If I had to choose one word to describe Ancillary Justice, it would be “subtle.” Nothing is obvious. The story unfolds gradually, and the author lets the reader draw their own conclusions without explicitly restating everything. While a great deal of care went into every aspect of this world, my favorite part (as usual) was the characters. Some characters whom I expected to remain bland and unimportant became crucial to the story, and although I was not intended to like all of them, I did come to respect them. The character relationships were also well written. But the highlight of the book was the main character, Breq. Breq was once a troop ship, with dozens of ancillaries – human bodies containing the ship’s mind – at her disposal. This was pulled off incredibly well, exploring the consequences and advantages of multiple bodies controlled by one mind. I was surprised at how personable Breq was despite being an AI, and she ended up being the main driver of the story. There was also a good amount of world-building, and I enjoyed the different cultures Breq experienced. Many nuances in terms of clothing, religion, and etiquette made the story feel real, and I felt very immersed in the world.

However, Ancillary Justice was occasionally confusing. The main character comes from a culture that doesn’t recognize gender and refers to everyone with “she” pronouns, which was more distracting than revolutionary. In addition, some characters had the ability to be in several places at once, which sometimes made it difficult to keep track of events. I’ve heard that Ancillary Justice is better when read a second time, and I understand why. While I enjoyed the subtle storytelling, it did require a level of focus, and I know I missed a lot of details. This is an excellent pick for anyone looking for an elegant, character-driven novel if you’re willing to put in some effort.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 10 mild obscenities; 2 derogatory names; 8 anatomical terms; 4 scatological terms; 12 F-word derivatives.

Violence/Gore: A few brief descriptions of injuries, often due to malicious intent; six reports of deaths or executions, often as the result of an annexation; report of thousands of people losing their lives due to a corrupt government; character intends to kill and rob another; character shoots and kills four other characters; character hits another, knocks them unconscious; report of murder; a mob forms with implied violent intentions; a character executes a group of characters, little detail; report of two political murders, one of them the murder of a child; brief scene where an AI permanently replaces the mind of a person kept for that purpose, not violent; a character is badly injured, little detail; a few verbal threats; three instances where a character is ordered to shoot another and does so; four instances where a character shoots another; a ship carrying a large number of people is destroyed; report of suicide; evidence that character was in a fight; brief gunfight resulting in deaths, not graphic; report of a character taking poison; mention of rape.

Sex/Nudity: Characters hear two adults, genders unclear, being intimate, no detail; report of character discreetly pursuing another romantically; report of prisoners being naked, not sexual; mention of character being naked, not sexual; brief discussion of the societal ramifications of one character being intimate with another; mention that two characters had previously slept together, no detail; implied sexual activity between two adults, genders unclear; a few references to sex; multiple mentions/discussions of clientage, a relationship between two characters where one character benefits from another’s rank and societal status, and usually involving physical intimacy.  

Mature Subject Matter:

Trauma; drug addiction; classism; theft; corruption; racism; annexations; executions; death.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Characters drink alcohol; a few characters are drunk; one character is high on drugs, and struggles with overcoming drug addiction.