Ancillary Sword

Why it’s on the list: Volume two of Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy, and a deliberate narrowing after the first book’s sweep: the former warship is sent to a single station and the planet under it, where the empire’s problems show up as one place’s labour, tea plantations and resentments.

Where I heard about it

• The a16z infrastructure team — on the a16z Infra Reading List, in the Sci-fi / Also worth reading section (B tier), under the Imperial Radch series.

About this edition

Not a starting point — it assumes Ancillary Justice’s setup about ship minds and ancillaries. The politics get smaller and sharper rather than bigger.

Connections

• a16z Infra Reading List — the list this came from.
• Ann Leckie — the author.
• Ancillary Justice — volume one, and the necessary starting point.
• Ancillary Mercy — volume three.
• Identity — the trilogy’s running question.
• Science Fiction — the genre page.