eBook
English language
Published Oct. 11, 2015 by Orbit.
For a moment, things seemed to be under control for Breq, the soldier who used to be a warship. Then a search of Atheok Station's slums turns up someone who shouldn't exist, and a messenger from the mysterious Presger empire arrives, as does Breq's enemy, the divided and quite possibly insane Anaander Mianaai - ruler of an empire at war with itself.
Breq refuses to flee with her ship and crew, because that would leave the people of Athoek in terrible danger. The odds aren't good, but that's never stopped her before.
More with our other favourite (but much less violent) rogue AI. Perhaps too much time spent on emotional intricacies rather than plot. The alien Translator and the Ship/Station AIs are quite pleasing though.
Wow! What a great finish. Now I understand the reason Leckie delved so deeply into the colonialist theme, especially the conflict between the Xhai and Ychana. She established a template for fairness she later applies to the AIs themselves. Really smart worldbuilding and narrative development! My favorite characters were Translator Zeiat, Leftenant Tisarwat, and (best of all) Seivarden!
Strong end to a fantastic trilogy. Along with developing everything that Sword set up, it does a fantastic job of deploying comedy. I can think of very few other writers who've managed to have real laugh-out-loud comic relief that not only doesn't detract from all the serious things in the book but actually develops the plot and builds the world further.
I really want to read more about the Presger, and to read a book or short story that looks at Breq through other characters' eyes.
Strong end to a fantastic trilogy. Along with developing everything that Sword set up, it does a fantastic job of deploying comedy. I can think of very few other writers who've managed to have real laugh-out-loud comic relief that not only doesn't detract from all the serious things in the book but actually develops the plot and builds the world further.
I really want to read more about the Presger, and to read a book or short story that looks at Breq through other characters' eyes.
The long-awaited (well, by me at least) end of the "Imperial Radch"-Trilogy did not cease to amaze. While "Justice" was a deep insight into the mind of the fleet carrier AI now known as Breq, "Sword" showed one small tea-growing world inside the vastness of the Radch imperium. "Mercy" is different; the pace is faster, all-knowing Breq is sometimes cut off from Ship's information, there is less singing and … even if everything is much more dangerous, the book is funnier. Leckie gives us complicated board games, fire fights in space, rebelling AIs and a conclusion which gives closure, but begs for yet another sequel.
I loved the translator, the loved the other ships and I was very happy that my fear Leckie wouldn't be able to give the series a good end was not justified. The story feels rather small, but I guess that's part of the lesson and …
The long-awaited (well, by me at least) end of the "Imperial Radch"-Trilogy did not cease to amaze. While "Justice" was a deep insight into the mind of the fleet carrier AI now known as Breq, "Sword" showed one small tea-growing world inside the vastness of the Radch imperium. "Mercy" is different; the pace is faster, all-knowing Breq is sometimes cut off from Ship's information, there is less singing and … even if everything is much more dangerous, the book is funnier. Leckie gives us complicated board games, fire fights in space, rebelling AIs and a conclusion which gives closure, but begs for yet another sequel.
I loved the translator, the loved the other ships and I was very happy that my fear Leckie wouldn't be able to give the series a good end was not justified. The story feels rather small, but I guess that's part of the lesson and the story Ann Leckie is trying to tell. Would recommend to everybody who loves Sci-Fi and everybody who doesn't mind that good fiction is taking place in space.
