alien-ness made me have to re-read a few sections to figure out what I read was really happening. But once you got I to the flow after a chapter, it all was fine. It was also pretty straight forward as a plot, missing some of the clever intrigue of the previous novels. But again, nothing was wasted, every tangent had an impact on the plot in a satisfying way. So like I said, minor.

It was a great read and made me want to read the Ancillary series again. I just really love this whole universe so I still hope there is more to come.