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I'm sure I'm not alone in my judgment, but I'm torn about this book.

The ending was very good. It reversed a lot of my disappointment as I read this novel, but only because it changed my perceptions about what this novel was trying to accomplish.

Don't expect fast pacing or a civil war. Don't expect a return to Breq's heyday as a multiple-body starship AI.

Once I got over my desires to see him/her rise and become the right hand man/woman of his/her leige wielding a large weapon, be it any kind of metaphorical sword, political engine, or at least an army of ancillaries, I started to relax into the tale that Ann Leckie was really telling.

We have a tale about an AI's personal redemption. This is still the same tale that was being told in the first novel, but now we've got a very limited 3rd person perspective that doesn't allow us into Breq's thoughts, either. All we have is the pursuit of social justice on a station he/she once served a thousand years prior, the attempt to draw in his/her ancillary's relatives into her heart as atonement, and, almost as a side note, the ostensible and official reason Breq had for going there in the first place. You know... trying to flush out his/her leige's multiple-personalty antagonist.

The novel was slow. Don't expect more than a deepening of your understanding of Breq.

One thing more: I am both pleased and angry that the jumps in time and location and viewpoint have been squeezed so small as to be a single character. It makes for easier reading, sure, and hides a lot more plot until the right time, but it was what made the other book fantastic, IMHO. Do I want easy reading, or rewarding reading? Answer: Both. I think that's what I liked most about the first novel. The second wasn't nearly as rewarding except if you allow yourself to fall into an introspective contemplation about Breq.

I said I really liked the ending. It was very satisfying, but it reminds me more of a traditional novel with very little sci-fi necessity. In fact, the novel could have cut almost all of the sci-fi aspects out and have a coherent and complete novel. There was none of the special tension that science-fiction is known for. Speculation was missing. Instead, we've got a novel of social justice and personal redemption. It was good, but not what I was expecting.

I don't mean to be harsh in this review. I liked the novel. Even if it didn't follow the promise of big events laid down by the previous novel, it was good on its own. Of course, we were given hints of a full blown revolution in the star system next-door, and this kind of idea never really hit anyone over the head in this novel, but it does leave the door open to huge things later.

I admit, I love the idea of Galaxy-Wide AI's battling it out in a glorious bloodbath including all its fingers, the men and women of the ancillary. We'll see.


Update.

This is also a contender for the 2015 Hugo for best novel.
I'm still reading the rest of the nominations, including the novel by Kloos that he respectfully rescinded because he didn't want to be associated with the puppygate pall. I respect his decision, ethically, but I cannot accept it in my heart. So therefore, I will continue to balance the scales before I cast my vote.

Is Ms. Leckie's novel good enough to be on the nomination? Absolutely. Do I honestly think it is the best of the ballot for this year? We'll see. There's an awful lot to appreciate about it, with or without my personal desires getting in the way. The same thing goes for her previous novel which did win the Hugo last year, although I personally think that this one isn't up to quite the same glory.

I'm keeping my eyes wide open.