Translation State | 
pickLeckie is not for everyone, she doesn't spoon feed, but writes for adults with adult vocabulary and complex themes, that go pretty weird in places. I cannot begin to describe what happens in this book, literary, sci-fi, twisty politics, horror, but also kind of cozy. I would urge people to just jump in and if the visceral bits are too disturbing, just bail.
I loved it, I don't think it was perfect but by god was it original. Strong pick!
pickI‘ve been meaning to read this author for a while so it felt serendipitous that her most recent book made the #hugoaward 2024 shortlist.
There were many unexpected turns including some mind bending space breaking. It was a more intense read than I expected. The opening chapter made me double-check what type of book I‘d picked up.
A standalone book in the Imperial Radch series, this novel was nominated for the Hugo Best Novel award and the entire series for the Hugo Best Series award. It's an excellent story in a fascinating settling. #hugo2024 #hugoawards
This novel fits the “Dubwool: Character gets cosy“ prompt for #gottacatchemall, since two of the main characters spend a lot of time eating dumplings and binge-watching an adventure series. @PuddleJumper
pickThis is a lovely book- maybe not as hard hitting as her previous offerings, but suitably SciFi as reality gets twisted and intelligences vie for status. Leckie spends much time universe building and as always does a great job. However, for all the intricacies of interstellar race/gender relations and inherent duty verses personal freedom that Leckie infuses in this universe, at the heart of her story is a simple romance. Lovely.
pickJust serving you up more beach photos - i never get bored taking photos of this stuff!
I loved the Raddch series by Ann Leckie and now she sets us back in this universe with 3 new characters & we learn more about the Presger & other (human & non-human) civilisations that are not Raadchai. It feels a little Becky Chamber-ish in a “lets understand our differences” way - which i love. Its fascinating to get more insight into this complex universe ⬇️
I only had one 5🌟 pick for November, but it was one of the best fiction book I read this year. Leckie never let's me down, she's an auto-pick author for me.
#12booksof2023 @Andrew65
so-soI really liked her trilogy, the Imperial Radch novels. I thought they were great science fiction. This one…not so much. Three characters of indeterminate species come together to keep a treaty with some really bad guys in place and save the world. I couldn‘t even make sense of the story half the time. Lots of space adventure though!
#12Booksof2023
My favorite book in June was Translation State. It was a most welcome return to the world of the Imperial Radch. Leckie is a brilliant writer, her world building is phenomenal and her stories are always compelling. This one was no exception and I look forward to her next book.
@Andrew65
📚 Tagged book was my favorite of November.
📚 I'm looking forward to reading System Collapse and Stars Wars -The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness.
Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday
Wanna play? @audraelizabeth @Buechersuechtling @ReadingIsMyHobby @Onceuponatime @TheBookDream @Daisey @Bookishlie @Sharpeipup @Cuilin @ReadingFeedsTheSoul @Lucy_Anywhere @Onepageatatime88 @SpiderGoddess
pick114/150 When I read the Ancillary trilogy, I was blown away and thought it couldn't be topped. This doesn't top it, but it comes damn near close. Leckie's alien civilizations are amazing, so detailed and constructed, so believable. She makes you care about all the characters, whether human, presgar translator, AI or other alien species. A huge shout out needs to go to Adjoa Andoh, the narrator. She gave every character a distinct voice ⬇️⬇️
1. I read quite a few really good books this month, but I think Translation State by Ann Leckie was the best overall.
2. I plan to hand out candy if any trick-or-treaters make it out in the cold to our house on the end of our dead-end street!
@TheSpineView
#Two4Tuesday
pickEnae is an inconvenient relative sent off on an impossible mission. Reet is an orphan who never felt he belonged, despite his loving adopted family. Qven doesn't know what is true or who to trust. Set in the world of the Radch, this brilliant novel explores identity, connection and self-determination in all the ways we've come to expect from Ann Leckie. I didn't want to put it down.
"The last stragglers in the funeral procession were barely out the ghost door before the mason bots unfolded their long legs and reached for the pile of stones they'd removed from the wall so painstakingly the day before."
Really excited about this one! Bring on the weekend.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
You can count on Ann Leckie for a fantastic read. Here's the latest book in the Imperial Radch series, with the Translator Dlique button she gave me at a signing a few years ago 😍. Dlique actually makes an appearance right at the end, but the main fully-fledged translator in this book is Translator Dlar, who, seeing as their name is quite close to mine, I wished was more endearing!
Sometimes I can‘t tell whether an author‘s writing reminds me of other media, or if a shared narrator brings those previously-listened-to titles more easily to mind, but I‘m getting hints of N K Jemisin‘s Broken Earth for sure, as well as Octavia Butler and Martha Wells.
My current read & my next one. Maybe🤔That‘s the problem with having such a massive TBR, too many to choose from makes for indecision. I‘ve already started Translation State & loving being back in the Imperial Radch Universe. Vanished Birds is also SciFi but I‘ll probably change my mind & switch to another genre knowing me lately🤷🏻♀️
#WeekendReads
pickI really like this. Leckie does an incredible job of creating truly alien pov and then drawing the reader into them. The story deals with rape culture, trans identities, gender, and adoption in ways that makes me think this is going to be a book the young adults are going to continue to find and find solace in while the US loses its mind. Just an fyi, there is a scene that reads like and is treated like sexual assault.
“If it was explained to them that I don‘t want-“
“No one is going to explain that to anyone. After all things are working out just fine for those of us in authority.”
pickA welcome return to the Imperial Radch universe. Clever and twisty read.
pickAnything Ann Leckie writes, I read! So much to pay attention to: intricate interstellar politics, internecine conflict, and shaking up of assumptions of identity. I confess sometimes I start with an idea of who/what a character presents as only to keep revising until it really doesn‘t matter in the end: Leckie is a master of making you care about the person-AI, human, alien, or bot-until the current IRL gender issues are seen as BS f—kery!
1. Florence! Not from a book, but I'm going to Italy next summer!
2. Yes, if you're a science fiction fan. (the tagged title - back to the Imperial Radch)
3. Umm. . . Got two on the go - The baby on the fire escape and Islands of abandonment.
#WondrousWednesday @Eggs
Got the new book in the imperial radch universe. I ALSO got the audiobook. I just love Adjoa Andoh's voice and interpretation in this series. She is one of my favorite narrators. It is a wonderful treat to read the words while Adjoa wisperes in your ear
No2 in my #BookMail is the new novel from Ann Leckie. Set in the same galaxy as the Ancillary Justice trilogy, a missing translator sets 3 lives on a collision course that will affect galaxies. Enae is on a diplomatic assignment to track down a fugitive missing for 200yrs, Reet is told he has ties to a genetically mysterious family & Qven was created to be a Presgr translator. The paths of all 3 will collide with a ripple effect across worlds.
pickSo good. Leckie writes such smart science fiction (I really have to pay attention when I‘m reading her work), stories that interrogate what it means to be human and/or alien, the nature—past, present, future—of our relationship with technology, including sentient technology, existence, identity & more. I loved this return to the world of the Imperial Radch, this story focused on the Presgar, & I hope we get more soon. Excellent.
Spending Saturday afternoon with my matchy-matchy book and water bottle. A few chapters in and of course it‘s just as good as expected. Leckie‘s books are always fantastic.
